My wife doesn’t listen to me much, and she certainly doesn’t help me search anymore, when I say I’ve lost something.  Seems I’m always searching for something, but especially eyeglasses and keys.  “You always find them” she says.  “Eventually.”  And it’s true.  I do.

And here’s what I’ve discovered:  I almost always find what I’ve lost in the places I last left them.  Quite obvious, isn’t it?  We always find what we’ve lost in the places we’ve last left them.

In my opinion, in a few years we’re going to be saying that we’ve lost some things in our schools that have been important to us; and we’re going to find them right where we lost them.

• When schools realize they’ve lost a magnet for attracting students and the involvement of parents, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a forum for giving a school identity and generating school spirit, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a tool for reaching students and motivating students to stay in school, like school and do better in school, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a program that teaches discipline, time management, hard work, teamwork and citizenship, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a program that improves student attendance and GPAs and reduces discipline problems and dropouts, they’ll start looking for those things . . .

And all these things that schools have lost will be found right in the place they were last left – in school-sponsored, student-centered competitive athletics and activities.