To Mr. Dinan,
Imagine a world where students had their SAT scores and other personal information published on the Internet and in the local papers. Imagine local moms gossiping over coffee about whose child was the smartest, and chuckling over whose child was struggling. Imagine the shame certain students would feel if their SAT score was lower than their friends. Although our school has abolished class rank, and our schools newspaper has stopped posting seniors’ college decisions, our school has continued to post its quarterly honor roll, exposing private and sensitive information about students and their academic achievement to all of New Canaan.
I first noticed the adverse effects of our school’s honor roll as a freshman at the end of my first quarter of high school. The transition into high school was particularly rough for me, as I had switched from a private school and did not know anyone at NCHS, and this translated into my academic performance, which was very poor. I was very ashamed of myself for my poor grades, and I did not want my family or friends to know I was struggling, because I knew I could do better for myself. After the honor roll was published, which I did not make, I remember my mom and dad reading out all of the names, including their friends’ kids, and counting out how many made honors and high honors, using it as a way to translate to me how bad it was that I hadn’t made it. I remember that night scouring the newspaper to see which of my classmates had better grades than me and had made the honor roll, and feeling so defeated and embarrassed, knowing that I wasn’t just doing poorly in school, but that the whole town could see my failure. Seeing my name, not in the honor roll, was in no way a source of motivation for me and it ended up making me even less confident about my academic abilities. In addition, it made me feel incredibly isolated, as I was one of the small percentage of people who had clearly not made the honor roll.
I am not the only student who takes issue with the way our school weighs the honor roll and posts it in town newspapers. In a survey I sent out to the NCHS student body, 41% of the 91 students that responded, expressed that they felt stressed by the honor roll. These numbers should be alarming to our community, especially considering we are coming off the heels of two extremely stressful years for students who are only beginning to recover from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of my survey also concluded that 63% of the student body supports our honor roll being weighted. In the status quo, students who take Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes to expand their knowledge and challenge themselves are punished due to these classes not being weighted in the honor roll. Naturally, as some of these classes are taught at a college level, students’ grades are usually lower, which is why colleges weigh the grades in these classes to accurately reflect the knowledge, effort, and abilities of these advanced students. If NCHS prides itself on preparing its students for college, shouldn’t our honor roll be calculated the same way that a college admissions officer would?
To get another perspective of the issue aside from my Google Survey and other research, I interviewed Mr. Gregg Sloane, an NCHS Teen Talk counselor. Mr. Sloane told me that while working at another school during the pandemic, he “had noticed an increase in stress among the student body over the last few years, at the previous school he worked at, – coinciding with the pandemic.” I asked him if he believed that having a publicized honor roll would be positive and constructive for students and their mental health or damaging, to which he said, “It would be very harmful to students. A public honor roll would lead to even more stress and pressure from their parents, and allow parents to directly compare their children with their peers, increasing their already high expectations for their children.” Mr. Sloane is a trusted professional and understands the stress levels, and mental health struggles that teenagers face, so his advice and take on this are very valuable.
Would not publishing the honor roll take away valuable motivation for students? Would this take away a reward for high-achieving students? You may ask.
As of 2021, 77% of the NCHS student body made the honor roll, which signifies how the honor roll is less of an accolade and more of a participation award. The majority of students make the honor roll, so it does not accurately celebrate the highest achieving students, and instead, it only singles out the small portion of struggling students. The small boost of confidence that achieving the honor roll may give to a high performing student is greatly overshadowed by the shame and embarrassment of the 23% of students who will likely feel singled out and ashamed. To respond to many of the critics of ending the honor roll, who believe that the honor roll is a necessary competition for our students, I can point to neighboring towns: both Wilton High School and Darien High School, two very comparable and also high-ranking public schools, have made their honor rolls private. The privatization of the honor roll in Darien and Wilton has not negatively affected students’ results and the success of their schools. High performing students at New Canaan High School do not need the honor roll to reward them for their work, as these students already reap the benefits from their work, such as having opportunities to join groups such as the National Honors Society and a much higher chance of getting into a top university. It is completely illogical to say that the most successful students at New Canaan High School are motivated by a list in the newspaper, and not their goals of being accepted into a college or getting a scholarship. New Canaan High School claims to be trying to “destress” our school environment and culture and has attempted this through abolishing class rank. If we are so committed to “distressing” then why are we still using an honor roll and releasing the quarterly grades of students to our town’s newspapers?
