Am I really old enough now that my baby brother has graduated high school? That he's almost 18? That he might no longer need the advice of his older sister? Never. I refuse to give up the advice giving. He might not need me for much more than that but I am sure, the advice will always be welcomed. Right, Kellen? Always.
Paxton and I drove over yesterday and watched as my little brother (all 6'3 of him) walked down the aisle, picked up his diploma, and moved his tassle to the left. Another ending. And another beginning. We sat next to my mom, noticing the tears streaming down her face every now and then. I am sure it's the strangest combination of happiness, relief, pride, and sadness that's occuring. It's an ending and beginning. It's exciting and it's scary. It's taken forever to get him here and it's flown by, almost overnight.
Being a parent is probably the most profound thing to ever happen to someone. It makes us grow, it tests our resolve, it strengthens us, weakens us, transforms us. Most of us will never make it out unscathed. The upside? God gave us each and every child for a reason. Gave US. You and me. These children. A reason. He wouldn't have given them to us if He weren't also planning to equip us with the graces necessary to do our jobs. As Danielle Bean says in her book, "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called." We just have to keep listening and heeding the call.
As an aside, does anyone have ANY idea when they started having more than one valedictorian? LIke, say, oh I don't know, EIGHT? No kidding. My brother graduated from a fairly large high school in a bigger city. Does that warrent more than one valedictorian? Um....I'm thinking "NO". Is it a sign of the times? Are we just beginning to celebrate mediocrity? Isn't the valedictorian supposed to be that one stellar student that excelled in every area, not only academically but socially, emotionally, intellectually? That one student that goes above and beyond in every area ALL the time? Isn't that like having four or five mvp's in a game? That was just a head scratcher for me. Steve and I had already decided that we were homeschooling after the 6th grade, but that really drove the decision home for us. For the most part, we're a society that seems to be raising children and therefore adults, who believe they are special just because...well, just because. That, my friends, does not breed humility, motivation, charity, mercy, generosity or Christ's love for neighbor.
And aren't those virtues the ones which we most want our children to embody?
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3 comments:
As a teacher, I can tell you I am far more worried about the students are disconnected, angry (very angry), and not held accountable to anything. I think too many kids grow up feeling unloved and insignificant. I see it many, many times everyday. Those kids always far outnumber the "spoiled brats" who feel entitled. And frankly, the entitled kids don't bother me as much because I know it's only a matter of time until they figure out they aren't as wonderful as they think they are. Remember, they have much further to fall when they do stumble.
I'm also not sure I see the connection with your argument via the multi-valedictorian thing. Those kids have all worked their butts off achieving a perfect or near perfect G.P.A. I'm sure none of them feel entititled. I'd bet they all feel exhausted.
Overall, I just think to myself "Grace and Love."
Just my 2 cents :)
Mistalyn! So nice to hear from you!
Valdectorian is about a lot more than just good grades. That's just a good start. For example, there were two students graduating with Kellen who were also recieving their AA degrees from the local community college. Did they receive ANY mention? Uh, no. And I'm pretty sure, most college courses are quite bit more challenging than getting an A in high school woodshop. It's not tough to get straight A's in regular high school classes. Just MY two cents. :)
"co-valedictorians"--in case of a tie.
Per wikipedia:
The title is generally awarded based on the calculated total credits of grades (overall GPA), a senior vote, the amount of dedication to certain extracurricular activities, the academic weight of classes taken, or SAT/ACT scores[citation needed] . In other schools the position may be elected by the school body, or appointed directly by the school administration based on a more complex system of merit (rather than grades alone). Some schools may likewise feature "co-valedictorians." This may be done in the case of a tie, as part of a Latin honors system, or to promote some form of affirmative action such as gender or racial balance.
One reason that they might award multiple valedictorians is for college scholarship purposes. I know that my college awards a special full ride to any high school valedictorian as long as the high school designates them so.
I graduated 6th in my high school class of 560 something. We had a traditional valedictorian - therefore no scholarship for me there. Another friend of mine graduated 28th in her class of 600 plus and got it because that high school classified the top 40 students as valedictorians (anyone with an over 4.0 GPA - it's all of those "weighted" classes).
I don't know for sure that is why your brother's school did it, but I sure wish my school had!
I do agree with your point about entitlement however!
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