Wed, 5/25 HW Q

[Jay Levine]

What would you say is the "telos" of the National Honor Society?
Which categories would you base admission on, and would you weigh some
of them more heavily than others? Should anyone in the top 10% of the
class be admitted, even if they've taken easier classes than the
student in the 89th percentile who takes all APs? Discuss...

[Nick Roy]

I think the goal of the national honor society is to create an incentive for kids to try hard and strive to become one of the members because of the benefits being in the NHS provides. I think that merit should be weighed very heavily, but it should also have to do with how the kid presents himself/herself inside and outside of school. For example, you could have a really smart kid who makes extremely bad decisions or vice versa, a "middle of the road" kid who tries extremely hard. In this way, I also think that you could have not all AP students. Just because you take AP classes, doesn't mean you're a model NHS student and just because you're only an Honors student doesn't mean you're not a model NHS student.

 

[bridget stemmler]

I believe that the telos for the National Honor Society is to praise academic achievement in combination with the extracurriculars that NHS deems worthy (volunteering and all that). If you are stupid and yet spend every friday night at a soup kitchen, you should have the same chance of getting in as the person who gets straight a's then throws trash at homeless people in his spare time. (both of these chances should be nonexistent) Being part of the NHS is showing BOTH academic and extracurricular excellence. 

[Misa Tran]

The goal of the National Honors Society is to praise the merit and achievements of those individuals and give students a goal to focus on throughout the school years. Well again, effort and academics is always appreciated while you have to be a well rounded student with extracurricular activities as well. Those will be some factors to judge upon and it gives an opportunity for students to strive beyond being a straight A student. 

[Rhianna Waterman]

The goal of the National Honor Society is to reward the students that not only work hard, but are also well-rounded students. I believe that admission should be based on the merit of a student, as well as the extracurricular activities the student participates in; any hardworking, quailified, student deserves to take part in this program, even if they don't recieve the best grades. The student, once accepted, may become motivated by the oppurtunities and benefits he/she recieves from the NHS program. Not every advanced placement student might participate in extracurricular acitives, that individual might just be smart. I don't think it would be fair to only hold this program for "smarter" students. Teachers should recommend certain students in cp classes that are hardworking and participate in outside activies; it seems like the fairest option!

[Jaclyn Solimine]

The Goal of the National Honor Society is to reward and show praise for students who do well in school and are role models for their community. Of course, grades should come into consideration and admission should be highly weighted on them. Anyone who is really trying in school can get above a C. Next to that, they should also participate in some form of volunteering and possibly even an extracurricular activity. If someone just gets good grades or just does volunteer work, they may deserve to be admitted too, but I think students who have a little bit of both of these aspects are better suited. Essentially, they should be good role models and a positive influence.  

[Phil]

Along with my classmates, I believe that the National Honor Society should accept not just smart students who are in high classes, well rounded students who participate in extra caricular activities in and outside of school should be accepted

[Adelise Roberts]

I agree with everyone basically, people in the NHS should be well rounded as well as smart.  The telos of NHS is to persuade kids into working harder because it looks good on things like college applications. 

[Emily DelDotto]

As everyone else has said, I believe the National Honor Society should accept students who not just do well in school but who are also well-rounded. Merit should be a major factor, but it also should have to do with whether the student is involved in extracurricular activities and is a good role model. The telos of this is to reward students for their academic achievement as well as an incentive for students to do well. 

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Phil <psassof...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Stephanie Pelletier]

I believe the National Honor Society's telos is striving for excellence.  They want to be represented by high achieving students with well rounded backgrounds and lifestyles who are willing to "go the extra mile."  I would base admissions off of not only academics but a person's character and ability to positively affect the community as a whole.  A student that simply gets good grades isn't necessarily a relatable person.  Individuals who exhibit effort and success are the ones who deserve this.  Levels are all relative to prior occurrences. The ones who go above and beyond should get rewarded, no matter who they are.   