I urge New Canaan High School to end the honor roll, and if this does not happen, I encourage the New Canaanite to stop posting it in our town newspapers. The honor roll is clearly not working, and this is evident in the number of students who report feeling stressed over it, unhappy with the weighting of grades, and who oppose the posting of our honor rolls in the newspaper. If we stopped posting our honor roll we would not be an outlier, as many other schools like Darien have, and if we ended the honor roll all together we would also not be the first school to do so. The students at New Canaan High School are extremely passionate about their studies and are some of the most motivated students in the nation, and we clearly do not need a divisive metric to encourage their academic performance. The last thing students need in the midst of immense pressure and stress, is school-sponsored shaming.
As one of the best high schools in the state, and the nation, we should lead the movement to de-stress our schools, and lessen the toxic and unnecessary comparisons between students and their counterparts. The honor roll is antiquated, disuniting, and unhealthy for students. In addition, it has not been proven effective in encouraging academic participation and improvement. Students’ academic record affects nobody else but themselves, and I believe it is imperative that they not be shared without their consent, whether that be in a town newspaper, or any other public forum. Continuing to post the honor roll is a dishonorable decision, and it will do more to shame the minority than empower the majority.
Sincerely,
Alex Arnold
NCHS junior
Well said!
This is a carefully researched and thoughtfully composed letter. Well done, Alex.
Incredibly said. I agree 100 %.
My kids have always made the honor roll but I agree with Alex. There is no need to make this list public. A child does not need the additional stress.
Alex, I see positives in you. Your distress with the honor roll publication has brought out some serious leadership and analytical skills. You WILL be successful. Good luck.
You make great points Alex. A student’s success in school should not be measured just in grades, but needs to be measured by the unique qualities of each student and their personal successes in a variety of ways.
Totally agree. My kids are well past high school, but I always thought it was hypocritical of the high school to be so careful about kids’ privacy on most matters, but then to publicly reveal what is effectively their GPA. Nobody’s business.
No pressure No Diamonds!
Well said, Alex. ” Your point about the implied dishonor for those 23% who are not listed is poignant and pertinent. Perhaps this is a form of public shaming for the minority more than a distinction for the majority. In any case, being one of 77% can hardly be considered an “Honor.’
Bravo, Alex! I give you a standing ovation.
No matter how you feel about this issue, this is a well written, well researched and well argued piece. It’s a good sign when our teens advocate for ourselves. Bravo Alex – you make New Canaan proud!! 👏
Well said, Alex, and I couldn’t agree with you more. Thank you for writing this.
Absolutely disagree, high honor students work extra hard and they deserve to be proud of their achievements !! … I am happy to show the whole world how hard they studied … the world out there is tough… so they have to be prepared for all the pressure after they finish HS , College…
Robert- to suggest that only those that work “extra hard” achieve honor roll is, in my opinion, not taking into account those that also work “extra hard” but due to other circumstances such as a learning disability etc do not meet the threshold of honor roll. It also does not take into account the rigor of classes each student takes. One student could work extremely hard in a honors level and not make honors where another could take a entry level class and do very well. Shouldn’t all be afforded the opportunity to be proud of their work regardless of the recognition in the paper?
