During a family dinner in February, while the Winter Olympics were going on, my family was discussing the male ski jumpers and the “scandal” of them trying to extend the material in their crotch area. The thought was that doing this would give them more lift (almost like a parachute) as they flew down the mountain. We laughed at even some of the extraordinary measures people were taking to expand the material!
The jumpers have a standard-fit uniform that each has to be measured for. Everyone has the exact same type of suit, so it is fair for everyone.
I told them the story of when I was the HS Principal in my school district, the great small city of Port Jervis, NY. It was School Spirit Week, and everyone was excited. There were so many contests and fun activities with staff and students working together, and of course, school spirit.
One of those activities was window painting. For years, we assigned each grade level a section of windows, and they could paint it how they liked while honoring the vibe of school, pride, and school spirit. They always turned out great, and then the staff would vote which ones were the best. It was always just paint.
One day after dismissal, I get a frantic knock at my door from some sophomores. “Mr. Marotta, Mr. Marotta, the juniors are cheating!” I looked up and asked, “What? How?”
“The juniors are cheating. Come on! They shouted,” I agreed to go look at the windows. I went out there, and they had created a three-dimensional papier-mâché extension off the window. It was actually really awesome and genius.
There were several excited kids with smiles on their faces, surrounded by a few other students and staff with their arms folded basically looking at me like, “well? Is this cheating?”
I told everyone to calm down, and we would meet together the next day. We met the next day with the advisors of each grade. We reviewed what happened and then had a ‘spirited’ conversation about the whole thing.
People were presenting different viewpoints about why this was cheating, or not, and after about 15 minutes, I asked, “Is there anything else?”
I posed a question to the group. Why would we limit spirit? As long as it is safe, not hurting anyone, or violating the fire code, why would we limit the creativity and spirit of our students and staff? There was a long pause, some blank stares around the room, and a few nods. Then we agreed–we’ll leave it open and allow for full creativity in the spirit of the arts, the school, and the kids.
That’s what happened, and that’s the decision we made. I was thrilled with the outcome. I think it’s so important that we can answer with yes and allow kids and staff to run with ideas. We now have some of the most extravagant window decorations. We changed the name from window painting to window decorating, and there is some really cool stuff happening in our school for spirit week and a school project!
School spirit and culture are definitely fun. They look different everywhere, and they are made up of small moments like these built up over time. Make sure you recognize the moments where you can enhance it and put it in the forefront of your work.
Keep surviving and thriving, friends!
