Valedictorian by Steven Tchudi

Freshman Jennifer Bond was making good grades, applying herself and enjoying success. She was happy…until Ms.Hart, her algebra teacher, summoned her to a talk about holding back in class, suppressing her ability in order to have a social life, being a female in a man’s world. After flipping through Jennifer’s records as they spoke, Ms. Hart pronounced that Jennifer was good enough to make a run for valedictorian. Her grades and standardized test data put her among the top in the school, and she should overcome the advantage those with higher IQ’s had simply by working harder. Once Jennifer buys into the valedictorian quest with gusto, a workaholic history professor, Dr. Gilman, is enabled to feed into her need to “do more.” Overly influenced by his philosophy and studying the warring nature of countries, her competitiveness and skewed attitude toward people is augmented. The National Honor Society is a service club, but to Jennifer it became an assemblage of the enemy around her.

Slowly, like a junkie, she craves to do more and more homework and extra work that eats away at the social aspect of her life. She loses touch with her friends, breaks up with her very intelligent/hand-some/sports hero boy friend, becomes jealous of classmates who grasp things easily and produce seemingly effortlessly, and begins to see other smart kids as adversaries to be on guard against, even plot against. She “sneaks” homework behind her concerned parents’ backs. Finally, the need for perfection is overwhelming, the situation critical. But, an experienced female high school guidance counselor is there to step in with effective, nurturing long-term help.

In her senior year, Jennifer makes it back to the real world of responsibility and commitment, balanced with the fun of living a “normal” teenager’s life.

Jennifer tells her story in flashback, divided by her years in high school. There have been many stories about under-achievers, their psychological pressures, successes and failings. Jennifer’s story is different; it is about motivation from another angle. Hers is a story about a teenager possessed by the idea of overachieving.

Steven Tchudi has authored some 50 books for the general public, for teachers and for young adult readers. Recently published are The English Language: An Owner’s Manual; The Interdisciplinary Teachers’ Manual; The New Literacy and Western Futures. A past president of the National Council of Teachers of English and former editor of The English Journal, he is also past president of the Michigan and Nevada councils of English teachers. He resides in Reno, Nevada.