A Great End To The Year

I have spent a little time reflecting as graduation is about twenty-four hours away on a couple of recent events that have taken place. The funny thing about it is that they are actually two of my least favorite events/activities associated with being a high school principal. Before you read any further, I would ask that no one takes offense and remember that what I have to say is my opinion (though I know it is shared by a number of other high school principals through conversations we have every year!). Prom and Awards Night. Just mention of those words tend to bring sighs and grimaces to the faces of high school principals. Read on and I will tell you why, and also share how this year my stance has somewhat softened.

Prom is a four-letter word, lumped in with all of those other negative four-letter words. Prom reeks of excess, over-indulgence, misplaced values, and cheesiness reinforced by 1980’s teen movies. I have never liked prom, even as student, yet I have been to at least 16 of them over the years! The amount of money that is spent is way out of whack. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see a problem with kids getting all gussied up and having that kind of an opportunity, but when one looks at the cost, it is ridiculous! And, try to get 16- or 17-year-old girls to focus on anything other than dress styles, hair decisions, and size of heels after the end of February! And boy, I don’t even want to get into what is going on in the minds of the boys!

Awards Night has traditionally been that evening for me that has equal parts happiness and hard feelings. For every student that receives a major award, there are two or three that believe they were slighted. Adults in the audience keep a scorecard updated with number of wins and total dollars. Certain kids don’t show up because they do not think that they are going to get anything, or worse yet, because they don’t care. Understand that these are general observations and not necessarily indicative of any one experience. However, more often than not, I have seen things like this happens and at least from my standpoint, it taints what should otherwise be an evening that celebrates the efforts of a group of students that are grouped together as a class.

I will not say that I have changed my mind completely, but after experiencing both events for the first time at North Fayette, I have tempered my opinions and in some respects, I see hope! Or at least, I feel that there is some perspective. Starting with Prom, for the past twelve years, I have often wondered whom Prom is really for: the students or the moms. Seriously! It has seemed that a lot of moms have been more engaged than the daughters, and for the last nine years, parents were constantly hovering -- some years even watching kids eat! – during an evening that was originally considered a coming out for high school students. People spent more time talking about what so-and-so’s dress cost than they did taking joy in the often overlooked young lady who dressed up so beautifully. But I saw little of that here. More important, I saw a lot of kids having a lot of fun, which is what it is all about. They truly seemed to enjoy each other’s company and were absolutely no trouble at all! The faculty gave the kids some space and was treated respectfully in return. It was refreshing! I still have a problem with sophomores and 9^th graders attending, but that is for another day! It was a very enjoyable evening and a wonderful process to be part of this year.

Awards night was incredible! Yes, there were a few pencils working out there tallying up numbers, and I am sure that there were some questions as to why someone won a particular award and someone else did not. But, the outpouring of support from the community through Dollars for Scholars is most likely unequalled for a school this size. Support was spread throughout the class, but when I watched the students go up and accept, in most instances I thought that folks got it right. You know, the kids that work hard and achieve should be awarded for their efforts and excellence. We don’t give everyone a gold medal regardless of where they finish a race on the track, nor should anyone expect something different when honoring those for what they do in the classroom.

The end of the school year is by nature stressful, but I am enjoying the last few weeks of the 2009-2010 here at North Fayette. Give me a few months to recharge my batteries this summer and we’ll be ready to get going again in August.