Mediocre students make the “good effort” honor list

Yes. It does.

Pass with Honors...........A
Pass with Distinction.....B
Pass with Merit..............C
Pass..................................D
Fail....................................F

Joe(It's a Horizontal Arabesques) Nation

See my previous post, I think C is an adequate grade, or it used to be. And I take it that math can be well taught as a problem solving world, and less as rote, though charts surely are handy. I'm all for problem solving groups.
And can see those considered in grades, duh.

Would you think I wasn't? But, as I remember on taking my boards, problem solving was only the first part, you had to show expertise to get the problem (site design) and work it out in entirety in a fairly short time (as I remember, there was more than one answer, at least in part, with various complications one way or another). I was a grader for the state on some of those tests, some years later.

Sorry, but I hope engineers can multiply.

Tops.......... A
Dandy........B
So - So.......C
Punk..........D
Lousy.........E

This particular grading system was presented shortly after the launch of Sputnik. New emphasis on science, math, and education, you know? Well, we had to do something, after all.

I won't rag at you, I know time is limited, but encouragement can be gold (but you know that).

On the rest of your post, I'm sympathetic.
I was at some point on a review board for people in an architecture program, and my colleague and I both were less interested in the facile than the interesting without facility, coming from our wildlly different backgrounds, he with spot on hand eye coordination. We spent a lot of time on which ideas engaged us. The facile were occasionally shallow, but also often sharp. The not so facile were sometimes very interesting, and sometimes not. The very unfacile usually were out to lunch, but reviewed seriously.

I am utterly against this and similar kinds of lists, although I unfortunately have been learning the opposite in University...

Value is not only created on top of positive re-enforcement. In fact that is an almost childish mistake...a negative experience is just as necessary as a positive one to build knowledge value and essentially to get a sense of our place in the world...we certainly are not all the same, although of course, we all should have a go to prove it.

What we are doing with this is lying to the children till they come of age and get to know better...flooding the market with incompetence specially in leading roles comes out of this and similar poor thinking attitudes...

Linkat can you point me to the source of your gripe? A school or an article?

Never mind, I found one.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1269031&srvc=rss

This is no longer an achievement notice, it is a tool of coercion. What is called "good effort" is nothing other that acting as you have been instructed to act. This would include not voicing any opinions which are frowned upon, for instance that teenagers should have more rights.

You know, folks, having an effort honor roll isn't the same thing as telling every child who comes through your classroom that they're doing a great job. One would guess that these are kids who try like the dickens to do good work, but for some reason don't. Think of the English Language Learner or the student with a Communication disorder. Think about all the sped kids who work harder than their peers and make worse grades. Most will eventually give up trying no matter how tenacious they are. I fully agree that we are "Great Job"-ing American students to their detriment. But, this is different. I dunno how much I support the effort honor roll, but I don't think it deserves your derision.

I worked with a girl last year who busted her hump all year long and still got a D or an F on every single science test. Every two weeks she was reminded that no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to pass. Her science teacher felt bad, I felt bad, her parents felt bad. But, worst of all, she felt bad. Really Bad.

And this at a time where our last edge over the rest of the world seems to be slipping away as we try to catch Europe and Asia. We are giving up our national edge of being good creative thinkers and problem solvers. All for the standardized test scores and the As and Bs that will get us into a good school.

I guess I could see an effort thing, but even those would be alphabetical or someone first.

I think I'm still mmmmmmmmm.

I just went though something similar when my daughter graduated her high school number 1 out of a class of 223. But she was not valedictorian, in fact her being number 1 was not ever mentioned, her school does not believe in it. Understandably my daughter was not happy, being "high honors" with 40 other kids did not recognize the magnitude of her work and achievement. This kind of nonsense is an all out assault on meritocracy.

That is some big class.

as if anyone cares, all that matters is that everyone think that they are equal with everyone else. That our nation will fail against those who dont try to promote this fantasy into reality does not warrant attention.

I sympathize with you two on that.



My mother was valedictorian and refused it, since she was too shy (1918). Small classroom, touching photo for me, but a clue re my mother.



The whole valedictorian change strikes me as agggggggh.

thanks, it got nicely compounded when she did not get into her prefered school, Duke. Back 20 years ago she would have been a lock, but now academics are much less important when it comes to choosing who gets in.

she got wait listed, and then decided upon another school.

There is research that shows that different types of praise leads to different outcomes.

If you tell a kid, "you're so smart" and they run up against a problem that's too hard for them, then they give up.

If you tell a kid, "you're such a hard worker" and they run up against a problem that's too hard for them, then they tend to keep trying until they solve it.

I suspect that is right, but no good comes from telling a kid they have achieved something when they have not. It is only a matter a time till they figure out that you are full of ****. If it happens too often they will decide that all adults are.

Heh! My sister graduated 3rd in the class. One position higher, and she would have had to make a speech. It was a big class, too.

I'm not reactive on the choices, I'm for a diverse community, but (wait before you yell), I don't like my friends smarter than I was being taken as tokens.


I remember the Bakker (maybe misspelled) case. It might take me a while to work up words for my then disgust at that.

I don't know if I'd agree with Bakker now. Maybe, and maybe not.

But, back on valedictorians, ours was always destined to be Vivienne (or similar name). She was the one from Belgium who knew the whole curriculum already the day she stepped in the door, and insisted on taking secretarial classses. She also took college prep stuff in her spare time.

Vivienne wouldn't have a shot at it today. There are bonus points for science, math, and honors classes. Not for secretarial, so a 4.0 gpa is kind of small potatoes amongst the competetive.