<p>No, I'm not complaining about sharing the honor with another person. I'm complaining about our school's total number of 13 valedictorians! Ridiculous, no? What's even more irritating, we vote for who gets to speak at graduation. Now, we have #8 as our speaking valedictorian? Do these people and the school not know that valedictorian means top of the class and that the speech is reserved for #1? Numero Uno?</p>
<p>It was a 5-4-4 vote, and people said, "You get everything already... or she'll make a better speech (but I've made speeches better than her... and they acknowledged it then too). Better yet, I love this one: "Wouldn't it be funny if he didn't get the speech?"</p>
<p>I don't really care if they think she is a better speaker. I don't really care if they think she's a better representation of our ridiculously large group of 13 valedictorians. I don't really care if they think she's a better person. The bottom line is, the speech belongs to me, #1 in the class. </p>
<p>I'm not even the person who stops at nothing to make sure I take more AP's. I even took one less AP course to take something interesting. But now that I know I am the one who has earned the supposed honor of being valedictorian (singular), I expect to obtain my right to deliver the speech.</p>
<p>What the heck? The very definition of valedictorian is someone who is #1. It doesn't matter who if you're the best speaker or not, the right goes to the one who is #1. You need to complain to administration on how they select "valedictiorian(s)."</p>
<p>My school is dumb like that also. Anyone who gets above a 4.0 cumulative is a "valedictorian". In my class we're probably gonna have like 14 "valedictorians" even though I'm the only true one. tbh I don't really care, on my college apps its gonna say class rank: 1.</p>
<p>For the love of a good arguement, how should a large school choose the #1 student?</p>
<p>If you choose the student with the highest gradepoint carefully calculated by taking ONLY weighted classes and avoiding ANYTHING that could bring down an average, are you really choosing the BEST student in the class?</p>
<p>The Valedictorian of my D's senior class is graduating with the minimum number of credits you can graduate with: 20 credits. (My D, who is #15 in the class has 27.) The V ONLY took classes that were weighted. She did not take more weighted classes, she took fewer OTHER classes.</p>
<p>The difference between #1 and #15 is 4.5 vs. 4.33. If #15 had NOT taken band every semester, sociology, current events, psychology, etc etc, her grade point would not have been brought down by these non-weighted classes. She probably would not have been #1, but could easily have been in the top 8. So how do you differentiate between the top 8?</p>
<p>My concern is if the class experiences, the course loads, the well roundedness of the highschool experience count AT ALL, one must choose #1 based on several factors, not just gradepoint. Calculating on JUST weighted classes just is not valid.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best practice would be to obsolete the concept of "valedictorian."</p>
<p>All that said, jenkster, CONGRATULATIONS on your fine acheivement and best wishes in college. I'm sure you will be stellar.</p>
<p>You need more life experience. You are graduating from high school now and sadly it seems as if you have yet to learn that rankings and rules are arbitrary. If the rules to calculate the "#1 student" were different it is highly likely that you would no longer be the top student in your class. If that's too hard to understand, look at the Democratic nomination process. Had it not been the case that delegates were awarded proportionally but awarded by a winner takes all system, Hillary Clinton would have wom the Democratic nomination along time ago. Funny how rules can easily change rankings... That's why they are both arbitrary.</p>
<p>Also, your peers felt that this girl can give a better speech than you can... so using that metric, she's technically the best student to represent your class. Again, funny how rules/metrics can change ranking. </p>
<p>Seriously though, if you are not as good of a public speaker and are not as widely respected by your peers, you should not be the one to represent and address the class at graduation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't really care if they think she is a better speaker. I don't really care if they think she's a better representation of our ridiculously large group of 13 valedictorians. I don't really care if they think she's a better person. The bottom line is, the speech belongs to me, #1 in the class.
[/quote]
Dude, quit complaining and take this disappoint in a mature fashion. Your peers clearly think that this girl is a better leader than you are. Frankly, your post shows a lack of maturity, which is a characteristic that is found in all true leaders.</p>
<p>I can understand how you could be disappointed, but you need to realize that people have a right to choose who they want representing them.</p>
<p>Seriously, who cares who gives the speech? It's something you (or anyone else for that matter) won't even remember two years from now. I'm valedictorian at our school, and there isn't even the slightest recognition for it. Do I care? No.</p>
<p>I think being valedictorian is more symbolic, and so is giving the speech. I believe you have a right to complain, because it truly is not fair.</p>
<p>At my school, Val doesn't even mean highest marks. Marks only make up 40% of the criteria. 40% is based on school participation and attendance, and 20% is based on speaking skills.</p>
<p>I read in a newspaper of one school that had 15 valedictorians. Instead of having them all give speeches, the school made them line up and had each one say a sentence or two on the microphone. Lame.</p>
<p>Wow I would be totally po-ed. Valedictorian should be one person, two at the MOST if two were both extremely qualified and the difference was like an A- vs. an A.</p>
<p>Speechifying, as our President would say, is not for everybody. My daughter was delighted to finish her high school career 5th-ranked of 425 graduating seniors. She was accepted to the college of her "dreams" and didn't have to agonize over speaking in front of several hundred people.</p>
<p>How did you feel about that, aerableparable? Did the school pick out one or two of the valedictorians to serve as spokesmen/women for the class? ... I actually don't have a problem with multiple honorees, if they were all pretty equally deserving. At my daughter's school, students hell-bent on being valedictorian would take nothing but advanced and AP classes. My daughter opted to do newspaper and drama as electives, neither of which were weighted classes. She wanted to experience some joy during her four years there. Therefore, her GPA was not as high.</p>
<p>I never implied that she was indeed more popular or better at making a speech. It's the girl and Catholic valedictorian majority that thinks that - so I'm sorry if you jumped to conclusions, newjack (and to defend this, I'll point out that she was Miss _HS, I was Mr. _HS based on popularity, school and community involvement, and academics).</p>
<p>I do value all of your viewpoints though, because there are many ways people look at this situation, which at the moment is very unjust to my perception. Valedictorian speech (though I didn't pursue valedictorian status in the most aggressive manner since #1 was secure and if I tied, it would've been with a very good friend) was something I've dreamt of giving for ever. </p>
<p>I simply needed to vent (I haven't really done that publically cause I still respect the girl very much), so thanks to your responses of understandind and the devil's advocates.</p>
<p>There is rarely anything truly fair about class rank or valedictorianship. One can play the game with weighted courses or <em>gasp</em> cheating. Many of our past vals have been well known cheaters and the current one was even caught by a teacher. The title matters for a flash in time. You'll probably find that most of your classmates in college were in the top 10 or 10% of their HS class and nobody cares.</p>
<p>ACK-- i didn't mean to imply anything negative related to OP! Just that no school that I know of does the ranking fairly, don't even know if it's possible. And that the annoyance of the situation fades quickly next fall.</p>