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Grace Ordonez

Bostick

English 8

14 April 2011

Black or White. Good or Bad. Tall or Short. Labels are used over and over again to

identify not only inanimate objects, and abstract ideas, but people from all walks of life. The

hyped-up “Social Scene” is infamous for utilizing labels on celebrities, fashion, music, and

movies. The Feds formulate labels every day to let society know who is part of the Working,

Middle, and Upper class. What is the most interesting of all is that the education system loves to

label children any moment possible. It is for “beneficial” purposes they say. Frightening as it is

now a days, a children’s intelligence is now labeled by which classes they are taking: Honors or

Regular. Does categorizing students to fit into certain, pre-constructed molds really help students

to succeed and become more independent? So what values and ideas are children learning at

school that the rest of society seems to turn a blind eye to? American schools represent the

nation’s educational agenda: what children are being taught on a daily basis. Alas, they are being

taught that labeling not only themselves, but others, is a successful way to divide people: based

upon how successful they are now and how successful they will be. There is more to school than

Honors or Regular classes. Educators forget that school is about helping pupils succeed equally

as a whole rather than by “groups” at different levels. If school children are labeled as Honors or

Regular, then the full potential of the students will be limited.

What does “Honors” and “Regular” really mean? It appears by the name that one is more

prestigious and respected than the other. In reality, one is not better than the other. There are
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major differences between the two but there should not be a difference in the value of either one.

“AP students [Honors classes] are expected to have a heavier work load than regular students”

(Babaie). Because of a more demanding amount of work needed, this Honors label gives off a

“nose in the air” sort of persona. It oozes out the words, “We are all better than you.” AP

students (which are considered part of the honors curriculum) must do a vast amount of reading

that is independent from any teacher assistance. Therefore, these children must understand

classroom material by themselves (Babaie), whereas regular students can rely more heavily on

the teacher for help. That is the difference: the learning pace and method. It gives no real insight

upon what the student can learn, will learn, and how they learn. The classes already have a

predetermined route therefore the students will follow the molded path provided for them. It does

not mean that because they are in any one type of class, that the class reflects their intelligence

level and their full educational potential. All it really translates into is that student is taking route

“X” and becoming an “X student” where as another student is taking route “Z” and becoming a

“Z student”. “X” and “Z” are just labels just like honors and regular are. Does this label really

help the student succeed and reach beyond the horizon into new knowledge? It does not. This is

just one key element that justifies just how misleading labels can be.

When first seeing a caterpillar, most individuals would just think the poor creature to be

slow, lazy, and quite honestly repulsive. Upon seeing this caterpillar take into a beautiful,

colorful form, these same individuals are stunned at the amazing ability of the butterfly. What

happened? The problem here was preconception. The individual already had a preconceived

image of what the caterpillar was and could achieve by what it looked like or did—a label. That

is the same concept that is found today in schools across the nation. Students are either this or

that, here or there, or up or down. According to the video “Removing School Labels”, “We all
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have some type of a label. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Schools define strengths in

different ways.” In this case, honors would be the butterfly of the education system because to

educators, honors students are “skilled” and “gifted”. Based on societal standards and a

simplistic A-F grading system, educators classify honors students as exceeding. The reality is

that they are only exceeding in a certain type of math, a certain type of reading, and certain type

of writing. If a student does not “fit the mold of schooling, or if your strength doesn’t fit that

particular mold, then all of a sudden you get a particular label and that label sticks with you and

goes forward (“Removing School Labels”)”. A label is like a virus. It penetrates and influences

your mind and body.

This labeling epidemic also leads to the problem of academic division: students are being

segregated into groups based upon one school’s perspective on education. Teachers allow the

labels of honors and regular to influence the outlook of students. Because of this, it is believed

that regular students are not able to learn as fast or thoroughly as honors students. This ideology

that divides these two types of students (honors and regular) is parallel to that of the segregation

of the 1960s between black and whites. The segregation between these two types of learning

styles was thought to be beneficial to the student population. In reality, it worships a small

percentage of children and retains that glory from the rest of the students (Tat). According to

Nancy Ward from “Nancy Ward on Labels and Schools”, she was a victim of school labeling

and its traumatizing effects. She says, “It really bothered me a lot that we were segregated and I

didn’t really understand why.” Is this really the solution to different learning styles?

The first step towards educational equality is that of understanding. Educators must

understand that the grading system in place is not fully functional. It hinders students to base

their success on a letter and not a social scale. According to the National Education Association
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of the United States, basing success on a social scale will be a more successful grading structure

than As or Bs. The social rating system is based on five categories: ability to learn, industry,

leadership, team work, and social qualities. Because of this social rating scale, Teachers are more

eager to concentrate on how well the student is doing socially. The system focuses on other

qualities that challenge educators to not labels students, but address their areas of improvement.

“Districts can use multiple factors to identify students – not just intelligence test scores –

recognizing that giftedness takes many forms (Robinson). Only through innovative ideas can

labels be broken. Educators must create a program where students are not labeled but are

individually assessed to determine their capabilities and needs. Therefore, segregation and

separation can be dismantled.

It is easy to get caught up into routinely being labeled or labeling others. It is even easier

to accept the fact that society continues to do so. Why? Because that is the norm and it is

expected of everyone. That is just the way it is. Instead, it is time for students of all learning

styles and abilities to take a stand on being categorized into regular and honors students. Instead,

they should be seen as a student that is unique and individually acknowledged—not segregated

into a certain type of learner. Labeling any student is only hindering their ability to learn the way

they are naturally meant to learn and the way they desire to learn. It will only be a matter of time

before educators realize that it is not about As or Bs on a report card, it is about educating

children for life.

Works Cited
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Babaie, Sofia. "AP vs Regular." The Saxon Scope Online. N.p., 13 Dec 2010.

Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.saxonscope.com/editorial-2/2010/12/13/

ap-vs- regular/>.

"Nancy Ward on Labels and School." YouTube. Web. 21 Mar 2011.

<http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=z8fTVqgZKI4>.

National Education Association of the United States, First.  Today's Education. 10-11 vols.

National Education Association of the United States, 1921. Print.

"Removing School Labels." YouTube. Web. 4 Apr 2011. http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=LwHNmVH1uTk&feature=related

Robinson, Ann. "Education Reform: The Problem with Helping Everyone Reach 'Average'."

Christian Science Monitor. 11 Mar 2011: Print.

Tat, Linh. "Honors vs Non-Honors Classes." Tri-City Beat.11 May 2010, n.d. Web.

22 Mar 2011. <http://www.ibabuzz.com/tricitybeat/2010/05/11/  

 honors-vs-non-honors-classes/>.