Bragging rights. Every school, large or small, urban, suburban or rural, public or private has something it can brag about. It is the stuff that The Beach Boys sang in “Be True to Your School” in the 1950s, a song that is played annually at homecoming and state tournament time. A brag is the school’s claim to glory that connects current students, alumnae, and the community. More than a mascot or school colors, a brag memorializes achievement.
It is okay for schools to brag; it really is. If a school won’t brag about itself, who will?
Somewhere there is a sign with your school’s brag on it. On the main highway leading into small midwestern towns, the brag is on signage large enough to be read from a passing car that says
Home of the Smallville Tigers
Girls Basketball State Champs
2003
2004
2009
2014
In every school there is signage on the walls and in trophy cases proclaiming state or conference champs in football, boy’s basketball, or track. It may tout teams or individuals. Brags are any sport or activity that is a source of school pride. Debate teams, math teams, bands and choirs, theater actors and actresses, and Destination Imagination champs all merit bragging. Your brag may be your designation as a Blue Ribbon School or a recognized school of academic achievement.
Most recently, brags appear on school websites. There are more digital readers than motorists passing through Smallville and websites expand viewership of school brags. Once posted, brags can be linked to any school story related to achievement and success and are discoverable by anyone browsing through the school site. The “badges” provided by awarding organizations are identifiable and transportable. Any link of your school name with an awarding organization and the awarded achievement is public relations gold.
Take Away
A good and well-earned brag is potent. A strong brag bolsters a school image in a contemporary culture that values image. It is an identification with achievement in a society that regales winners. People everywhere understand brags and look for the next super-performance to create a new something to crow about.
Brags also have echo power because they can be retold again and again. They are treated as truths. School graduates who settle in their hometowns carry brags from one generation to the next. An individual or team that established records which stand over time challenge the efforts of current and future students. I grew up under the maternal challenge to be as good as Niles Kinnick, a Heisman Trophy winner, All-American and Phi Beta Kappa scholar. The brag of Adel, IA, and the University of Iowa still shines brightly.
If you want to test your brag, try taking it down. Begin a rumor that old banners will be removed from the gym or plaques from the band and choir rooms or a trophy case will be repurposed. The backslap will confirm which of these is your school’s most important brag.
What do we know?
Most school successes are intentional both at the personal and the organizational levels. We can point to the athlete with unbelievable natural athleticism and strength. And, we can point to the child with a gift for mathematical thinking who excels in calculus while in 8th grade. Giftedness aside, most often school success finds children who commit to doing something exceptionally well. They focus, they persist, they seek opportunities to grow, and in the end they excel. They are intentional and purposeful and committed. Successful schools intentionally and purposefully have programs that attract and nurture students who strive for success.
In the same breath, we can point at school-based programs that purposefully grow opportunities for children to become achievers and those programs were born from an individual leader or succession of leaders. A superintendent, principal, teacher, coach, director and advisor are in positions for initiating programs that breed school and student success. Leadership is a critical element in successful school programs.
I attended a high school where the boys swim team won 17 state championships. In that community, every child at the Y, summer swimming programs, and school swim classes was looked at as future state champ. I worked in a high school where high academic achievement was the expectation. The bar for average was higher than the bar for excellence in most schools. The target was an ACT average of 30 or better and institutional practices were in place to help all students stretch their ACT preparation to add their names to the school’s academic honors. These are two examples of educators initiating sustainable programs that motivate and nurture high levels of student success that become points of school and community pride.
Brags matter to parents. School choice options make enrollment a competitive field and brags bolster a school’s competitive edge. Parents look for the right school environment and culture that gives their child an educational advantage compared to children in other schools. Self-interest is a driving component in school choice. To be “choice” competitive, your school needs to identify its brag, align it with an enrollment market, and advertise. Bragging can be more than public relations.
Why is this thus
Schools are intentionally designed. Today, most schools post and publish their vision, mission statements, and annual school goals. Many states require public schools to publish an annual report card of student performance and schools have the opportunity to align these achievements with their mission. At the school level, most success is the result of the alignment of mission, commitment, resources, results-based leadership, and continuity over time.
Success begets success. At the personal and institutional levels, the psychology of success is a powerful motivator to extend current success further or to find new opportunities for success. At the community level, people acknowledge school success and then wait for the next success. There is an environment in successful schools that cultivates more not less success.
Schools that understand intentional design, have leadership able to align efforts to a purposeful and positive mission, and use the psychology of success to propel student and school achievements naturally create the right to brag.
To do
Be proud of your school. Find school and student achievements that shed a positive light on your school.
Find a brag that –
• is related to successful school achievement. The brag needs to be a measure of success in school academics, activities, arts or athletic programs. If the success derives from what children do out of school, it is not a school brag.
• contains an attribute or value that is positive and holds up over time. Brags built from the attributes of hard work, persistence, commitment, teamwork, healthy practices allow today’s children to see themselves as tomorrow’s success stories. Brags appeal both to groups and individuals. Individual children can see their own creativity or personal commitment to playing a musical instrument leading them to outstanding achievement.
• is related to qualities and characteristics that are achievable. In order to motivate current and future students, brags need to be within their reach. For some schools, it is conference not state championships and honor band distinctions not elite state performance groups. Significant school success at challenging levels is worth bragging.
• supports a positive community image. Every community has its own unique identity. School 4H programs fit well in a rural school and successful school programs at county and state fairs swell community pride. Communities tout their partnerships with colleges and universities which often works best for schools close to those institutions. At the same time, there are ubiquitous activities, such as conservation, marketing, and entrepreneurship that are positive for all communities. A brag that elevates community pride in the school is good for everyone.
Then, brag.
The big duh
The old news media adage of “If it bleeds, it leads” very well relates to school news. Violence at school, bus accidents, and bad acts by school personnel make the news media headlines. School success stories rarely do. For this reason alone, educators, parents of school-age children, and community leaders need to accentuate the positive successes of their local schools. If you won’t take up a school brag, who will?