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Is Being Valedictorian a Roadmap to Eminent Accomplishment?
- February 8, 2018
- Posted by: Yorktown Education Team
- Category: Graduates

They were called the academic pack. The students who always managed a high grade and often with seemingly little effort. The brains, the nerds, the geeks, as some called them, these were the people who would one day run our world.
They were also the students most likely to become the class Valedictorian, or at least, Salutatorian. Behind them, urging them on, were parents, teachers and family who fervently believed the valedictory path would secure a life of success.
But it didn’t always turn out that way.
Studies show that although most Valedictorians go on to graduate college, the majority settle into the highest tier of their field. While reliable workers with well-adjusted lives, most do not break through to eminent leadership roles.
The fact is that while academic grades are a good forecaster of self-reliance and the skill to conform with rules and protocols, they do not necessarily predict above average success. Academic grades more or less reward conformity. Often Valedictorians are the hardest workers, not the smartest. There’s also the case of trying to please the teacher rather than actually learning and retaining the lesson.
With little recognition of students’ passion for what they enjoy or love to learn about, the traditional system is not putting the individual student’s best interest first. Devoid of this support to ‘follow their passion’, students tend to fall into a gap of general education, most of which they find dull and uninspiring.
Yorktown Education knows the value of helping children of all ages discover their innate passion for learning. “Do What You Love” is the resounding refrain echoing throughout Yorktown Education from day one.
We believe that every child is gifted and deserves the opportunity to get in touch with what motivates them and where they find inspiration. Every student at Yorktown is seen as an individual with their own way of learning. We provide that level of attention, so that each student progresses at their own pace, without the stress of conforming to a standardized way of doing things.
That’s one of the fundamental things that sets Yorktown Education apart. Come by and take a tour of our campus. Meet our extraordinary staff and teachers. See for yourself what educational achievement looks like at the highest level.