Don't Stop Winning

I’m bothered by a policy change at an Ohio high school that has eliminated the designation of valedictorian and salutatorian for graduating classes. It’s not because I came close myself, oh so many years ago. In fact, I was in the half of my graduating class that made the top half possible.

I’m disturbed because this is just the latest in an effort to destroy competitive excellence in our American culture. We are winners. That is at the heart of American Exceptionalism. Yes, I believe in that term. This country is exceptional. It is, in part, because we struggle to win.

But the students at Mason High School in Ohio will no longer compete for valedictorian and salutatorian distinctions in an effort to “reduce the overall competitive culture.”

Associate Principal Shanna Bumiller says it’s about making the students happy. She went on to say “it’s not just about the grade but it’s about the whole child.”

Bull Hockey.

Competition makes us better. Winning is the goal….not a participation certificate.

The whole goal of this decision is to reduce the overall competitive culture at the high school level. I think the sooner youngsters understand that life is about winning and losing, the better. Winning is the goal. Losing should be a temporary condition used to spur us on to ultimate victory.

Americans don’t tolerate losers. We don’t applaud participation. I like the words of soccer icon Mia Hamm who said, “The person that said winning isn’t everything…never won anything.”