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DAVID BENTLEY'S COLUMN

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TRADITION OR HABIT?

Last week was homecoming week on the island, and spirits were high. Spirit-raising activities had students dressing in interesting costumes at the high school. A parade on Friday night included sirens, music, cheering students on floats, and enough energy to make the local power cooperative jealous. As an observer, I tried to remember what the meaning was behind this annual event.

Traditionally, homecoming involved the coming home of alumni. Former students returned to their alma mater in October to reunite with friends and former teachers, watch a home football game, and take part in the festivities, including parades and the crowning of the homecoming court. These days, however, alumni activities are often held in the summer when it is easier for former students to take vacations.

Now, homecoming is about school spirit among current students and winning the football game. Many local alumni still show their spirit while observing the parade and attending the ball game, but it is not a time for them to connect with each other and participate in traditional homecoming events.

According to the dictionary, a tradition is a way of passing down elements of a culture from generation to generation. As our society and its culture change, many traditions outlive their original purpose. I wonder if that is the case with homecoming. Have we continued the tradition out of habit when the original purpose no longer exists?

A Methodist minister once said he had seen a plaque while visiting a home that said:

Home is where you can be silent, and still be heard...
Where you can ask and find out who you are...
Where people laugh with you about yourself...
Where sorrow is divided and joy is multiplied...
Where we share love and grow.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if schools became this kind of home, and everyone wanted to return to them during homecoming week? Maybe it's time for a new tradition.

  • What traditions do you hold dear?

  • Do they help pass down elements of your culture?

  • Have any of them become mere habits?

  • Is it possible to revive them?

© 2002 David Bentley

David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

He can be reached by phone at 360.378.8436

by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com

or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com

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