F-T-K
Who would have thought three simple letters could stimulate so much conversation. Who would have thought those three letters could give us a common goal. Who would have thought those three letters would end up on t-shirts, rally towels and posters.
I introduced many of you to FTK during the 2023 Legal Meeting. What started as a funny story soon turned into a mantra that would drive the year of this Philly boy’s presidency.
If you’re not familiar with the story, turn to those at your table. It’s likely someone there will know it.
What I have shared throughout the year…continue to share today…and encourage all of you to remain true to…is to remember that everything we do is For the Kids. The nature of our business is that adults develop rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines. Adults create schedules. Adults prepare practice plans and game plans. Adults blow the whistles, enforce the rules, and raise the score cards. Adults organize and conduct state championships and other events. But it is the kids who are impacted by the actions of those adults. Only when the adults who are involved keep our students, our kids, at the forefront, will we be able to say that education-based activities make a difference in their lives. Only when we as adults remember that we are responsible for the “education” in education-based activities, will our programs have the impact we desire. The moment we forget that it’s all For The Kids, the moment we begin to believe it is about us as adults, is the moment everything we do becomes for naught.
I applaud
those state associations who have initiated Student Advisory Committees. You have given a voice to those who are most
directly impacted by the work we do. You
have sent a powerful message that you are indeed, For The Kids. And if your experience with those student
advisors is anything like mine has been, you realize how passionate they
are. How in tune with their classmates
they are. How concerned they are. And how much they truly appreciate the
opportunity to be involved.
F-T-K
Yes, Let’s be For The Kids. But let’s not stop there. As I have all year, I continue to challenge all of us to commit to not only, “For The Kids,” but to also commit to, “For ALL The Kids.” If the benefits of education-based activities are as important as we say, we should not rest until we give every student the opportunity to participate. Until we remove every barrier (whether financial, time, transportation, or anything else that keeps those who truly want to be a part of our programs from doing so, we should not rest. Until we partner with schools, parents, and communities to address those barriers, we should not rest.
F-T-K
And if we are truly For The Kids, if we are truly For ALL the Kids, it is our responsibility to uphold the principles of Education-Based Activities, to protect the integrity of Education-Based Activities. It is our responsibility to ensure that our activities programs are not simply “education-based” in name only. We must be intentional about infusing the culture of our schools into those programs. The focus on respect, dignity, hard work, goal setting, improvement, positive relationships, and support for each other, among other things must be 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 very 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.
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? The ROI is young people who positively impact their schools, their communities, and their world. 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” in education-based activities will we deliver the true value of our programs.
If we are truly For The Kids, we will remain committed to the value of Education-Based Activities.
F-T-K
If not us, then who? If not now, then when?
Let’s be
relentlessly For The Kids. Let’s
be relentlessly For ALL The Kids.
