Honor Society
At one of our schools we started an honor society which in effect was a service organization. The honor students were obliged to help out in the school. They led study sessions, assisted teachers during heavy activity sessions, Tutored other students were involved in graduation excersise planning and execution. planned birthday parties, school anniversary, and summer picnics. All Honor students also helped to make new students feel welcome and all wore a pin identifying them as honor students. They are recognized at their graduation and can put a note in their resume'
This is a fab idea==tell me more. I like recognizing the students.
What do you have to do to implement a similar idea at your school, Jennifer?
This is a great idea that. Our campus honors students on a monthly basis for a variety of things. Attendance, excellent grades... Their names are displayed in a frame for the year.
Since this began, their is a renewed sense of honor, especially for those students whose names are displayed. They often share this excitement with new students they become friends with.
The Honor Society is a great idea. We have an Honor Society at our school as well, although it is mostly a means of recognition rather than student involvement and participation. We also post the names of those students who made Honor Roll at the end of each session. I like the idea of current students being involved in the welcoming process of new students, this is an area that we have not yet developed and I would definitely like to consider.
How do you plan to implement these ideas, Kathleen? Do you need support from other departments within the school?
Our campus is considering a charter for a nationally recognized honor program. I am excited to hear such positive response from others about having an honor society as part of the organization. I am really interested in how to get the honorees more involved with the student body at large. We also have student appreciation days at finals week and serve the students lunch and we have awards ceremonies each quarter.
Katheryn, many honor societies set some service objectives in their charter. With the approval and support of the school, they develop quarterly and/or annual objectives for projects to improve school life. Do your students have to earn lunch or is it open to everyone, regardless of performance?
This sounds like a great idea. What is the criteria you use for a student to qualify for the Honor Society? My students wear Lanyards and the pin is a great way to recognize them.
Criteria for an honor society usually focus on academic performance but can also include school citizenship, Constance. If you are creating your own organization, you can set the rules to reflect the behavior you want to reward. There are national organizations [ex. Alpha Beta Kappa and Who's Who] that have established criteria for membership.
We have an honor society at a school where I teach were students serve as "ambassadors" at social situations. They are considered "leaders" and help mentor other students. It looks good on their resume too!
I think an honor society would be well received at our school. We often hear from high-achieving students who feel invisible. They show up, work hard, do the right thing, but see no resources devoted to recognizing or supporting them.
We participate in the National Technical Honor Society and our students and partents/friends/family are always very proud when their students are honored at one of the We 3-4 Induction Ceremonies we hold each year. For our students to be inducted they must have a 3.5 CGPA or better and 90% or better overall attendance. They must also receive at least one facutly nomination and then those nominations are reviewed by the Campus Director and Director of Education (me). These students receive a membership card, membership plaque, lapel pin, and special tassel they can wear at graduation.
We have also implemented an honors program in our trades departments where students who earn a 3.0 GPA or better and have 95% or better attendance each term are invited to join the program. These students work on special projects each term outside of class hours that help enhance what they are learning in their programs and that can be used as examples of "work" experience as they are going through the interveiw process.
Mindy, has your Career Services department incorporated this honor into their interactions with prospective employers? It would seem to me that employers would find graduates with these honors to be very attractive. Hopefully, that distinction in turn motivates students to greater achievement.
