Celebrating our talented – and busy — students

I was visiting with our good friend Mindy Sheckler after the Lovell High School musical “Disney’s Aladdin Jr.” Monday night about how excellent and fun the production was when Mindy said something that really stuck out to me: “When do these kids have time to practice?”

When indeed? It’s the students who are into everything at our local schools who seem to always rise to the occasion and produce excellence in numerous activities. How do they do it?

In Mindy’s case, as she thought about her grandson Davin Crosby, she kind of answered her own question, saying, “Well, I guess they practiced all day Saturday and all day Monday,” an in-service day in the school district. But what about the hours before that crunch time?

It’s amazing to me how students can maintain top grades and participate in myriad activities -- from athletics and organizations to music and various academic endeavors. Take a quick look at any school calendar and you’ll see countless culminating events in the spring as if every organization waits until the conclusion of basketball and wrestling season to cram everything in.

On the school calendars I found state FBLA, state FCCLA, spring concerts, proms, track meets, golf tournaments, musicals, sports banquets, FFA banquets and conventions, State Art, Knowledge Bowl, Skills USA, a math contest, music festival and more.

Our students are incredibly versatile in a small school. The star quarterback can have the lead in the school play, and a great basketball player may also be an all-state musician or a talented artist. Our kids can do it all. They have great talent and are led by coaches, directors and sponsors who give countless hours to a given organization. And it comes with tremendous support from the community.

There’s certainly a risk that students can become overwhelmed by activities, but if that happens, they need to be given the leeway by parents and teachers to back off a bit. Stress does no one any favors.

Many have lamented the fact that American students don’t test as well as some other countries, but having had exchange students in our home, I can tell you that European students, at least in our experience, don’t engage in anywhere close to the number of activities our students enjoy, and they are slotted pretty early into certain academic disciplines. Activities tend to come from participation in clubs. Maria from Germany, for instance, was a cheerleader but not for her school. She competed in cheer competitions through a club.

Frankly, I appreciate the variety of rich experiences our students enjoy through our public school system, and it is vitally important that students experience music, fine arts and other disciplines they will use for the rest of their lives. Give me a well-rounded student any day.

Yes, we can sometimes overdo it. How many camps does a young person really need? But in my case, I enjoy the jack of all trades, the Swiss Army knife, to the specialist.

And so, where do they find the time for everything? I suppose they work it into their already busy schedule. Sleep is overrated, right? It’s good preparation for a busy post-school life to follow. That will come soon enough.