My son Archie came home the other day & told Jeff & I that the principal was going to change or possibly even drop the JROTC program at Mc Lane. He was very upset about it because this program is an important part of not only his life but many other kids including our other son Tyler. He asked me if I would take him and another friend downtown to the school board meeting that night so that he and his other friends could try and talk them into keeping the program the way it is. So, I did. After the meeting the kids were not convinced that they had made much of a difference so they all got together and contacted the media and began to fight for what they believed in.
They managed to get some TV stations and the Fresno Bee newspaper to come down to the school to interview them & get people to understand how important this program is to them. They went to one of the Wal-Marts in town and also walked the neighborhoods getting people to sign a petition to keep the program. I even wrote a letter to the paper letting them know just how much this program benifits the children. The JROTC program teaches respect (for self & others), disipline, values, morals, responsability, self-esteem and the value of friendship and loyalty. All of these things I am sad to say aren't very prevelent in schools today.
I have to admit that I was extremely proud of all of these kids for standing up for what was right and what they believed in. This past Wednesday The Fresno Bee had a very nice article (front page of the Local section) about these kids and about the principle deciding to keep the program as it is. He stated that he was proud of them for proving to him that they really wanted the program and that they stood up for what they believed in. Personally I think he was just trying to save face! These kids fought hard and didn't stop until they got not only what they wanted but what they felt the kids of Mc Lane need.
OK...this is a little off the subject but...It is kind of funny how my relationship with Archie and Tyler has grown over the years. I remember in the begining that they hated me so much that the mailman even heard about it!!! I had been walking down the hallway about two weeks before Jeff and I were to be married and I had heard Tyler and Archie talking about how they were going to break us up and all the horrible things they wanted to do to stop us from getting married. I opened the door and asked them if they had something to say to me...we had a 2 hour long arguement/discussion and by the end of it we were all crying and making committments to each other. Mine was to never try and replace their mother (which I had no intention of doing) and to ALWAYS be there for them as long as I was living. Theirs was to give me a chance and to tell me if they felt I had stepped over the line they drew. Since then we have had a few rocky times but for the most part I swell with pride and am very happy to call them my kids! It's very cool how things have turned out with them and I am glad that I have such a good relationship with them now!!! Well I guess that's enough for now
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment