As a teacher for ten years, I have many fond memories of students and activities and have learned to enjoy successes one child at a time. Well, last night I was able to enjoy a success 50 students wide and 40 teachers deep . . . we called it the Senior Girls Banquet. This year, at the urging of a few students, I agreed to sponsor a club called the “Senior Girls Club”. This position is considered non-supplemental and sponsors in the past have done so out of the goodness in their hearts because the club has been around as long as our school! So, I became the sponsor.
The Senior Girls Club was founded as a social club–you know the type–basically a sorority at the high school level. The club used to have initiations (the leaving members terrorize the proposed members for a week) and only a fixed number of girls could get into the club. The only activities in which the club participated were to the benefit of the club members. Well, times change, and the club is now a service club and may hold no initiations because of hazing concerns. So this year I ended up with 54 girls in the club–that represents half of the female members of the senior class.
At first look, what a blessing! Fifty-four girls to use for service activities! Then reality hits . . .I’m responsible for controlling fifty-four senior girls during service activities for the next year . . .and I don’t get paid for this? The year began with an induction party, then a skit for the homecoming football game. We painted a sidewalk at the school which had previously been covered in graffiti. We sponsored a faculty lunch, filled shoeboxes for the needy at Christmas, and collected Teddy Bears for the American Cancer Society. It was, in my opinion a successful year . . . I thought we were done!
Some of the girls suggested an end of year banquet and I selfishly thought, “Do you have any idea how much time that takes to plan?” But they were persistent so I began planning the “Senior Girls Banquet”. I found my support system at my local church where we could hold the event for no charge and there were individuals available to help me cook and serve. We planned a menu of pasta primavera, caesar salad, garlic bread, and strawberry shortcake. Total cost was about $5 per person, but at this time of year even that amount is excessive for a senior student. They have grad night, senior pictures, prom, senior night, graduation, etc. So I e-mailed the female teachers at our high school and the two local feeder elementary schools and asked for sponsors who would attend the banquet and enjoy the meal with their student; they would pay the fee for themselves and their student!
I was not sure what type of response I would get . . .but I quickly found out. Less than a week after my initial e-mail, I had sponsors for all 54 girls! We all met at the church hall at 5:30 in the evening and enjoyed dinner together. Sponsors were seated with their senior girl with four pairs to each table. The conversations covered topics from elementary school to high school, parents to boys, and current grades to future educational endeavors. Here we were, half adults and half students about to enter the adult world, talking and laughing like old friends. To look out over the little hall decorated in bright pink and green tablecloths, with a dash of flowers, you couldn’t help but notice the glow in the room from these young ladies who are about to reach adulthood and begin life on their own and the adults who, not because of parental obligation but because of career choice, helped shape many of them into the young ladies they are today! Many of the participants commented on how they enjoyed the evening–great food, great program, great company!
However, I think I enjoyed it the most . . .I was able to see 54 senior girls blossom into adults right before my eyes, right in that room. They were sitting with those teachers who had set them straight (more than once), who had disciplined them when they needed, who wouldn’t let them take the easy way out, yet, they were equals. If only for a little while, the age barriers and societal barriers were removed and we were all equals! I cannot vouch for any others in attendance, but I know I was changed by the experience! No matter how much we do in education, there is always one more step we can take to improve a life. It might mean getting over selfish tendencies, it might mean not receiving a supplement, but it might also mean one less teen pregnancy after prom, one less student drinking, one more student finding her direction in life! What extra step can you take? You may be surprised that your students aren’t the only ones who learn from it!
