Day 7: Honors

I have been chosen by the students at the school where I work to give the key note address at this year’s induction ceremony for the National Honors Society. I was quite honored. What do you say to these kids? “Congratulations for being smarter than everybody else”? I think I’ve got a good speech written that I will deliver tomorrow night. It is full of sage advice, humorous asides and lots of Thomas Jefferson. I structured the speech around their core principles of scholarship, leadership, community service and character, and then discussed how Jefferson embodied each of those qualities through different actions taken during his presidency, and then how they can apply those lessons to their own lives. I don’t even like Jefferson that much, but he seems to work since he is so malleable a historical figure. As I say in my speech, Jefferson is claimed as a hero to both the Right and the Left, and they are both correct.

Many of my AP students will be inducted, so that will be cool. Which reminds me of my own experiences as an AP U.S. History student at my old high school. Where I teach now, you can get into an AP class if you request it. But back in my day, you had to be recommended by your previous year’s teacher. My 10th grade history teacher refused to recommend me for AP, which really pissed me off. I had to figure out a way to circumvent her. I had to figure out a way to impress the venerable, Nixonesque (in a good way) AP U.S. teacher, J.G. I noticed that he often sat at lunch at a table with another teacher whom I would chat with from time to time, but who I knew wasn’t that bright. That was my opening. I joined them for lunch one day and struck up some debate regarding Vietnam with not-so-bright teacher. J.G. was impressed and asked me if I was signed up for his AP class. The plan worked like clockwork. “No, but I am very interested.” He informed the school office that I would be joining his AP class the next year, regardless of what my 10th grade history teacher thought.

I’m not sure whether I like the old way of needing a recommendation or allowing students in based on their professed interest. I can say that I do have some students in my current AP classes who should probably be in the regular level classes (mostly due to work ethic.) Perhaps if there had been a filter to determine whether they could (or would) really do the work they would have been in a better spot for them. But at the same time, when you have a situation like mine, where a student is self-motivated to push themselves and for whatever reason the person making the decision does not see it, then perhaps they should be given the chance.