Spirit Assembly Cons
Photo of several students sitting in the small gym.
October 6, 2016
Most students enjoy spirit assemblies because of the enthusiasm, the adrenaline in the air, and the performances from the cheer and drill teams. But it’s not exactly everyone’s forte. While sitting in the bleachers for one of these assemblies, the sports teams get named off one by one, our leadership crew cheers, as do much of the other students, but then there are the people that feel out of place in these assemblies. We don’t include everyone, as we should.
Spirit assemblies can be noisy, irritating, and excludes a large handful of people. It’s quite noticeable that we don’t include people who aren’t athletes. There is always shout outs to all the sports teams but you rarely ever about any other clubs or activities at Capital has to offer. Even Principal Cleveringa says, “We need to do a better job of including other activities.” No matter what school it is, it’s all about the sports. It’s not equal or fair to the kids who don’t want to run around a track or dunk a basketball.
But of course, as Stacy Sharp, our ASB secretary says, “There’s different strokes for different folks.” Not everyone enjoys all of the “Ra-Ras” as much as others do. But there are so many other ways to have school spirit than to join a sports team. If you’re in art, leadership, music, drama or any other clubs that is considered to be school spirit. Principal Cleveringa was asked how he thought we can further include students who don’t enjoy school spirit and he replied that we should, “Do a better job of including not just sports or athletes. We have a great musical system. Just because it’s not a football game doesn’t mean it’s not school spirit.”
Students can always go to the small gym during assemblies because assemblies can be overwhelming and loud. It’s okay if you don’t exactly enjoy school spirit, because it’s not for everyone. Just try not to be a Sappy Sally about spirit, because there are many people who do enjoy it. We need to start mentioning our beloved music programs, our theatre, the clubs we have to offer, and even the people who aren’t as involved. Students who are in one or more of these activities, feel like they need to be mentioned because they deserve credit for working hard too.
Spirit assemblies aren’t for everyone, and we need to start including bigger groups of students such as our much loved introverts. Some prefer books over athleticism and some prefer a football over headphones, but either way, all groups of students should be included. Spirit assemblies should be about the school getting together as whole and working together as one big team.
Angel Elam • Nov 3, 2016 at 6:55 pm
The big question every year for leadership teachers is – HOW DO WE GET EVERYONE INVOLVED?. I love that this article addresses that question.
How do we reach not just the athletes, or leadership students, but how do we reach the more introverted to participate in assemblies, lunch activities etc. And it seems every year we try, but can’t quite seem to hit that mark. Part of this puzzle comes down to students feeling “safe” . When we ask someone to be in an assembly or lunch activity we are asking them to step WAY out of their comfort zone and many would rather not participate than risk being embarrassed. So we are back to square one. Either we do it with the students who are willing or more extroverted or we don’t do it at all. In the name of entertainment, we usually just have to go with those who raise their hand first.
This year we are recognizing sports with 3 assemblies that will happen at the end of each season. Last year we had 1 sports assembly at the end of the year. We will also have 2 recognition assemblies to recognize clubs, theater, music, academic achievements, attendance and people who do cool things outside of school. While planning our recognition assembly, it came to our attention that certain students should be recognized, but when we spoke to those students, they chose to not be involved. So that is another issue in itself. It can also be a challenge to do recognition assemblies that aren’t total yawners so we are always looking for ways to do that as well. As activities director at CHS, I am more than willing to listen to new ideas of ways to include more students in assemblies and activities. Let’s take a look at solutions to this never ending question.