Valedictorain Essay

A valedictorian is the person ranking highest in their class based on their academic achievements, and a salutatorian is the student ranking second highest in their graduating class. Both positions are supreme accomplishments in a students’ high school life. I disagree with the consensus that both valedictorians and salutatorians should be eliminated in all schools. My belief is that if an individual and or group of individuals compete to be the best in either their class or school, then they should be rewarded. I am not stating that they all should be deemed valedictorian; however they should in some way be acknowledged. Valedictorian should be reserved for the cream of the crop and salutatorian for the second best. This is why the valedictorian is both a healthy competition and a needed tradition.
Why would someone propose to eliminate valedictorians and salutatorians? Aside from trying to keep from hurting someone’s feelings or bruising their ego, as in Talbot’s article when Kylies’ feelings’ were hurt “She’s in a pressure cooker here and she’s about to burst”. Choosing to eliminate valedictorians will not help anyone. The competition for valedictorian provides students with balanced competition. It teaches schools to raise their students’ standards to accomplish. If schools prolong making the decision of who is qualified to be either valedictorian or salutatorian,   until the end of the first semester and about six weeks before the second semester is completed to announce the top five candidates for both positions it can solve some of the problems that are faced. Students would automatically be eliminated. However the announcement would not read the names in order, it would just state that they are candidates. That way the five candidates could each take whatever courses to obtain whatever credits or grades they need “I want to be valedictorian… I need to do this and that. Can you help me?”(Talbot). In doing this the rules would be clear to everyone, so that...