It’s called accountability, respect, and appreciation. . .
By: Prissie
You guessed it! Something has set me off and Prissie is writing early so she can read it daily, sleep on it, and then decide if it she’ll survive it runs! And you might know, a social media post prompted this entire issue. Throughout the school year, I see where this group does this and this group does that – things like a high school group helping at an elementary or middle school. That’s awesome, sometimes greeting the younger kids as they arrive, reading to them during Dr. Seuss Week, helping with field days, and the list goes on. Those are things the little ones get excited about and they are good for the older kids to contribute. But guess what? Those things are not done on the upper grades time. They’re leaving class to do those things. This past week, yearbook sponsor Kim Long and her junior/senior yearbook staff were beautifying the MHS campus. It was triple digits heat index, and they were out there digging, pulling weeds, planting, watering, all less than three weeks before school starts.
They weren’t paid, they didn’t get extra credit, school was out so no classes were missed. The yearbook staff is known to call on businesses for advertisements in their yearbook. That lowers the cost for students so it’s more affordable for students and/or parents. There is no end of the year banquet for Yearbook, no meal, no plaques or awards, just a lot of satisfaction in the produce they produce and students who are grateful for the job they did so 10, 20 and more years down the road they can reminisce about their high school days.
I made this comment on the post, “Great job Kim Long and yearbook staff!! Can't exclude anyone. Everyone should take note of this - it's summer, it's hotter than hot, they're not parading in front of anyone, they're not missing classroom hours, they are working and working hard and expecting nothing in return.” WOW! I never could have anticipated the number of calls, texts, and emails I received and they were not happy communications either. One of the first ones I received, “My son works very hard at practice, and I don’t appreciate you saying he should work for the community. The city and county have people paid to do that.” Another irate parent, “They’re only young once you know. I suppose you think they should ride the bus or walk instead of having a car to drive. Well mine isn’t. He’s a good kid and I’m rewarding him,” from one irate parent. Another was a little more verbal with some stronger language but said basically the same thing. A mom called and in light of many of the other comments, it was very much appreciated, “I don’t know about the other parents but I can’t get my kid to break a sweat at home so I’ll applaud any coach that can pull this off except when it’s about the cheerleading. Course it never crossed my mind they don’t do anything for the community, but I’m pretty sure all her cheer stuff has been done during school hours.” Someone who has given so much to this community in every area from sports, to academics (BETA and NHS), FFA requests, to ones in need was one of the first to respond. It was in his true fashion, “Ms. Shelia you’re preaching to the choir. Parents tell me all the time they want better for their child(ren) than they had it but they truly miss the big picture. I do what I do for the kids so the parents will have some relief. But I’ve never had any of the groups offer to volunteer at my business.”
Kids have battles today that we (or at least my brother and I and our close circle of friends) never had as a child. Everyone was accepted and everyone knew kindness and what it could mean to someone who may be in need of a kind act or kind deed. Think about that before you spout off like Beaver did to Linda calling her an ugly name.
Then think about the things that need to be done in our community – you notice I said OUR community because it belongs to everyone. Many moons ago, I was one of the youngest members on Altar Guild and Hostess Committee at St. Luke’s. On months when my duties overlapped, it sometimes got a little sticky but as I looked around, I was the youngest in the group. I couldn’t let the ladies go out and polish those brass railings. I sure did flinch every time I saw someone going up or down them and holding on to them – I knew I was going to have a job the next week.
I encourage parents and grandparents to encourage their kids to give back to their community, their schools, churches, organizations that do for them every day. I see kids around town working at different places, at churches and it just warms my heart. There are way too many to name and some do other acts of kindness that don’t necessarily involved labor. Sam Baggett can be see front and center in downtown Marianna at every clean up day and in between, at First Methodist Church helping with kids, vacation Bible school, wherever needed. Bud Basford has made trips following hurricanes and other disasters, using his own vehicle and gas to help those that are without power, food, everything. Garrison Glass doesn’t wait to be made aware there is a need, he answers immediately. The Mercer family (Jonah, Becca, Noah and Joshua) deliver veggies with their dad to locals, report for mission work and the list goes on.
Think about this, talk to your children, and work out a plan for them to give back – and I promise you won’t regret making the world a better place. That’s it from Prissie