Cons- What About A Good Speech?
Imagine it’s your graduation day–the proudest moment of your life, well, thus far. Your grandparents drove in from Ohio, you’re sitting in a sweaty satin gown in the MSU auditorium, and overall, you’re looking toward a bright future. That is, until the Valedictorian takes the stage. “The dictionary defines ‘graduate’ as…” he drawls on. He has the highest GPA in the school, but can’t say something original to save his life. You look into the audience at your little cousin and sigh…this is going to be a long ceremony.
Having the highest GPA doesn’t make you a good public speaker. Sure, you might be intelligent and able to engage in discourse for classes, but speech-writing isn’t an exact science to be mastered–it depends on emotion and human connection. At graduation, seniors need a captivating speaker to give an honest reflection on the high school experience.
The super-high 4.7 GPA required to be speaker simply isn’t available to every student. Some cannot afford AP tests, have to work a job or two and cannot study for perfect grades, or have a learning disability that affects their grades. A high school is full of interesting and diverse people- unique experiences make for great speeches. Everyone deserves a chance to say their piece, and this is why the class speaker should not be chosen based on GPA, but on speech merit.
While a Valedictorian spot recognizes the hard work of the top student grade-wise in a school, it puts all the academically-minded students against each other. At a school like ELHS, with 56% AP participation rate, competition for the number one GPA spot can come down to very close races–and tenths of grade point that really don’t matter in the long run. This competition is unnecessary–students already obsess about grades to get into selective schools, and they already compare themselves to each other. Why make it worse?
Patzi O’Callaghan • Aug 5, 2022 at 2:28 pm
I feel that this should be abolished because it puts way too much stress and pressure on the student who is mega stressed out with their studies and exams. Let the kids be kids. Px
Julia Shatzer • Jan 26, 2023 at 9:21 pm
I disagree completely. If someone does not wish to have that added stress that’s fine. But for those of us who can handle the stress and strive for academic excellence and put our all into every assignment, every homework, and every curriculum no matter if we like the subject or not, we deserve some recognition. I agree it isn’t for everyone, but you shouldn’t completely get rid of it because a minority can’t handle it. Not to mention the competitive environment prepares those students for the competitive atmosphere once they have graduated. College, careers, and sports all contain competition. Trying to obtain a job in a competitive career path requires a student to work through all the stress of their college courses and live up to their full potential. It’s the same thing here. Those of us who strive to be valedictorian likely put so much effort and time into our work and grades because we are looking to get into a competitive college or university. It’s the same way in jobs. If you’re being considered for a promotion, most reactions would be to push yourself to work harder and better than you already are, even if you had originally thought you were already putting in 100% of your effort. Your entire life you are going to have to be competing with others for benefits or opportunities. I don’t understand why you would want to shield almost adults from the real-life emotions they are going to be feeling on a daily basis. If you shield them from all the stress and worry, they are going to have a tough time adapting when they are on their own. If there is a medical condition such as severe anxiety, I would understand why that student may not be interested in such a title or competition, however, those individuals do not have to even make an attempt to reach this goal. Even in sports, a school’s top athletes receive prizes, praise, or recognition. Do non-athletic students not deserve the same opportunities to be recognized for their achievements? Students in band and choir receive recognition for excellence. Even some students in particular classes get praise for having the best project, paper, test score, etc. Stress is all around us. But those of us who want to rise to the occasion and strive for something better whether it is being captain of a sports team, receiving a solo in band or choir, or even making it to the next stage of a tournament, should not be denied the chance to. Students add stress to themselves no matter what they are doing. Competing to be valedictorian applies the same amount of extra stress as shooting for a promotion, trying out for a solo piece, being a top athlete, and other simple things only people involved would think of. It is unfair to take a good opportunity away from those of us who challenge ourselves and push ourselves to our limits every day because a minority is incapable of keeping up.