It used to be that one of the great privileges of four years of hard work in high school would be the opportunity to be selected as the class valedictorian and getting a chance to address fellow students at graduation.  Not any more.  Or not at least in Montgomery County, MD.

My daughter graduated from high school in this county yesterday and one of the things that was noticably missing was the valedictory address.  I went to school in the same county and we did have a valedictorian back in the 1970’s.  As it turns out the county did away with class rank in 1993 and that was the interpreted by principals to mean that valedictorians were no longer necessary.  Instead we had two senior speakers yesterday.  They were both fine and I can picture either student as a valedictorian.  What a shame they were denied that opportunity.

This is yet another example of dumbing down our kids.  In their quest for equality, school administrators have taken away a key incentive and reward for hard work in success.  They always stress how important it is to work hard to succeed in life, yet at the same time they suppress it so that other students don’t feel inadequate.  If a student is that insecure, then there is a bigger problem. 

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