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Phil <psassof...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Calé Frost]

I think the telos of NHS is to promote hardworking, well-rounded, and capable students with leadership qualities and potential to succeed and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps. Criteria for admission should be based on a mix of academic performance and involvement in the community/extracurricular activities/other proactive qualities. You want a group of Renaissance students, so to speak. Say the #1 student of the class was not involved in anything and whose only positive attribute was perfect grades—I don't think this person would qualify for a spot in NHS because he or she is not a well-rounded individual.

[Maia Johnson]

The goal of the NHS is to do just what it name says, provide honor to those who are lucky enough to be admitted into it.  You should have to be not only an excellent student in all aspects (grades, level of classes, teacher recomedations etc.) but you have to be able to prove that you can be a well rounded individual with high aspirations. Merit should be weighed in these ways, ensureing that the most qualified students are admitted, grades arn't everything, if you participate positivley in society and show that you have motivation to get things done in life and reach your goals. I believe that these types of things should be weighed heavier than grades.  You could be the smartest kid in the world but you dont try very hard or participate in activities or clubs in or out of school.  Classes should be weighed differently cp schould obviously be weighed less than AP, if someone is excelling ing cp classes and it puts them in the top 10% of the class one has to question if they are working to capacity.  It is common sense, higher level classes are weighed more heavily.

 

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Phil <psassof...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Austin Ratkevicius]

I believe that the telos of the National Honor Society is to
acknowledge of the deeds done by its members, and to encourage others
to work harder. I wouldn't take into account class level of the
admissions, but I would have it ranked with harder classes obviously
being worth more. I think the class level needs to be considered more
instead of people opting to take the easier class.

[Michaela Pierro]

I think the "telos" of the National Honor Society is to reward students who are well-rounded and are academically successful and to motivate students not in the National Honor Society to try harder. Admission to NHS should be based off academic success and extracurricular activities. I think AP classes should be weighed more than Honors and CP classes because they are more advanced.

 

 

On Wed, May 25, 2011 at 2:40 PM, Jay Levine <jaymle...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Zachary Brown]

The "telos" of the National honor society is to honor well-rounded students that have gone above and beyond during their time in school. The criteria for admission should not be based upon grades alone. After school activities, community service, and the degree of difficulty of the classes the students have taken. It is not fair to admit a student that took all College Prep. classses and got distinction to get in over an Honors and A.P. level students that recieved High Honor Roll. The Honors level students has had to try harder to earn their merit, while the Coolege Prep. student may have not put in as much effort to their classes.

[Emily Lawler]

I would say that academics do play a very important part in selection
for the NHS, but they aren't the only factor. Community service and
extra cirriculars are also part of the well-rounded applicant. I think
that it should not be based purely off of performance in AP classes
because people may be working to the best of their ability and getting
good grades in a CP course. If they are responsible enough to take
courses that will challenge them but will not be too overwhelming,
they are no dummy. Would you rather accept a student taking all AP
courses but is barely passing? They would have overestimated
themselves and their abilities and may not be the most responsible
choice. I also don't think that a student who has perfect grades but
doesn't do anything else but schoolwork should be accepted. NHS
students are supposed to be a good representation of the best and be
the best leaders, not the best scholars.

[Egan Davis]

The telos of the National Honors Society is to encourage kids to try their hardest and get good grades so they can be in this sort of elite club. NHS is good because it can make the smart, hard-working kids feel good about themselves and their work  ethics. I honestly don't think that acceptance into NHS should be on just grades alone. Such factors as community service, extracirricular activities like clubs and sports should also be taken into account. It also seems a bit unfair that lower level classes get honor roll and yet an AP student who works their butt off doesnt make it in. It might seem a bit unfair, but I think NHS should just be restricted to Honors or higher students. But thats just my personal opinion.

[Emily Lawler]

Quick note, I DO think AP courses should weigh more than CP, but even
applicants taking no AP and just CP should still be considered.

On May 25, 2011, at 2:40 PM, Jay Levine <jaymle...@gmail.com> wrote:

[George Bonner]

I think that the purposebof NHS is to promote getting good grades as
well as being a good all around citizen. Admission would be based on
grades and extracurricular activities. If they are taking lower level
classes and excelling in them, then they should probably be moved up a
level. It was the AP student's choice to take that difficult class.
Ergo of he/she doesn't make honor roll, that is his doing.