Yesterday, after what had been for me a long and trying week, our school held a pep rally before our first home football game. The program included a few songs by the pep band, a dance by the majorettes, and a couple of sequences by our six member cheerleading squad, in addition to a dramatic roll call of the football team. The pep rally was made complete by a dancing beaver (yes) mascot who freestyled and did a mean Stanky Leg: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgUfHCLQa0. A couple of students took it upon themselves to teach me how to do the Stanky Leg as well, and characterized me as a “reverse Oreo.” Ha.

The football players also danced soulfully to a slow, drum-dominated version of “If you’re all for the Beavers, clap your hands/stamp your feet/(etc.).” It was amazing.

These kids have reams of raw talent, but it’s becoming clear that in a poor rural area like ours, such talent doesn’t necessarily have much of a chance to be honed by formal training. The cheerleaders don’t tumble, for example. This lack of formal instruction, however, makes it all the more evident that at the end of the day, no matter what I’ve seen and heard them do, these students are still kids.

Despite a few differences in content, the spirit of this gathering was largely the same as that of pep rallies at my large suburban high school. Kids are kids, no matter where you go. They are goofy, whether or not the teacher is in the mood for it; they have plenty of natural ability just waiting to be focused; and they enjoy nothing more than moving and being creative. They are young and in need of encouragement. This was almost a shocking revelation for me yesterday. And even though a pang of sadness registered in the back of my mind — “what if high school football proves to be the peak of many of these students’ lifelong achievement?” — the afternoon reminded me of how much I appreciate kids, and people in general. It was the best way I could have ended the week.