<p>Yesterday, we had our HS graduation ceremony. The principal and district superintendent had their speeches. Through out, they praised various students, some for extra curricula activities, many for their sporting accomplishment, and very very few for academic achievement.
Nothing were said about those who get to go to top universities (and the school does not have many ). Not a word about the only student who got full ride merit scholarship (I know most top students and even the Val and the Sal do not have but a small scholarship). I mention it not for those that were slighted but for the rest who could have had , in my opinion, better examples to follow.
This is not a one time thing but a practice that I have seen day to day the past many years.</p>
<p>What do you all think? Do we have our priorities straight?</p>
<p>I don’t think any of that (individual accomplishments in sports, EC’s, or academics) should be brought up at the graduation ceremony. Our HS has an academic awards ceremony separate from graduation.</p>
<p>DS3’s HS principal recognized Vals, Sals, (where they go and what to study) and the following:</p>
<p>1) NM scholars
2) Full rides and full tuition scholarship recipients
3) State presidential scholar
4) Recruited student athletes as a group
5) Students going to military academies
6) School service awards, mentors, tutors, etc. as a group
7) students with GPA>4.0
8) Some EC categories </p>
<p>It seems to have the right balance. But, I have to say that athletes dominated the popularity contests among HS students. It is pretty much so in many colleges too.</p>
<p>Many excellent students do not receive merit scholarships because they do not apply to colleges that give them. It is awkward to focus on financial aid because it exposes a family’s finances to public speculation, and there’s no reason for it at an awards ceremony. Most high schools will recognize students who were tapped by the NMSQT/PSAT program as commended, finalists, or National Merit recipients. They will also recognize students who received prestigious nationwide awards, such as Intel. But it’s not really appropriate to recognize every student who got merit aid or financial aid at a college. And it would be hard for the principal to decide what the cutoff is for a “top” recognition-worthy college. We can’t even agree what “top” means on CC.</p>
<p>Often, the awards ceremony program will list where students are attending college in the fall. That seems enough to me.</p>
<p>Students self report what they want said at the separate awards ceremony (and not all choose to attend). At graduation itself, students joining the armed services are asked to stand with the veterans. They star acknowledging individual achievements and good Lord we’d have a graduation that went from 7 to at least midnight!</p>
Whether students could have gotten merit scholarship but did not apply is for another discussion.</p>
<p>2) What does financial aid and family’s financial situation have to do with this discussion?</p>
<p>3) The cut-off for top colleges is not important, you can draw it anywhere you want. The argument is about the acknowledgment of excellence in academic vs EC/ athletics.</p>
<p>At graduation they had the top 24 (top 10%) stand and be acknowledged. No other students were called out. There was an academic awards night earlier. In addition to the usual awards in each subject, there were a number of local scholarships kids could apply for. Many of them had criteria like, “must have won a varsity letter and be planning to major in education” or other restrictions on them. A lot required kids to be a varsity team member.</p>
<p>fire, I kind of agree with NJSue. Our grad program did list scholarships in the back, like XXX University dean’s scholarship, etc. These were “merit” awards given to kids to entice them to attend said school.</p>
<p>One of S’s friends, who is basically a b/C student, got one to go to his small school. It came with his acceptance letter, a note saying he’d be getting a $10k scholarship.</p>
<p>My S on the other hand, was in top 10% of the class and is going to a school that gives very little merit money. ON paper, he is the much better student, but the other kid got called out in the program as winning a scholarship.</p>
<p>Our school doesn’t have a Val or Sal, but at graduation they primarily recognize groups of people rather than individuals. They mentioned a total $ amount that the students had gotten in scholarships and then had those students stand (all at once) to be recognized…they did that for academic and athletic scholarships. I agree though that there should probably be more recognition in some way, throughout the school years, to show what is possible, and perhaps to motivate others.</p>
<p>Fire123,
