For many American students, being valedictorian is quintessential in exhibiting the success one had in high school. The knowledge that out of an entire high school, one person has “topped them all” is a goal that many overachievers diligently strive for. However, despite how ingrained the valedictorian title is in the American high school system, some high schools in the United States have decided to split the honor, or even discard it completely. In a poignant protest, senior fellow at the New America Foundation, Margaret Talbot, in her essay “Best in Class” challenges the notion that the title of valedictorian should be abandoned. By analyzing the impact of different valedictorian policies, Talbot highlights the importance of the valedictorian status in American education by advocating for its continuation. Throughout her essay, Talbot maintains a subjective tone in order to eloquently convince educators and school administration to stick with tradition. …show more content…
She highlights the disruption that the decision causes schools by addressing a situation that took place in Sarasota, Florida and how, after the school had named co-valedictorians, “teachers considered boycotting graduation” and “students talked about booing” the student who had originally been given the valedictorian status (114). Talbot emphasizes the emotional state of the school after two valedictorians had been named in order to pander to her audience’s empathy. The notion of teachers “boycotting” graduation (a typically excitedly anticipated event) and students “booing” a student who had put four years of her life into academic success solely due to a slight change in tradition conveys the idea that the preservation of the prestige of the position should be maintained rather than watered
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
David McCullough Jr., delivered the commencement at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts on June 1st 2012 to staff, the 2012 graduates, and their family and friends. The speech was straightforward and supplied valuable information for their future. . McCullough’s speech at times felt harsh, offensive, and insulting. His words and examples were given to achieve insight, knowledge, and awareness for each student’s future. The commencement expressed a great deal of achievement, but conveyed that there was more work to be done. His speech was effective and appreciated through humor parallelism, repetition, and anaphora. His point of view has obtained respect and determination by all those that have been challenged and have heard his words.
McCullough, intertwines logos and pathos to emphasize the importance of doing things for self–enrichment, instead of the established ideal of competition. These students are not the first ones, last ones, or only ones to graduate high school in Massachusetts. He lists, “no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians, 37,000 class presidents...2,185,967 pairs of Uggs”. He drives
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
...lms these students get away with murder and still go on to college. This simply does not happen in real life; therefore, looking to Hollywood films for the true colors of schools is not in the best of interests. We have to realize that directors produce these films in their vision of American culture. We as Americans always look to the American Dream of sometime “making it.” The films neglect to see the loser’s point of view, meaning Hollywood films only look to a positive ending because it is in our nature to believe in the American Dream. This book allows our society to actually look past the films fantasies and observe the true inequalities in school. Although Hollywood films do correctly show how urban, suburban, and private students behave in schools, they do not show the true outcomes of real life.
In the text, Becoming a Teacher, the author reflects on why gender is included as a dimension of multicultural education, which is defined by Parkay (2016), “multicultural education is committed to the goal of providing all students – regardless of socioeconomic status; gender; sexual orientation; or ethnic, racial, or cultural backgrounds – with equal opportunities to learn in school” (p. 291). These cultural dissimilarities between the genders are created by the expectations society stereotypes them to follow. As Parkay explained in the text, “through sex role stereotyping, families, the media, the school, and other powerful social forces condition boys and girls to act in certain ways regardless of ability or interests” (2016, p. 296). According to this, students are categorized by society standards, which
From the outset of the story there is an overwhelming sense of hope that has enveloped the entire community and school with the upcoming graduation. The communitie's involvement strengthens the authors excitement in her rite of passage. Everyone is preparing for the ceremony and seeking to see how it will affect the lives of those involved. "Only a small percentage would be continuing on to college" (835) and others were just excited for the "glorious release" (834) from school. She felt like she was on top of the world, after all, "the graduating classes themselves were the nobility" (834). It is obvious how much pride she takes in her community by the way she describes her class as "an extended family." (834). The author's school was not the most impressive school compared to the white schools in the area but that could not damper the spirit that was filling the air. Parents who were buying or making new outfits for their graduates made everyone including the author the center of attention. Her "momma launched out on [hers]," (835) and she was swollen with pride that she was going to be a walking mod...
