Poof! Gone is our Middle School Honor Roll

[luvmy3]

I thought the OP was saying the ceremony was done away with and that is what they were upset about.... not that EVERYONE was now involved in the ceremony. I'm going to go read the OP again....

Me too, I think this thread may have evolved from the OP and now I can't keep what who said straight


It looks like the changed the ceremony from just the honor roll students, to everyone getting the same certificate.

From the OP
So we showed up yesterday for our Middle School "Academic Achievement Breakfast" EVERY child in the school was handed a certificate for Academic Achievement. And every certificate was the same -- so as one parent put it "we came to do roll call for our kid's class"

In the past we had three Honor Rolls (and an Honor Roll Breakfast) -- Principal List (4.), High Honor Roll (3.5 - 3.99) and Honor Roll (3.0 - 3.49). And the majority of the kids made one of the honor rolls. About 10% did not. Our Honor Roll was based on semester grades (40% per quarter and 20% for Semester Exams).

 

[cheermom1]

I thought the OP was saying the ceremony was done away with and that is what they were upset about.... not that EVERYONE was now involved in the ceremony. I'm going to go read the OP again....

No the ceremony now includes everyone...

 

[Geoff_M]

So we showed up yesterday for our Middle School "Academic Achievement Breakfast" EVERY child in the school was handed a certificate for Academic Achievement. And every certificate was the same -- so as one parent put it "we came to do roll call for our kid's class"

Does your child by chance go to Harrison Bergeron Middle School???

 

[MM27]

There should be a ceremony where the kids receive their awards in front of their classmates. Why not? It's an honor just like making the football team or getting a part in the school play. Perhaps some kids will see that and think maybe if they work just a bit harder next time, they will make it too. A little motivation isn't bad. I can't stand that mentality where everything needs to stop because someone might feel bad or sad or however the heck they feel. These kids are going to be in for a huge shock when they get to college and realize that not everyone makes the Dean's list or when they get a job and wonder why they didn't get a promotion like the other people.

 

[sharlon]

I tried to read the entire thread. Very interesting.

A couple of things: I graduated from high school in a suburb of Atlanta in 1988. Our county would not allow valedictorians. No competition during school hours. It was against the county policy, so no valedictorians, no band competitions, nothing like that. You could, however, prepare for competitions outside of class, so math team, dance team, and football were allowed, because they didn't practice during school hours. Weird, huh?

As for the awards: My DD12 goes to a fantastic middle school. Most requested school for transfers in our area. Both of my parents teach/have taught middle and high school and in my almost 40 years, I've never seen a school like this one. It's wonderful! There is an awards ceremony at the end of each of the first three 9 week grading periods (they don't do one at the end of the year, because no one wants to come back during the summer for it, LOL). Anyway, it is held during school hours in the gym. The parents sit in the middle section of the bleachers, with the small group of honorees on one side and the rest of the students on the other. During the ceremony, the kids who got straight A's get a certificate, along with honor roll athletes and other special academic awards. (Kids who get A/B honor roll get their certificates in class). All of the kids who did not get straight A's have to sit and watch. The principal actually takes the opportunity at each ceremony to challenge those kids to push themselves a little harder and try to be sitting on the other side the next time.

As for grading scales, when I was in high school it switched in my district from a ten point (90-100 A) to an eight point (92-100 A). That eight point scale is what we have here now.

 

[luvmy3]

There should be a ceremony where the kids receive their awards in front of their classmates. Why not? It's an honor just like making the football team or getting a part in the school play. Perhaps some kids will see that and think maybe if they work just a bit harder next time, they will make it too. A little motivation isn't bad. I can't stand that mentality where everything needs to stop because someone might feel bad or sad or however the heck they feel. These kids are going to be in for a huge shock when they get to college and realize that not everyone makes the Dean's list or when they get a job and wonder why they didn't get a promotion like the other people.

I think the issue is that ALL the students now get the SAME award. Thats not an honor.

 

[Mermaid02]

No the ceremony now includes everyone...

Then why bother? Guess that's the big question........

 

[cheermom1]

Then why bother? Guess that's the big question........

