Being a Well-Rounded Student

As our local schools enter spring, it always amazes me the amount of activities students have the opportunity to be a part of.

Just looking at spring sports alone, there are numerous chances to be involved. From baseball to soccer to track to tennis to golf, our young people have the opportunity to shine in numerous athletic endeavors.

It doesn’t end with athletics, however. Our local schools also offer a number of clubs and activities for students, making it possible for everyone to be involved in something.

In looking back on my high school days (which were more years ago than I care to admit), I was involved in a number of events. From 4-H to basketball to one-act play to yearbook and even submitting articles for my local newspaper, being a part of a team or a group was important to the overall education process.

While I probably appreciate it more today, even during the time I was participating it was obvious that being a part of something was important and would be beneficial down the road. Hopefully, students today realize this. Most students are involved in some activity or another and that is important.

The education process, especially in middle school and high school, is about so much more than just sitting in a desk in a classroom for several hours a day. Being a part of something extra, be it an athletic team or a club, helps build social skills and is something that has lasting benefits.

For me, I still have friends today that I made while in 4-H and like to support the group as much as possible. My friends and I still talk about our time competing in athletics even though our success rate in terms of victories was never as great as we would have liked. We realize now that being part of the team was what was really important.

The number of activities offered has grown in the almost three decades since I was last in high school. There are so many opportunities for students now to be a part of the extra activities offered. In fact, many students are involved in multiple activities beyond the classroom.

As we gear up for another spring, it will be a busy time for our local students. You can read about their accomplishments each week in this publication. It’s great that our local schools have so many offerings for our young people which help make them even more well rounded and prepared for the steps they will take following high school graduation.

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The Oscars were held this past Sunday night and the big news coming out of the event (other than the winners) was the mix-up in the announcement of the Best Movie.

I didn’t watch the Oscars because, to be honest, I have not seen any of the movies nominated for Best Picture. Once upon a time I would have seen all of the nominations but times change and commitments often keep us from doing the things we once enjoyed such as seeing movies on a regular basis (as well as the skyrocketing costs of going to the movies).

As the talk earlier this week was about the announcement mix-up, I tried to remember the last time I was in a movie theater. It took me a few moments to actually recall which says a lot. I know I’ve probably missed some quality movies, but today it’s often difficult to even watch one at home.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com