This graduation speech is apt for a graduation and substantial in conveying messages judging from the speech contents. Similarly, Gault’s “commencement speech genre” (2008, p4) suggests that a graduation address should create bonds, recognize efforts, unveil the world and instill hopes. First, Bono opens the speech with his personal anecdotes, narrating his story that he ...
Margaret Talbot, the writer of “Best In Class”, describes how the valedictorian system isn’t an accurate representation to reward students for their achievements through her use of logos and diction.
Graduating from school is only one of the essential tools for a young person to have a successful life. A person endures many long years of schooling, and then the graduation day finally arrives. That special day is one of the most momentous days in a young student’s life. Happiness and sadness are the two emotions a person will feel on that special day. A student will experience happiness because of a significant milestone that was completed in the student’s life. The sad emotions will arise because of a terrifying new chapter in the book of life that is about to begin. Both Bradley Whitford and His Holiness the Dalai Lama give their commencement speeches by using humor to relax the mood of the crowd, making light of their fame, and giving the usual words of wisdom to the graduating class of students.
I agree with the “You Are Not Special” because of the facts the speaker said. He said that there are 37,000 high schools around the country. With this many high schools there are 37,000 valedictorians from each school. The speaker said if you are a valedictorian, class president and athlete you are not special. I agree with this because you may be the valedictorian of your school but there are many more valedictorians across the country.
Being Marefat's first graduating class to complete all four years, one can say we've acquired a higher level of school wisdom than any previous class. We've formed traditions, we've set records, and we've made a lot of friends along the way. I remember our freshman year when we could use the excuse of being a new school for every shortcoming we encountered. I remember our sophomore year, the last time I cleaned my bedroom, when Marefat had its first senior class, and the school seemed to shrink for some reason. Last year we were the juniors, and we conquered the SAT tests: And made it through those busy days where you hadn't quite found room in your schedule to pencil in a bathroom break, dinner or sleep. Well, this year we were the kings and queens, there was Star Wars, Starbucks, and a certain football team lost its winning streak to the mighty Knights. Looking back we can see our accomplishments and the marks we made. Now, we must take all that we have learned in our years at Marefat and apply it to our future. Just as we have set traditions here, we must enter the world ready to tackle new problems and work out new solutions. We are the ones who can break all of those records that have been set, and have our names etched in history. It's our turn -- the world is ours and we just have to decide what we want to do with it.
Commencement speeches, which are presented in American graduation ceremonies, aim to inspire and motivate. Successfully, Nora Ephron 's commencement speech addressed to the Wellesley Class of 1996; inspired her audience to "be the heroine of [their '] li[ves], not the victim". Through anecdotes, Ephron explored the differences between her education and the graduates at Wellesley College, to remind the women graduating that whilst society was different in many ways, in particular for women, "there was still a glass ceiling".
Commencement is a critical juncture in our lives; it is a momentous occasion where we believe we are about to start anew. However, graduation is the bittersweet moment where the forces of past and future are simultaneously acting on us. Consequently, the past is not dead. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, suggests that our past experiences will be with us forever as he states, " [we] are a part of all that [we] have met; yet all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world." That is why graduation, similar to other turning points in our lives, possesses two halves, which accentuate each other. We are looking forward, but the "arch" of experience beckons us to remember, value, and learn from our past experiences. Thus, I feel that in order to appreciate commencement fully, we must remember our own past, and in particular, the last four years:
My high school graduation was one of the saddest moments of my life. Although I was excited about graduating, I did not know what I was going to do with the rest of my life. In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation,” Angelou was excited and proud of all that she had accomplished. In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Late Encounter With the Enemy,” Sally Poker Sash was proud that she was finally graduating and just wanted to show that off to all the “upstarts”. In the two readings the pupils are contrasting in a few different areas, and a couple of those areas are in pride and feelings that their families have being involved in the graduation.