Exactly ...if by doing this the kids feel what is the point then the ones that really are trying and want to do good feel that there is no point then the NCLB act is NOT working only it gets worse and the kids aren't learning a darn thing!

 

[luvmy3]

Then why bother? Guess that's the big question........

I think that the bigger question is why bother giving everyone an award. Those students whose grades qualified them to be on the High Honor, or Honor Roll should be recognized for their achievement. By including everyone it negates that, and to not have a ceremony for them ignores it.

 

[Muushka]

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.

thank you

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.).

This is how it was when I went to HS. In college it went like the more difficult one 93-100 A ........

The administration in the school where dh teaches is forcing a new policy on the teachers. They cannot give the kids a grade under 50 for any reason. If the kid doesn't turn in a shred of work, or pick up a pencil, or answer a single question all quarter long, the teacher must give him a grade of 50.

They have some nonsensical psychobabble explanation, but the real reason is NCLB. They need to have fewer kids failing and dropping out. Higher standards, my eye.

So in his school I guess they all make honor roll too!

I went back to college to pick up a few more courses about 10 years ago. I graduated from college back in the 70's. I was stunned at what I experienced in 1999. Basically, if you showed up for class you got a C. If you did that and all of your homework you got a B. If you did both of those with some success, you got an A.

In my prior college experience (at age 18), I had a 3.3 GPA at graduation. Very difficult program and worked my but off.

In the 8 or so courses I took 10 years ago, I had a 4.0. I am not a 4.0 student. Talk about useless A's.
After that, I lost faith in colleges.

 

[Ppufi]

NCLB is crap. My school wants an 85% graduation rate by 2013. No one is gettine expelled anymore. Teachers are practically giving grades to the lowest kids: homework/test makeup, bonus points, and even removal of low grades from their overall class grade. Meanwhile, the top students (me included) get nothing. Honestly, these kids shouldn't be getting this, but since they are all kids should. Suddenly 97-100 isn't that great if 86-90 students are getting 91-96, and <50 kids are passing.

 

[declansdad]

It's a big deal because they are taking something away from kids that earned it because they are afraid that the ones that didn't get it are going to be sad. We still do have honor roll and at our last assembly, one of the boys said to me, "Why didn't I make honor roll? I work hard" So I told him in the 2nd marking period to make sure he worked just a little bit harder. Common sense isn't it?

Not all of them worked hard and earned it. Some do very little and are rewarded simply because of genetics.

 

[MM27]

Not all of them worked hard and earned it. Some do very little and are rewarded simply because of genetics.

You can say the same thing about some athletes.

 

[declansdad]

You can say the same thing about some athletes.

Yes you can, what's your point?

 

[Ppufi]

Yes you can, what's your point?

No one cares if an athlete doesn't have to try to play well.

 

[dejr_8]

Why reward people for doing what they SHOULD be doing anyway? Life isn't one big awards show..........

This is NOT a reward for people doing what they SHOULD be doing. This is a reward for people that performed at a high level - i.e. putting in extra effort.

Should pep rallies also be cancelled? Why should we celebrate the above average athletic ability of football and basketball players?????

 

[Mermaid02]

This is NOT a reward for people doing what they SHOULD be doing. This is a reward for people that performed at a high level - i.e. putting in extra effort.

Should pep rallies also be cancelled? Why should we celebrate the above average athletic ability of football and basketball players?????

I disagree- everyone should be putting in the effort to get good grades..... those are the rules around this house anyway..... I can't speak for others....

 

[cheermom1]

Next year everyone gets super bowl rings!!!!

 

[Planogirl]

Not everyone is going to excel at everything and there are some people that don't have to try very hard and others have to really work at it to do well. That's real life. I don't see how rewarding all kids the same regardless of how they do accomplishes anything.

 

[agnes!]

Not all of them worked hard and earned it. Some do very little and are rewarded simply because of genetics.

Sounds like you think that DNA testing should be done on the students and the ones that have smart genes should be punished? Or maybe given a educational handicap, in the sense of handicapping horses or golfers...

I guess I'm not sure what your point here is.

agnes!