Suggestions for HS academic awards criteria

bing121086
Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:59:08 +0000

I think you have to do awards based on something more subjective than best average. I went to two high schools, one did it by talent as well as enthusiasm, participation, and the other intangibles but the second did it purely by grades. At the first school I got the English award because I did well in class, I loved English, I was on the literary magazine, etc. It was my thing even though I probably didn’t have the highest average in the class. At the second school, I lost the English awards and got awards for classes that I didn’t really care about, like physics. I think it’s a great shame to give the physics award to the kid who got a 98 but hates physics over the kid who got a 97 but loves it, participates in class, wants to study it in college, etc. I’m not saying C or D students should or would be getting these subjective awards, but above a certain level there isn’t much of a difference between grades. In my mind, anything an A or above is pretty much equal, and that’s where the subjective qualities come in. It’s harder to give out, but it means more to the recipients, in my mind.