Spice

We are going to talk about food for a minute. My family likes to eat spaghetti for dinner every once in a while and I'm just not very good at it. I either add too much spice, or too little. I'm not a huge fan the tomato taste in spaghetti and I have to work to get the balance just right so we can taste the spice but it doesn't over power us (or others) when we eat.

Now lets talk about school assemblies and parties. I like to think of this as the spice of the school. Kids are going to get the reading, math, science, social studies, ect. everyday. They spend around 6 hours in their desks learning, writing, creating, sharing, and problem solving. Assemblies offer a brake from normal routine. Unfortunately many schools, and parents, no longer see this as a need. I have heard parents complain about their child having too many assemblies in the school year and when I ask how many they have had they say something like 2 in the past 3 months. I have worked at 3 schools and we never had too many assemblies. Ok well maybe during the Christmas season and the end of the year but it's so hard to get kids to learn when they are excited about those things. I could count the number of assemblies that we went to on 1 hand at the last school I worked at. Assemblies also give the teacher something to hangover their students' head so they will accomplish a project.

I understand that these can be costly but I know of many places that will come and do things for free or at a discount for schools like high schools. I have seen many great assemblies on bullying and other social skill topics from high school students.

Just like spice these can become excessive. One a week is probably too many unless they are all learning assemblies like the assemblies that teach kids how to be drug free, and about stranger danger. These are great assemblies especially when the teacher talks with the class about it afterwards. Choirs are fun and can be educational if they teach a little about music, or if the teacher teaches about beat, rhythm, or other musical aspects before they come.

Parties can be educational if they are centered around a concept or topic the kids just learned about.

We also need to let kids be kids and just have fun. Yes, school needs to be fun. I know many adults can't sit day after day in a small space only with their 2, 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch without taking a few minutes to make a phone call, get on facebook, or play an online game to boost their moral. We need to break things up a little bit and give kids that same opportunity. This will decrease behavior problems and help kids enjoy school again.

Remember assemblies are the spice of education and we need to find that balance. Taking them away completely or doing them all the time are not good options but having 1 or 2 a month would be helpful and is someways more educational.