Alan Wilbourn has a regular Tuesday column in the Northwest Arkansas Times about the goings on in the Fayetteville Public Schools. I was relieved but not really surprised that today's column was not devoted to hyping up the state 7A football championship game this weekend. Wilborn chose to write about things much more important, but he did so with mirth by adapting David Letterman's Top Ten format.I don't disagree with any of his ten items, although I might have arranged them differently or tried to squeeze in even more. For example, I would have included thanks that the School Board has decided to keep and expand the high school on the present campus. Also, I would have placed this one higher on my list than No. 7: "That we can agree to disagree and still be friends and neighbors. We understand that differences in opinions are not character flaws in the other person or reasons to go to war against each other.
Wilbourn will get no quarrel from me on his top three:
No. 3. That we live in a “wired” community. No, not the kind of wired that will get you drug tested. The kind of technologically wired, plugged-in people who keep up with what’s going on via technology and are savvy in the newest and coolest tech gadgets.
No. 2. Our teachers. There are days and situations when I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be a teacher. But, thankfully for us, they’re there, day in and day out, molding, shaping, and persuading young lives. When they retire, few of them get the kind of sendoff they deserve, like the one in “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” though they certainly deserve it.
No. 1. Our students. They just “get it,” whether it’s academics, athletics, community service or being environmentally responsible. They grasp what is important, and they will do the heavy lifting necessary to get it done. Like collecting more than 22,000 pounds of food for the Ozark Food Bank last week.
We do have much to appreciate and to be thankful for during this holiday season. Thanks, Alan, for that reminder.
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