End of Homecoming

This nutty week is finally coming to an end. It's Friday of homecoming week. On Monday we had coronation at 2. Now we have a pep fest at 2. In between we had NWEA testing for the whole damn student body. We had an evacuation and lock down drills (in the same afternoon). Now this Friday morning I have several students coming up to me asking to get out of class for their class dances that they're going to do during the pep fest. I shouldn't have let them miss, but I'm too much of a wuss. At least they came in to tell me. What I don't get is why they need to miss class for these dance rehearsals (God knows they missed enough class time this week for other homecoming related activities).

I mean God forbid these kids have to get up extra early to rehearse before school. God forbid they have to miss practice after school. Lord only knows how far sports will get them in their lives. Who cares about being in class and learning how to write. Yet, oddly enough, what did they just tell us last week at our common prep meeting - work on those skills to get the test scores up. But I guess we have to work on shaking our booties around here instead.

Now I'm not anti-homecoming. I had a blast at coronation. But I'm anti-missing class time for crap that could be taken care of outside of class. And of course most of the kids involved in the dance are also involved in sports, so they miss even more time.

It's the same double standard that exists all the time during the year. Keep those test scores up, but let's let the hockey team out to practice during playoffs. Provide students with the skills they'll need to compete in the job force, but don't get in the way of rehearsals or extra curricular commitments. Sour grapes I guess.

But I am still looking forward to the pep fest and big game. I'm not against outside activities. After all, I'm a coach.

I just think it should be extra. In my classes I've instituted a new policy - one I got from my uncle, a retired English professor from Colorado. Students get three excused absences - no questions asked. Once they miss their fourth class period (regardless of the excuse - choir trip, football trip, FFA trip, tanning session, Granny's sick, WHATEVER), not only do they have to make up whatever they missed, but they also have to write an essay of at least B quality in order to get credit for what they missed. Of course, my athletes complained right away about this. I simply told them, "As an athlete, I expect MORE out of you. Not less. You've decided to be part of something extra. So you have to do extra." I'm sick of us, not just as a school, but also as a culture, of expecting less from those involved in activities.