<p>A freind sent me this. This is shooting the messenger. What kind of life are we exposing our kids to when having a picture in the paper is so stressful? Why can't we be proud of what all our graduates achieve? </p>
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[quote]
College photos Clipped
Student Council says “no” to senior bragging in the newspaper</p>
<p>Since 1999, the Duxbury Clipper has published photos of the graduating class with their name and the college they are attending in the fall. This past January, after information from the Duxbury Youth Risk Task Force, and student input, the Duxbury High School Student Council voted to eliminate this practice in the paper.</p>
<p>According to interim high school principal Tom Kelley, the task force informed the council that the press creates added stress on the students. He said that the although this adversely affects only about 10 percent of the senior class, he said it does not matter if it adds stress to one or 100, if he can reduce the stress level of students he will try.</p>
<p>The trouble is that not all the students will be as high achieving as they wish they could be, it is better to respect their privacy than to let the public know everything about their lives. Those that really care can find out the good news about the seniors they know, it is no one else's business. My high school newspaper published a list of what the seniors said they were going to do; but I presume this is a city/town paper, not an internal student one. It would be totally different to publish names and pictures of the graduating seniors without the extra personal information. The problem is that not everyone is proud of what they will be doing post graduation- some will be settling for what they can afford or where they got in.</p>
<p>Another example of let's support mediocrity and not praise excellence. I am afraid as time goes on I see more and more of this attitude. Let's not brag on our best, or make them examples of what the next group of kids can become. What a life lesson. You can go and complain to the boss because someone who did a great job got a promotion, and everyone knew why, but you who did little should be treated the same way. This country used to care about its achievement, but now, the lower achievers are running the roost. I am sorry to see this happen more and more. We need to get some of that pride in excellence back before mediocrity becomes the goal and our country sinks even more.</p>
<p>If I understand the above post, we should not put everyone's picture and biographical info in the paper, only that of high achievers- I agree with this view. It sounds like the town gossipers will have a harder time discussing the senior class without access to all the information (what other reason is there to divulge it?). A list of graduates, such as our local paper does for the entire area, is very appropriate, it is an accomplishment; where one goes in the future is not an accomplishment, and not even necessarily fact by the time fall comes.</p>
<p>If a person needs to be praised in order to feel like a success, that is sad</p>
<p>And there are many kids who DID get into some amazing schools but don't have the $$, should they have to answer questions about that</p>
<p>Oh I thought you got accepted to USC, you aren't going there, why not?</p>
<p>Or, some have family issues they don't want to advertise that are often a HUGE factor in making decisions about college</p>
<p>If a student got is going to a great school, wonderful, they don't need to advertise it to the world, do they?</p>
<p>And for some kids to be embarrased and such so that a few can get applauded is just mean spirited</p>
<p>So to say the the choice of college a student has taken only has to do with "excellence" is absurd and naive, and indeed very shallow, it is much more complicated and personal than that and if one doesn't see that, that is part of the reason that the practice should be stopped</p>
<p>Pretty sad. This practice gives an oppertunity for students to see where everyone is headed and congratulate each other. It shouldn't be about bragging or feeling inferior. At my school, I know some people did feel reluctant to disclose where they were going, which is too bad because some of the smartest kids I knew went to community college or lower tier universities.</p>
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The possibility of giving the seniors a choice on whether or not they wished to publish their college in the graduation issue of the newspaper was discussed.
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</p>
<p>This sounds like a more appropriate solution. It also suggests that all seniors had their photos and college plans, or lack thereof, published in a public newspaper whether they wanted them to appear or not. If that was the case, I think that the action of the student council--remember that this seems to have been student initiated--shows real sensititivity to their fellow classmates. Now there's something to take public pride in!</p>
<p>A highly-regarded (and quite expensive) private school in our area does this annually, not only in the major city newspaper, but in all the smaller neighborhood weeklies, and (several times per year) in the local symphony's program booklet. Our highly-regarded, competitive public hs does not; instead, the student newspaper publishes an annual senior issue, containing a list of students and their plans for the following year, and also the class will and class prophecy, all of which is submitted by the students themselves. I much prefer the way our hs handles this - but then again, it doesn't have to market itself, and the private school does.</p>
<p>I agree with much of what cgm posted in #6 above. I don't see publishing such a list as a matter of rewarding "excellence," because I don't necessarily think that an Ivy-bound kid is more "excellent" than one bound for the military, a small LAC no one's ever heard of, or a gap year. Those who want to consider the Harvard admit superior to the kid headed for the state engineering school might consider the many, many reasons kids may choose lower-ranked schools: finances, including parents who change their minds about paying their EFC and schools that don't meet full need or offer only loans; programs available only at a specific school; the need to remain close to home for health reasons; special opportunities available at the lesser-known schools.</p>
<p>However, my primary reason for objecting to the publication of such a list is that I would consider it an invasion of my child's privacy. Fine if she chooses to be included; if she'd rather not, for whatever reason, I think the school/paper would be on shaky ground to publish this without a release. Really, how "newsworthy" is it?</p>
<p>In one community in which I used to live, all graduating seniors were given the opportunity to submit their names, the name of the school they were graduating from, and a short blurb about their future plans to the widely read monthly community newsletter. Nobody was required to do this, and it was not limited to any one school -- all seniors were welcome. Even homeschoolers could be included if they wanted to be.</p>
<p>This seems appropriate. Forcing all seniors to have their information published is not.</p>
<p>Gee, maybe the school should also stop publishing pictures of the football/baseball/basketball team, or the outcomes of the games, since that puts "stress" on the kid sitting on the bench or the one that didn't make the team at all? </p>
<p>Or is it only academic achievement that is somehow overly "stressful"?</p>
<p>I agree that if it stresses even one kids, it's better to leave it out. People who know a student well will find out what they're doing anyway and in context. Strangers don't need to know. High achieving students usually get plenty of recognition anyway.</p>
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Gee, maybe the school should also stop publishing pictures of the football/baseball/basketball team, or the outcomes of the games, since that puts "stress" on the kid sitting on the bench or the one that didn't make the team at all?
