Kentucky public school boards and season of Christmas offer children, families hope for future
Kentucky School Advocate
December 2020
By Ronnie Holmes
KSBA President
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” wrote the poet Alexander Pope.
As a kid, I always looked forward to Christmas vacation because it provided hope – in celebrating the holiday itself and for a brighter future. The very theme of Christmas is giving the entire world hope. As board members, we’re blessed with the opportunity to give hope to kids. In public schools, we can offer that hope to all students.
The future often seems bleak. Yet, hope for renewal remains. We should embrace our opportunity as board members to support, enhance and celebrate hope. For some students and families, public education offers their greatest hope.
Any long, unbroken line of work with no break grows old and turns positive situations negative. In contrast, Christmas is an entire season to enjoy with our families. For various reasons, some kids can’t spend as much time with their families as they’d like. So, Christmas break offers the chance to strengthen the family.
Family resource and youth services centers (FRYSC) provide so much for kids. FRYSCs are one of the best innovations ever in Kentucky public schools. Many families struggle financially and many kids need that extra help. FRYSCs help some families who otherwise wouldn’t have the means for Christmas presents.
As a kid growing up, I came from a relatively poor family. There were six kids and my Dad was in a wheelchair. Mom couldn’t work outside the home because she had to take care of him. We lived in a house on my granddaddy’s farm. Most everything we got came from our grandparents.
Christmastime always was exciting. It was easy to cut down an evergreen tree in the woods on the farm. We didn’t always have lights on it, because that cost money. Sometimes, when you’re poor like that, you don’t miss the things you never had.
I was one of those kids who, when Mama asked what I wanted for Christmas, I’d say, ‘I don’t know.’ Looking back, that made it more difficult for her. Still, whatever I got, I was happy to get. There’s no doubt FRYSC workers similarly brighten the lives of many kids in Kentucky public schools today.
One year, each of us kids got a little, wooden airplane that probably didn’t cost 15 cents apiece. I couldn’t have been any happier if I had gotten a car. As simple and even corny as that sounds, it’s true. One year, we got a model train set for all four of us boys that the adults mounted on a piece of plywood. These simple stories teach me that we must consider kids’ perspectives.
In a previous column, I’ve shared how a little girl in our schools thanked me one day, saying, “If it weren’t for you (as a board member), I don’t know where I’d be.” Whether expressed verbally or not, many others share that sentiment for public schools and school boards, consciously or not.
Today, some people are not so easily pleased because they’ve never experienced scarcity, only abundance. Many of us can get nearly anything we want, whenever we want it. Honestly, many of us have too much today; we’re spoiled. That tells me we should help others, especially this year when so many have been affected by the economic and mental health impacts of a global pandemic. When we do, we’re blessed by the joy of giving and by the happiness it creates in others.
I love Christmastime. To me personally, it’s not about gifts. It’s about being together with family and friends, having a good time in the company of one another, and thanking God for his many blessings.
Best wishes to you and yours for a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and a new year filled with joy.