What this has to do with financial aid or family finances is when it is announced that a student has a " full ride" to Princeton ( or other need based aid only school) it does at least give a hint about family income, such as it must be below 65k or whatever the cutoff is at that school.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s appropriate to announce which top universities students are going to and how much money they got in scholarships/merit aid at a high school graduation. Many parents are just grateful their kid is graduating at all. They just want to celebrate their kid’s achievement, whatever it may be. My D’s high school had a separate scholastic achievement awards ceremony for that sort of thing. That being said, following the theory of multiple intelligences, excellence in sports and extracurricular activities are as deserving of recognition as academic achievement, IMHO. Just because someone is smart and goes to a top U with a full scholarship doesn’t make them better than the kid who is good at sports or a student government leader or a talented musician.</p>
<p>Our school doesn’t even recognize val, etc at graduation. They have a Hall of Scholars for top 15 students, and summa, magna and cum laude grads wear chords. They would never call out a student by name. I live in a blue collar area where 1/4 will end up at a mill making more than the average college graduate, so higher education is not always the goal. </p>
<p>Last night they did honor a classmate that had died the month before, but other than that, the only time that an individual is called out is when they receive diplomas. They recognize it is an achievement of the entire group and they are all special.</p>
<p>It’s sad that so many high schools are so ignorant about the college process…you would think they would know better. Recognizing those that received a merit aid?..really?..jeez</p>
<p>I don’t think graduation day is necessarily the time and place to single out anyone except the Val and Sal if it is customary at the school for them to give speeches. It is supposed to be a proud and happy day for graduates and their families and by that day everyone knows where they stand amongst their peers and what they have achieved. There have been academic award ceremonies, newspaper articles, and scholarship announcements galore–perhaps for a few hours everyone can just be part of the graduating class of 2013 and that can be a celebration in and of itself.</p>
<p>Our graduating classes are 670-700 students. It’s outdoors in an amphitheater rain or shine. Usually unbearable hot. All awards ceremonies have taken place prior. The Val, Sal, and class president give speeches which are usually short, sweet, and very personal to the class. Even the college choices of Val & Sal aren’t announced. </p>
<p>The students wear honor cords for things such as NHS, or medals for state or National awards in their ECs, etc. Students graduating summa cum laude are honored earlier at a countywide ceremony with all schools. </p>
<p>The scholarship amounts are not noted for reasons above. Many students due to academic needs (ie looking for very unique schools and financial stability) are not following the money. If this became an issue, recorded at graduation and a comparison contest, you can bet applications to schools with automatic merit by students with no intention of attending would soar. A lot of unnecessary work for the guidance office and a frosty relationship with the schools that start to see 35-50 apps each year but only 2-3 attending. </p>
<p>Having said this I have absolutely no issues, and think it appropriate to take a moment to recognize all students going to service academies, ROTC, or enlisting, as well as adults present who have also served. It takes very little time and sends our young men and women off with a feeling of community support.</p>
<p>“I don’t think graduation day is necessarily the time and place to single out anyone except the Val and Sal if it is customary at the school for them to give speeches.”</p>
<p>I agree. At most high school graduations, the audience probably won’t even recognize names of top schools. And the only thing most know about scholarships is that their child won’t qualify for one! The day is for everyone. Why baffle attendees with CC-type observations … “Well it came down to Carleton or Cooper Union, and Billy felt Northfield was a bit too isolated.”</p>
<p>At my D’s HS graduation, before the ceremony, as people were taking their places in the auditorium, there was a slide presentation playing on a big screen. Against an attractive backdrop, names and scholarships appeared, one at a time, e.g. “Mary Smith, Fine Arts Achievement Entrance Scholarship, Alabama State University.” The presentation appeared to include named scholarships of all kinds - academic, athletic, arts and EC related, but not regular merit awards and the state tuition scholarship. I think this was a nice way to give those scholarship winners a bit of recognition without intruding on the ceremony proper.</p>
<p>I agree that academic achievers deserve to get at least as much recognition in high school as athletic achievers. </p>
<p>But time has a way of exacting justice. In lifes later unofficial award ceremonies (i.e. high school reunions) after the 5 year-reunion, the popular jocks never show again. The nerds will inherit the earth </p>