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Chedva, that's exactly what I was thinking. You beat me to it. You certainly describe my son's HS, where academic excellence takes a back seat to athletic excellence.</p>
<p>A better analogy to sports would be publishing every kid on the team's picture along with his/her batting average; times; or whatever. I think students would complain, rightly, that they found such direct comparison intrusive and stressful.</p>
<p>Oh, I guess it's mediocrity that I turned down Northwestern University for my state school.</p>
<p>Sheesh.</p>
<p>Like other people have said, finances, family situations, anything - not mediocrity, for gosh sakes - could make a kid less-than-proud of his ultimate college choice. I know for one it's been real tough for me to accept that where I'm going is fine, no matter how much other kids (and teachers! and now newspapers!) brag about students going to Harvard or Yale or wherever. Some kids just want to move on from the rat race and stop being compared to everyone else. I have one teacher that asked almost every day in class who had gotten accepted where. All the big names? Oh, wow, amazing! I knew you could do it. Everyone else? Oh, well, that's okay. It's a good school, I guess. If some kid walked up to me about this newspaper article, I'd probably almost explode in frustration.</p>
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[quote]
Gee, maybe the school should also stop publishing pictures of the football/baseball/basketball team, or the outcomes of the games, since that puts "stress" on the kid sitting on the bench or the one that didn't make the team at all?
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</p>
<p>Participation in sports is optional. Participation in academics is not.</p>
<p>I think that a more suitable analogy would be if the school system decided to post everyone's height and weight in the newspaper (and let's do this for the staff as well as the students). </p>
<p>I think we can all understand that some people would be made uncomfortable by this. I think it's the same for post-high school plans.</p>
<p>Also, students participate in sports optionally with the assumption of competitiveness. Not all kids enjoy competing in the realm of academics. And secondly, outcomes of games are due principally to skill - the more skilled team had the better record. College choices are far more complicated. The "most skilled" kid is not going to be the one at Harvard necessarily. Maybe that's actually the richest kid. I guess we should publish family incomes in the paper, too, to clarify.</p>
<p>Finally, turning academics into a sports game (blech!) makes winners and losers. I don't really think learning should be like that at all.</p>
<p>At S1's and now S2's HS the students put up a display called "I really didn't want to go there anyhow" where each posted at least one rejection letter. One student who did not receive one, was overheard (sincerely) saying how bad she felt that she couldn't participate; she felt left out. The school in its infinite wisdom decided to remove it, the kids rebelled and held a demonstration, the display has now become a new "tradition." It really makes the whole process more bearable.</p>
<p>No newspaper pics here - our city and surrounding area is way too large. But I loved what my son's magnet school does for the seniors. Since entrance to this school is very competitive, there is no ranking and kids are encouraged to cheer one another on in all aspects of school life. A few weeks before graduation all seniors are asked to list their proudest accomplishment, thier best high school memory, ahd where they will be matriculating. There is a "Senior Night" during which each senior walks across the stage as an administrator reads these answers. What amazed me was how few of the students used this opportunity to brag of their sholarships or national awards but rather mentioned things such as attaining Eagle Scout or GS Gold Award, founding tutoring programs for inner city schools, being part of an academic or athletic team, etc. It was so encouraging to see our youth focus on their community rather than themselves. At graduation it was stressed that this is a class event and that no individual recognitions would be made. Both events highlighted the amazing support, respect and friendships these kids have for each other.</p>