Who Put the Bomp?

For most of my childhood, Saturday mornings on Timberlake Road just outside Philadelphia meant spending time cleaning the house.  I don’t remember enjoying the cleaning part but I do remember enjoying the music my mom played on the, “Hi-Fi” while we cleaned.  She was a 50’s and 60’s gal.  Supremes, Temptations, Buddy Holly, Martha and Vandellas, Four Tops, Frank Sinatra, Ronnettes, Drifters, and the occasional one-hit wonder artists.  One of those songs that occasionally got stuck in my head was a 1961 hit by Barry Mann called, “Who Put the Bomp.”  It included a chorus that went:

 

Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp?

Who put the ram in the rama lama ding dong?

Who put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop?

Who put the dip in the dip da dip da dip?

Who was that man?  I’d like to shake his hand.

“Who Put the Bomp” came to mind recently as I was thinking about, of all things, the concept of, “education-based activities.”  The National Federation of High Schools and all of our individual state high school athletic and/or activities organizations reference that phrase often.  I wondered where the phrase came from.  Or, as Barry Mann might ask, “Who put the education in education-based athletics?”  And, perhaps more importantly, whose responsibility is it to keep it there?

 

According the NFHS, “The term ‘education-based athletics/activities’ has been used frequently to describe the U.S. model of incorporating sports and other activity programs within the high school setting.”  I would offer beyond that description that “education-based” infuses the culture of the school into those programs.  The focus on respect, dignity, hard work, goal setting, improvement, positive relationships, and support for each other, among other things is taken to the field, the court, the track, the pool, the stage, and any other athletics/activities arena.  In short, what is expected, developed, promoted, and reinforced in the classrooms and halls is also to be expected, developed, promoted, and reinforced in the athletic and fine arts programs.  The phrase, “education-based activities” is not to be dismissed.  To dismiss it is to dismiss the core values we hold to in our schools.  To dismiss it relegates our programs to recreational pastimes with no concern for the impact they can have on our young people.  

 

Which takes us back to, “Who Put the Bomp?” The answer is a simple one – school administrators.  Administrators put the “education” in “education-based athletics.”  Those administrators saw the benefits of such programs and considered them an important part of the overall student experience.  In 1903, the Principals Club in Iowa formed a committee to adopt rules for high school sports.  In 1904 those rules were adopted.  In that same year, Superintendents and Principals in Iowa formed the Iowa High School Athletic Association.  So, the “bomp” of education-based activities, established by administrators, has been in place for over 100 years.

 

Since it was administrators in Iowa who implemented education-based activities over 100 years ago, it stands to reason that today’s administrators are charged with being the “keepers” of those education-based activities.  And let me repeat what I stated earlier – the phrase is not to be dismissed.  While, as administrators, we may not be directly involved in coaching or directing, we are responsible for those programs by the leaders we place in charge of the programs, and how we hold those leaders accountable to the core values of our schools.  Fortunately, many of our coaches and directors understand the culture of our schools and work to ensure that athletic and/or activities programs reflect that culture.  Unfortunately, some do not.  Whether it is a coach/director who teaches in our building but leaves the school culture at the gym/locker room/theatre door, or an out of building coach/director who may not understand the culture, they take the “bomp” out of education-based activities and shortchange our students in the process.  As keepers of education-based activities, what are we to do?

To ensure that the “education” in education-based activities remains in place, it’s important that we hold those leading our programs accountable for a consistency that what is taught throughout the day is also taught beyond the day.  For those who teach in our schools, expectations of what is considered professionally appropriate during school hours should be the same expectations when it comes to before and after school activities.  Consider language.  If we wouldn’t tolerate profanity from our teachers in the classroom, why would we tolerate it from our coaches or directors?  For those who don’t teach in our buildings, it’s important to educate them about our school culture first and then hold them to the same standards we would hold our teaching staff.

Similarly, our expectations of students in our activities programs (as participants or fans/audience) must be consistent with the expectations we have for them as students during the school day.  Public behavior is the only indication those outside our schools have about how we impact the young people we serve.  There is no more public display than that of our activities programs.  What reflection of our schools do ours convey?

 

At the end of the day it’s about setting ourselves apart.  We invest a great deal of time and resources into our activities programs.  What is the return on investment?  Recreational programs have a place in young people’s lives.  Club programs have a place in young people’s lives.  What separates education-based programs from those recreational and club programs is their intentional connection to the culture our students experience throughout the day in our schools.  Only when we emphasize the “education” (the “bomp” in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp) in education-based activities will we deliver the true value of our programs.  When a student puts on the uniform and performs in or on our facilities, let’s make sure we’ve done everything possible to ensure they are representing the true identity of our schools.  Then, as administrators, we can be the answer to Barry Mann’s question, “Who was that man (and woman)?”

 

Who Put the Bomp?