Well written and researched however, I was initially in complete disagreement with not recognizing the extra effort and hard work of students. That is until Alex indicated that 77% of students made the honor role. I completely agree that this serves to shame or single out students who are struggling and does little to acknowledge those who are actually excelling. With 77% of students making honor role that implies that over 1/3 of these students are actually below average, doesn’t it? Again, this does little to celebrate success but more to alienate the 23%. I honestly don’t know the parameters for making the honor role or if there is grade inflation but I would wholeheartedly support a publication of just the top 10 or 20% of students for a given semester, celebrating their achievement. Thank you Alex for your well articulated perspective.
James – you’re on to something here. That’s a fine solution and I agree!
“With 77% of students making honor role that implies that over 1/3 of these students are actually below average, doesn’t it?”
No. That does not necessary mean that they are below average. They just didn’t make it to the honor roll. You shouldn’t just assume that because they didn’t make it to the honor roll, that they are struggling. That kind of assumption might lead to bullying of those who didn’t make it to the list. Also we should respect the privacy of those who made it to the list.
James, please stop using real math or logic — it’s upsetting to me too — and consider Lake Wobegon math.
“With 77% of students making honor role that implies that over 1/3 of these students are actually below average, doesn’t it?” Is based on the honor roll being some measure of school performance (likely grades) and 50% being the average. I think the math is pretty straightforward, however, if you want to debate the merits or methodology applied to get on the honor roll than that is another issue. When I say that a student may be struggling, it is in this context that I use the term. It is not to imply they are in any way less hard working or less intelligent but simply not performing as well based on this measure.
However, it does sound like you did not fully read my comment as I agreed that publishing the top 77% of students serves more to alienate the 23% and was not in favor of it. I did propose publishing a list of the top 10%-20% to celebrate their performance and success. Of course, if they are ashamed to be on the list or feel they will face bullying, I am sure they can opt out of that as well.
Diamonds are the result of the messy business of mining and labor force exploitation.
Does this articulate teenager deserve a less clever and more relevant analogy?
No, he doesn’t need your analogy at all. Why? Because he is eloquent and set it out so well for you to understand .
I agree with him completely, especially in a town as small as ours. I suspect it matters more to the parents than the students. I fear we miscalculate some of the toxicity the well intentioned pressure on our students to do well, produces. I personally have two adult daughters thriving in different countries. Their impetus to move abroad was driven by their negative experience with HS here. Both clever students but couldn’t accept the culture. Now I accept that is extreme, but I promise all the none proud, non extrovert, non overly sociable student is being damaged, little by little. This writer is experienced it and is eloquently telling us why it is wrong. Our job is to listen!
I admire the obvious effort and emotion that the writer has put into this piece, but respectfully disagree with the idea that celebrating academic performance via the publication of the High Honor and Honor Roll is a detrimental practice.
My understanding is that the NC school district, from K-12 has the goal of providing our students with the foundational education and skills to succeed in an academic setting. The NCHS High Honor and Honor Roll have qualification thresholds, as does admittance to an AP course. If 77% of our high school students are meeting these honor roll thresholds, our public school district – which is an attractive amenity to many families when they seek to move here- is doing its job, not handing out a participation award.
Students learn at different levels and achieve at different levels – just as there are vastly different levels, from person to person, related to athletic achievement, talent within the fine arts, or professional achievement. Life is competitive, there are awards and honors to recognize high performers across all walks of life — and in addition to offering recognition, honors and awards can inspire and motivate. No one is mandating that everyone pursue these honors and awards but why shouldn’t we acknowledge those who earn them?
The quarterly publication of the High Honor and Honor Roll is the celebration of academic achievement in our community and we should be pleased to publicize the large group of NCHS students who qualify for this recognition.
Late to respond but like Alex, I feel strongly about this subject and wholeheartedly agree with what he so eloquently says . I know that it’s been at least since 2011, when my eldest was a freshman at Nchs, that roughly 75% of the students made the honor roll. Not much prestige in that imv and rather has the negative effect of highlighting the 25% who did not make. .