ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
With this issue, we complete a four-part series of profiles about students participating in various arts and activities at the six high schools in our distribution area. It was a challenging assignment to contact, interview and write about some 30 students, but ultimately it was a rewarding task-and we recommend it to anyone needing to strengthen his or her faith in today’s youth.
Simply put, we met some outstanding young people in our schools. Granted, the kind of activities we covered-music, art, forensics/debate, FFA, Scholars Bowl-tend to attract the best and brightest. These are youth who, by definition, are self-starters and have above-average self-discipline- two characteristics that will serve them well throughout life.
During the year, this newspaper focuses a lot of attention on high school students who compete in athletics. We don’t apologize for that, but also hold high the accomplishments of our youth in other arenas that are important, too.
Good schools offer activities that connect with a wide range of student interests. In these days of tight budgets, it will be tempting to reduce the number of activities to save money. All we ask is that such cuts be considered as a last resort.
A significant part of education happens outside the classroom. Let’s provide as many opportunities for that to happen as we possibly can.-DR
