In Support of High School Extracurriculars

Oh the wonder that is high school football! This weekend I finally made it out to see my sister and brother-in-law, Adam & Kristin, at their new digs in Ottawa. Adam is a coach for the Ottawa-Glandorf Titans (I think they are 4-1 right now!! Which is more than the Browns can say. Ick.), so the Schafer family (sans Mom, who is touring St. Louis with her galpals) caught their game! And the Titans won! And it was homecoming! Every girl in their homecoming court wore a crown....I never got tired of Halle and Emi pointing and squealing out, "THERE'S A QUEEN!!" 

(Taken from my iPhone--sorry its a little blurry!)

I had forgotten how much fun school-supported events can be...

What I love about high school sports in Northwest Ohio:

1. Kids demonstrating their skills in sports or musical instruments or dancing or flips just because it makes them happy...after a long, hot summer of practices.

2. 50 - 50 drawings...and then the winner usually donates some or all of their winnings back to the school.

3. High school bands playing the theme from Zelda and Super Mario Brothers.

4. Adults providing grass-roots support to their kids and communities with pats on the back, handshakes and hotdogs.

5.  Character development: Sometimes you drop the baton, sometimes you throw an interception, sometimes you lose the big game...but you keep on keepin' on...

Most of the kids (and adults, ahem: the coaches, referees, and music directors) out there that night were not doing their thing in hopes of getting a full-ride scholarship, or being discovered by a scout in the stands, or for any monetary reward. Just because. 

I hate to see these school programs dissolve when tax levies fail. Vote YES when your school's tax levy comes up.  Support intangible things like teamwork, perseverance, and community values and all the tangible things that happen in the classroom, too.  A failed levy causes families to consider other school districts first, or worse, causes a mass exodus of established families out of the district so their children can have the benefits of all the things I wrote about before. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now and watch the Browns lose AGAIN.