Every student contributes to his or her high school in some way—whether with athletic abilities, academic achievements, cheery dispositions, personality, or even a combination of these. Each individual trait has its merit, and adds something to the school as a whole, making for a better, more diverse environment. It is natural that these traits should be celebrated equally. However, at UC, as well as many other schools across the country, academic recognition tends to lurk in the shadow of athletics.
Though obviously unintentional, UC’s recognition of academic achievements is somewhat lacking, particularly when compared to that of sports. By now, every student on campus should be able remember at least one of the multiple sports-related shout-outs given during the past year. From the morning drum-lines to the daily bulletin announcements, athletics at UC are well and rightfully appreciated. Unfortunately, by contrast, academic-related events, such as Debate Team or Academic League competitions, are underrepresented and underreported.
As a result of this, students who may not participate in sports are likely to feel excluded. In fact, when everyone around the school—or at least everyone involved in athletics—has their team’s victory broadcast to the entire student body, it is difficult to avoid feeling a sense of detachment. Senior Emily Kurtz attested to this when she said, “It’s not really fair to kids who don’t play athletics. I feel like there is a lack [of academic celebration], and if we did do more of it, more students will feel included.”
Certainly, if UC incorporates more recognition for its academically focused events, thereby including more students, morale would increase. According to Principal Jeff Olivero, with all of the new “rah-rah” he has incorporated into the last school year, “We’ve seen a vast increase in the number of students that participated in our activities. I’d say it doubled [since last year] in some places, […] and part of this is due to campus climate.” Assuming this is a constant trend, an equal celebration of academic and sports achievements would surely increase student involvement.
According to the International Child and Youth Care Network website, the majority of this is already established as fact. Generally, an increase in celebration leads to higher individual confidence, which eventually raises morale as a whole (cyc-net.org). The problem is not that UC doubts the benefits of encouragement—as a school, it definitely promotes honoring students for their academic excellence; the problem is that it does not celebrate academic excellence it as much as it should.
Admittedly, sports lends itself to celebration more than academics do. It is much easier to publically congratulate a team’s success than that of an obscure group of honor student’s straight A’s. However, that does not eliminate the students’ need or the administrators’ duty to seek out more alternative forms of praise. According to a website dedicated to recognizing individuals, there are many more ways to convey appreciation than a ceremony at the end of the semester (recognitionisrewarding.com). At the moment, a greater focus must be placed on increasing academic recognition.
While some students may not realize it, UCHS is a high-achieving school, holding an Academic Performance Index (API) score of 797, according to the 2010 Base API website—and, as Olivero would say, the rank of one of San Diego’s “Top Five” (api.cde.ca.gov). Our school is jam-packed with dedicated students who bring their own talents and ideas to UC, and all of them deserve to be recognized.