海角大神

Last weekend, I was at a graduation ceremony where students with top grades stood to be recognized and the colleges they will be attending were announced.

It鈥檚 a common practice. But after聽this spring's college cheating scandal, there are signs of rethinking around such customs.聽

A group at Palo Alto High School in California that announcing college plans perpetuates a 鈥渢oxic鈥� culture of competition. As editors of the student paper, they broke with a decades-old tradition and chose not to publish showing which colleges seniors are headed to in the fall. 鈥淲e hope this decision sparks discussion about the values and priorities of students, families and community members,鈥� they wrote.

On the face of it, the map just presents facts, argue some students. But as the editors saw it, the cumulative effect of the map, plus constant discussions about who did and didn鈥檛 get into certain schools 鈥撀燼nd a day set aside to wear college T-shirts 鈥撀燾reated an environment that wasn鈥檛 inclusive. Other student papers the map in recent years.

Instead,聽the editors comments from students and faculty describing a range of post-graduation choices, like the military and community college. One teacher-adviser included a reminder he often gives: 鈥淐ollege is a match, it is not a reward.鈥澛犅�

Our stories for you today feature resiliency, heroism, and the satisfying feeling of rooting for a hometown team that is finally getting its due.