Is it time to get rid of cheerleaders and ice girls?

But they actually have a role to fulfill.
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Do they? Really?

 

Do they? Really?
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Beltway insiders have to start somewhere.

 

Do they? Really?
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I don't know. I suppose it depends on the high school, and on the individual elected. But at least it is intended as a position with some responsibilities attached to it, for which certain qualities that schools rightfully encourage as part of their mission would be required. Plus, at least those elections are co-ed.

Homecoming king and queen is a bald popularity contest that aspires to be nothing more than that. The school condones an election in which the students vote for who is the prettiest girl and the most popular boy. That's staggering.

 

And furthermore, stop voting for "Most Likely To Succeed" in the school yearbook! Every child succeeds in his or her own way!

 

If anything, they should stop having people vote for a "class clown." That's what I was named. It's quite a thing to aspire to.

 

So?

 

It seems to me that schools should be promoting a mission of social inclusion, not cooperating in social hierarchy sorting. It also seems to me that schools should not be assisting in the promotion of the message, to girls, in particular, that being pretty is what's most important. This isn't just about the two winners, but the whole notion of the homecoming "court." Basically, the school is sponsoring an election to name the 10 coolest of the cool kids.

 

Homecoming revolves around the football team. Should we stop that because it's school-sanctioned exclusion of those who aren't the biggest, strongest and fastest?

 

If there were no homecoming court, then we would lose this (from my kids' school):

 

I'm thinking it's possible that, even without homecoming "festivities," 99.9 percent of high school boys and girls would still want to be considered attractive and popular.

 

The biggest problem I have with homecoming is that the over-the-top "promposal" is now being done for the homecoming dance.

 

Hell, my high school got rid of the homecoming king and queen in about 1970, before I even got there. They did keep the 'homecoming court' but expanded it so much -- to about 40 people per class -- that nobody paid any particular attention to who did or didn't make it. (I did as a senior, woohoo, but mainly because of my GF.)

The kings and queens are always all the same Biffs and Buffys who get their asses kissed for everything else every other day of the school year.