Poof! Gone is our Middle School Honor Roll

[Mermaid02]

So children who get A's are snowflakes? That's pretty judgemental.

No- children who get A's are not necessarily snowflakes... but if parents are all bent because the school isn't going to throw their kids a flippin party to acknowledge their grades they might be.

 

[Mom-to-2-Princesses]

Why does it matter if THE SCHOOL acknowledges good grades or not? Sounds like a lot of A grade Snowflakes! My child got A's and I want EVERYONE to know it........

Acknowledge your childrens hard work and grades at home.........

I admit it, I have been really thinking about this. I know my kids did well and they know. And I know they will be ready to take on future challenges.

And I don't want to be a snowflake! My daughter's teacher told the class she had a 7th grade parent come in upset about an A- in English, it was going to keep him from being Valdictorian That is scary! (and not true, Valdictorian is based on HS grades) I feel so bad for the stress and pressure that child must be getting at home. I know there is a middle ground and I think we went past that and to the other extreme.

BUT, it still upsets me. My 8th grader has been so proud at the past events and the different lists really gave her a goal. And my 6th grader was ready for the challenge. I don't want them to have crowns or for us to bow to them for what they did (can you imagine living with that!). But, everything else at school gets acknowledged. You are good at sports -- you play more and your stats get posted in the paper. You can sing -- great you get the lead in the play. You can spell -- enter the spelling contest and win an award. You get good grades -- keep your head down and don't make anyone else feel bad. Do you think we are going to require equal playing time on the sport teams? Each play should have equal lines in the play? When is it all going to end? Why are grades, the main reason we are in school, to be the first to be "taken away" I just don't get it!

That's why I wanted to hear other views and what other schools are doing -- our principal told us we are going into a new frontier with the policy.

 

[pennst8r]

I'm kind of tired of the "everyone wins!" mentality, too. Our elementary school decided it's unfair to judge a science fair. ?? So you can enter a big project or a collection. Last year a pencil collection won.

 

[jrmasm]

Yup -
Principal's List - 4.0
High Honor Roll 3.5 - 3.9
Honor Roll 3.0 - 3.49

That's ridiculous.

 

[Mermaid02]

I'm kind of tired of the "everyone wins!" mentality, too. Our elementary school decided it's unfair to judge a science fair. ?? So you can enter a big project or a collection. Last year a pencil collection won.

A pencil collection? That's just stupid. It wasn't a collection fair....

 

[Muushka]

Yup -
Principal's List - 4.0
High Honor Roll 3.5 - 3.9
Honor Roll 3.0 - 3.49

That's ridiculous.

Enlighten me! It has been too many years since I was in HS. Why is this ridiculous? Really, I am not being snarky.

 

[cheermom1]

I'm kind of tired of the "everyone wins!" mentality, too. Our elementary school decided it's unfair to judge a science fair. ?? So you can enter a big project or a collection. Last year a pencil collection won.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

I was always on honor roll (they didn't do levels), and we only went to the breakfasts a couple of times. Getting to do the extra GT stuff was the reward for me because it took time out of regular class time, and the extra projects were usually really interesting.

Granted, this was a decade ago (and then some, if I'm being honest ), so maybe kids are more competitive. I just did what I could do academically, and the accolades didn't matter that much (to me or my mom). Now, I was always over the moon to get the solos or lead parts.

 

[agnes!]

As "Dash" said in "The Incredibles"...

"If everyone's special, then nobody's special."​

agnes!
PS - Our HS doesn't give out class rankings or "top percentages"(etc) any more. I think they do valedictorians, but am not sure...

That was Syndrome

The scene I'm thinking of is when they are all in the car, Mrs. Incredible is driving and talking to Dash...

Dash: You always say 'Do your best', but you don't really mean it. Why can't I do the best that I can do?
Helen: Right now, honey, the world just wants us to fit in, and to fit in, we gotta be like everyone else.
Dash: But Dad always said our powers were nothing to be ashamed of, our powers made us special.
Helen: Everyone's special, Dash.
Dash: [muttering] Which is another way of saying no one is.

You're thinking of a scene that echoes the thought, where Mr. Incredible realizes what Syndrome has done...

Mr. Incredible: You mean you killed off real heroes so that you could *pretend* to be one?
Syndrome: Oh, I'm real. Real enough to defeat you! And I did it without your precious gifts, your oh-so-special powers. I'll give them heroics. I'll give them the most spectacular heroics the world has ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that *everyone* can have powers. *Everyone* can be super! And when everyone's super--
[chuckles evilly]
Syndrome: --no one will be.

So, one of the basic (if not *the* basic) premise of "The Incredibles" is that excellence should be rewarded.

agnes!

 

[pennst8r]

A pencil collection? That's just stupid. It wasn't a collection fair....

Exactly!! I think it was embarassing. Now most kids don't want to put the time into an experiment if they can win easily. They picked the winner out of a hat.

