Better SPIRIT, Better STEWARDS
Spirit Means Pride
Letter jackets and sporting school colors during pep rallies were once
the hallmarks of school pride. Today the definition of pride is much more
expansive than singing the school’s fight song.
To many students, school spirit is a
sense of pride
shown by those who feel
a
strong connection
to their place of learning and the people in it. When
asked what school spirit means, some specific student responses included:
“Having pride in your school’s academics, athletics, and participating in
opportunities that your school offers,” and “It’s being proud to represent
your school and the values it stands for.”
Just how Google is known for its culture in the business world,
achievement is linked to spirit in the educational realm. It seems that
many principals would agree that students who demonstrate spirit/pride
in their school will also want to do well for their school. One principal put
it simply: “
Positive feelings towards school lead to positive attitudes
toward work.
”
Achievement
Most high school principals (92%) feel that school spirit is tied to student
achievement. And their reasoning makes perfect sense; one principal
stated: “
Achievement allows you to celebrate; celebrations naturally
increase school spirit.
”
Another principal believes that school spirit “
motivates students to achieve
because there is a
sense of ‘one for all.’
” And this principal goes on to
say, “Generally, students strive to excel when there is a sense of unity
and healthy competition.” Along those lines, a female freshman defined
school spirit as “promoting unity with fellow students.”
S c h o o l S p i r i t a n d T h e H i g h S c h o o l E x p e r i e n c e c o n t .
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