I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend at school in recent years, even before the pandemic. There seems to be a downward turn in students participating in activities outside of the school day. There are some outliers; for example, the clay target team seems robust every time I read about their accomplishments.
There was a time that many students were engaged in numerous extracurricular activities, and the number who were three-sport athletes or who would always be in the pep band or who you could count on to see in every stage production was large. Recently, however, it’s become more and more difficult to name senior athletes of the year since one of the requirements is to be in three sports.
I understand not being in three sports; it’s quite a commitment. I was not in three sports and neither were my children. But our numbers as a whole seem to be decreasing. The pandemic and mask wearing during winter sports sure hasn’t helped, but this started before last March.
In discussions with coaches and others around school, we’ve tried to pinpoint a reason for this. One theory is that it’s just not as important to kids to be a part of these groups. Let’s explore that thought, shall we?
Remember the days when you knew who the quarterback of the football team was? Or the leading scorer of the basketball team? Even if you never attended a game, those names were known because these were student-athletes who stood out, the same as recognizing a class valedictorian or members of the National Honor Society. It would be an interesting survey to take and see how the student body would answer those questions today. How many students in 9-12 knew that Kordell Schlaak was the starting QB? Or that freshmen are among the leading scorers for both basketball teams?
Remember how many buses we took to the state basketball tournament less than a decade ago? That number took a big downturn when we returned and won the consolation championship. We had a hard time getting enough kids to want to go to the section final in Mankato to fill one bus. That’s when I started wondering about this problem. Where are our student fans? After all, as the secretary says in Grease, “If you can’t be an athlete, at least be an athletic supporter!”
When we can allow all our fans back in, come to a basketball game and look at the student section. If the pep band isn’t playing, you’ll often have a hard time needing both hands to count the number of students present. What’s going on? Why isn’t it important to come out and support your friends and classmates?
Is it the cost? That’s possible. It can get spendy to go to all the home games. Some schools have taken to allowing students in for free. We’d probably have a larger crowd, and that would help the atmosphere.
But the reverse has to happen as well. The athletes need to then attend concerts and plays. Some do, but not to the extent that would show those fine arts students that their achievements are important too.
Is one reason we seem to be losing participants that there are fewer people who notice what happens after the last bell rings for the school day? It’s certainly more fulfilling to perform in front of a large crowd. Do we need to celebrate the accomplishments of these kids with more than just a line in the daily announcements?
All of these activities are important. Kids put in a lot of time to participate in things that they find enjoyable. Studies show that students who are in at least one extracurricular activity average a much higher GPA than those who don’t do anything. These students have to learn time management, and they want to keep their grades up so they can continue to participate.
We just had Snow Week last week. The number of students that I observed in the middle school who dressed up for those days was paltry. Maybe this is where we start to fail. Students don’t understand school spirit. They don’t know how, if most kids dress up, it shows pride in your school and pride in the activities that we do in front of the general public. Homecoming and Snow Week are two times of the year to do that and to recognize all those who are extra involved.
We had fun picking out winners each day based on how well they encompassed the theme. But too many students turned their noses up at the very idea of dressing up, even though daily winners received prizes. That’s sad.
When the pep band is at games, most of our student section doesn’t know to stand up when the school song is played. I’d guess most kids don’t even know the words. So maybe that should be part of our curriculum: Teach young students the school song. Teach them about pride in your school and showing spirit for ALL activities. Maybe we should even play the school song for non-sports activities to equalize things.
Maybe that will get them to start participating more. Maybe that’s how we return Panther Pride to NRHEG Schools.
Word of the Week: This week’s word is gallionic, which means indifferent or uncaring, as in, “Even the students at the game seemed gallionic, too busy to look up from their phones to watch the competition.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!