 

[jrmasm]

Enlighten me! It has been too many years since I was in HS. Why is this ridiculous? Really, I am not being snarky.

I'm basing my opinion on our grading scale.

100-93 A
92-85 B


That makes an 83 a C. I don't think a C average should be considered honor roll. I don't think a B- average should either.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Our middle school doesn't do any activity, just names in the newspaper for honor roll. You have to have As & Bs for honor roll. AND, which I think is a good thing, you have to have GOOD COMMENTS on your report card. So, if you got all As & Bs but got even one "unsatisfactory" for conduct or effort, you don't make the honor roll. It's not all about grades, it's about helping to shape good character.

Another thing our elementary school does (no honor roll) is a "Virtue of the Month" in which at an assembly the Principal explains the month's virtue (Kindness, Respect, etc) sometimes with a story, and then during the month children who demonstrate the virtue are nominated by faculty for the Virtue Award. At the next assembly, the children are acknowledged onstage with a little certificate and the principal tells why each child got the award. I think it is a great Awareness tool.

 

[declansdad]

Not going to quote anyone in particular but I will try to address some of your questions.

First,let me say that I am a college instructor and I see this everyday. I have one student that pretty much sleeps through class but is very bright and can achieve very high marks. On the other hand, I have other students that spends time reviewing material, participating in class discussions, preparing study notes and yet achieve marks in the 80s and in some cases 70s.

In the traditional sense, the sleeping student would be considered and "Honour Roll" student because their marks. The other students would receive no acknowledgment other than the diploma they receive. I believe that these students deserve more recognition than the diploma. In many cases, they have worked harder and been a better all-around student than the "Honour" student. These are the students that employers are looking for.

Should we lower standards and place everyone on the Honour Roll; no. Should we simply give everyone an award for showing up; no. However, there is no reason we can't find a real way to acknowledge all the people who deserve to be acknowledged.

 

[agnes!]

Not going to quote anyone in particular but I will try to address some of your questions.

First,let me say that I am a college instructor and I see this everyday. I have one student that pretty much sleeps through class but is very bright and can achieve very high marks. On the other hand, I have other students that spends time reviewing material, participating in class discussions, preparing study notes and yet achieve marks in the 80s and in some cases 70s.

In the traditional sense, the sleeping student would be considered and "Honour Roll" student because their marks. The other students would receive no acknowledgment other than the diploma they receive. I believe that these students deserve more recognition than the diploma. In many cases, they have worked harder and been a better all-around student than the "Honour" student. These are the students that employers are looking for.

Should we lower standards and place everyrone on the Honour Roll; no. Should we simply give everyone an award for showing up; no. However, there is no we can't find a real way to acknowledge all the people who deserve to be acknowledged.

Maybe make sure the students who try know that you'll write them letters of recommendation when they need them?
Maybe give the students who try a bonus for NOT sleeping?

I don't know, just thinking of some possibilities...

agnes!

 

[Planogirl]

How can you measure amount of work?

Someone mentioned the science fair projects. Those that won were usually at least partially done by parents. That was always obvious. But I see no way to stop that.

I agree with some of the comments. Why should kids even bother to try if everyone gets the same thing?

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

I'm basing my opinion on our grading scale.

100-93 A
92-85 B


That makes an 83 a C. I don't think a C average should be considered honor roll. I don't think a B- average should either.

Interesting...

Everywhere I've gone to school or worked (grade school and college), it was always by tens (90-100=A, 80-89=B, etc.).

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm basing my opinion on our grading scale.

100-93 A
92-85 B


That makes an 83 a C. I don't think a C average should be considered honor roll. I don't think a B- average should either.

Ours is 94-100 = A
86-93 = B

So I agree that a C shouldn't place you on the honor roll, too. My dd13 got knocked off high honor roll for a 91.

 

[Planogirl]

Interesting...

Everywhere I've gone to school or worked (grade school and college), it was always by tens (90-100=A, 80-89=B, etc.).

Here too.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

In my son's class there are 25 kids. 20 made the honor roll last trimester. The kids who didn't make it were given an "on a roll" certificate. The teacher told them it was because she knew they were working so hard.

I did feel like there are too many kids recieving all A grades. What ever happened to the bell curve?

I will be the first to admit my child gets all A's, but does not put in a lot of effort. That is a comment the teacher always puts on his report card. She knows he isn't trying very hard. I totally understand that the child who tries really hard, and gets lower grades needs recognition. I don't believe my son needs a special prize for just doing what comes naturally to him. I would be happy if the school would actually challenge him a little. I would rather see him get lower grades and put in more effort.

I wouldn't be bothered one bit if the school just did away with honor roll all together.

oh- my son is in 4th grade.

 

[disykat]

Around here, a 3.0 average is not considered something to brag about. Reasonable student, but not honors.

To my knowledge, our junior high and high school don't do anything for honor roll. If the kids are in honor society (they have to have the gpa to qualify AND do service hours) then they participate in a yearly ceremony.