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#177831 - 06/27/08 06:36 PM Re: Valediction [Re: Myridon]
tsuwm Online confused
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 10464
Loc: this too shall pass
all perfect GPAs, one supposes.

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#177838 - 06/28/08 12:39 AM Re: Valediction [Re: tsuwm]
TheFallibleFiend Offline
veteran

Registered: 01/23/02
Posts: 1523
Loc: Virginia, USA
Only one of them was "first place" and it was not my daughter. Anyone who gets at least a 4.0 gets valedictorian. One can get higher than 4.0, since each AP course that one takes gets one an extra .5 credits. They seem to have done away with the salutatorian in this area altogether as the policy commonly results in multiple valedictorians. My daughter ended up with 4.0. She got a B+ in AP chem last year (which was the highest grade in the school), but she also ended up with a B in Freshman English which other APs allowed her to evaporate. The girl with the highest gpa got special recognition during the ceremony for her 4.1, but hers was not the valedictory address. Instead they asked all of them to write speeches and then vote on which one would be delivered. I'm mildly skeptical of the practice, but Newsweek ranks this HS among the top 150 in the country, so I'm not overly concerned. (My other daughter's HS is ranked 1st.) Access to this caliber of school (for my kids and for myself) was one of the main reasons I accepted a job in this area.

I've always been a little more skeptical about the meaning of valedictorian anyway. For example, many kids don't take AP chemistry and so don't have the class where the highest score is a B+, opting instead to take AP psych where there are typically many As (and a slew of 4s & 5s on the AP test). This issue didn't start with the introduction of AP tests and it is more generalizable to the honor societies.

On the other hand, the school system here also offers distinctions on the diploma. You can get a regular diploma or an AP diploma. For the AP diploma you have to take an AP in each of several areas.

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#177840 - 06/28/08 01:19 AM Re: Valediction [Re: Myridon]
morphememedley Offline
member

Registered: 01/16/08
Posts: 155
Running is tight in the fast track, apparently.

The low road, or track, looks attractive in retrospect.

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#177846 - 06/28/08 05:55 AM Re: Valediction [Re: morphememedley]
TheFallibleFiend Offline
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Registered: 01/23/02
Posts: 1523
Loc: Virginia, USA
"Running is tight in the fast track, apparently."
True enough. I could write for hours on the subject. However, some people are driven. I brainwashed mine from an early age that education was an adventure, that it was worth achieving all on its own. Oldest had no expectation or desire to become a valedictorian . In fact, she was aware of the cheating that some of them did to achieve it and considered it beneath her, an unworthy accomplishment. Until, of course, she discovered that she made it. (She still thinks the cheaters' honors should be withheld, even if they did it only once. But she's very happy that she made it.)

I'ld like to make this more word related, but can't think of anything to say. Maybe we could do etymologies on brainwashing, integrity, honesty, and so forth.

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#177849 - 06/28/08 09:39 AM Re: Valediction [Re: TheFallibleFiend]
BranShea Offline
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Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 5249
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Doesn't bother no one seeing someone being happy about something.

Plus to read about those rituals we do not have untill university level.

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#177970 - 07/04/08 07:15 PM Re: Valediction [Re: BranShea]
LukeJavan8 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 5289
Loc: Land of the Flat Water
New to this site, and just saw this: Thumbs up, Fallible Fiend, on daughter's feat !
_________________________
----please, draw me a sheep----

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#177972 - 07/04/08 08:52 PM Re: Valediction [Re: LukeJavan8]
TheFallibleFiend Offline
veteran

Registered: 01/23/02
Posts: 1523
Loc: Virginia, USA
 Originally Posted By: LukeJavan8
New to this site, and just saw this: Thumbs up, Fallible Fiend, on daughter's feat !

Welcome, Luke, and thanks!
tff

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