Is 'school spirit' extinct?

I have heard these two words used together since I entered middle school, but I am very confused about what these words mean. You see, I thought school spirit was about everyone going to the same school and cheering for each other, whatever someone chose to do.

That must not be what school spirit is about because all I see at my school are cliques and complacency. What exactly is school spirit? And how do you make it happen in the schools we attend today?

When I asked my parents about school spirit, they told me about pep rallies where cheerleaders led the school in support of the football, basketball and baseball teams. All the players were there and kids would say things that would encourage everyone to come out to the game. When other sports were being played, sometimes the school also would do special things for them so people would get excited about the event.

School spirit was about people going to football games on Friday nights and hanging out afterward. School spirit involved getting excited about homecoming events before and after the games. When prom night came at the end of the school year, it was an event most everyone went to even if they didn't have a date. Sometimes they went as a group and had fun.

Missing these big school events would have been unheard of "back then." People seemed to spend a lot more time involved in school activities when my parents were in school, and even now I see a kind of pride when they talk about their high school years. They still want to go their class reunions even though they are older now.

School spirit - is it a thing of the past? I wonder if school spirit has diminished because so many teens have to work after school to afford the upkeep on their cars or so they can have more stuff. I wonder if fewer people participate in school sports because no one really sees sports and physical activity as important. I wonder if school spirit is only felt by an elite few in high school because they are involved in the sports or as a cheerleader.

Is there a way to restore school spirit to a school and the students? Everyone, including at times, the administrators and the teachers, seems complacent about involvement and commitment. I wonder if loyalty to anything is valued in our society anymore.

This takes me back to my original questions: What is school spirit and how does a school that has lost it find it again? I think I will see what I need to do to help "my" school change. Not only will I start looking at what is happening around my school, but I also need to select a few things I will do to make my school more successful and important to me.

Even though I am not very athletic, I could start cheering others who are more athletically inclined. I will start listening to the announcements and acknowledging the kids that have done well, whether it is in sports or in academic competition. I will think about my school first and what's happening there each week, as I plan my weekend activities. I will proudly tell other people about what I like about my school.

I think I need to stop waiting for school spirit to happen and create some on my own. Good plan, yeah I know. It is my plan to take pride in my school and have a little "school spirit" before I criticize others about why we don't have it in our school. The burden of responsibility for this now is in my court - by choice, I might add.

- IT! (Private thoughts of the Indomitable Teen) is written by Cecilia Tucker under the editorial guidance of a panel of teenagers (in exchange for pizza and volunteer hours). Tucker is a licensed marriage and family therapist at the Counseling Center for New Direction in Seminole. Comments are welcome. You may write c/o: IT!, Xpress, the Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail Floridian@sptimes.com If you are interested in being on the teen editorial panel, please contact Cecilia Tucker at revcecilia@msn.com

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