School honor rolls measure academic but not educational excellence. Honor rolls are a camouflage that gives letters priority over students and their potential.
Excellence in education applies the concepts of Howard Gardner, a respected professor of Education at Harvard. His approach is based on the nine areas of natural intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, visual, musical, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, spiritual and naturalist.
Honor roll concentrates largely on the linguistic and mathematical components. The late union leader Albert Shanker said: "What we teach in schools is too narrow, and in limiting what we teach largely to the analytic aspect of intelligence we cheat all children. Kids who are stronger in the creative and practical side of intelligence tune out. But it doesn't work well for the kids who are academic either. These kids don't find out about the limitations of book learning and they don't get the encouragement they need to develop other kind of smarts."
Honor rolls also label students. Labeling is the inability to celebrate the uniqueness of each student.
Case in point: When I taught marketing education, I had a student who was brilliant in class. When I approached the guidance counselor, she told me not to waste my time because he was retarded according to the IQ test. So, what happened? He earned a full scholarship to Johnson & Wales College, graduated "Who's Who," and was elected councilman at the age of 25. And he was labeled as retarded?
Another issue with honor rolls is grade pressure. In one study, 80 percent of students cheat. Is grade achievement a higher priority than character? Which is more important: a meaningful "C" or a meaningless "A"?
Lastly. How practical is the honor roll related to the challenges of life? Survey after survey indicate that grades are a low priority for a vast number of employers.
The majority of survey of employers rate attitude as the most important trait followed by interpersonal skills and time management. What are schools offering the other seven components of intelligence proposed by Gardner that address the challenges of life that include but are not limited to interpersonal skills and time management?
As a retired teacher and school board member, I've struggled with this issue internally as well debated the value of an honor roll with other educators.
Here's my bottom line conclusion: At best, honor rolls measure academic achievement. And as much as our culture celebrates achievement, we as individuals frequently have no control over its practice. If you question me, look at what is happening to the millions of effective employees who lost their jobs.
And let us not forget nepotism, politics and the old boy network, the real honor roll belongs to those innovative teachers who teach character and integrity and those are qualities that no one can take from us.
Joseph Wardy is a retired teacher. He lives in Randolph.