So I am back from the Ramona vs. Jurupa Valley football game this evening. A great game with an excited crowd. Ramona prevailed with a score of 47 to 7 -- way to go Rams! That's great, but then there is the story behind the story -- the story that rarely gets told. Athletics ultimately is not about winning (which I really like the winning part), but about the growth, development, and teamwork of the young men and women involved.
In this case, the football team took it upon themselves to invite special guests (Life Skills Academy) to their game and then played hard for them. You can check out the article on the Ramona HS website. More importantly, there are lots of excited football players, and Life Skills students tonight with the "win" at Ramona. What more could we ever ask from our coaches and athletes than what they delivered today? Great job to the total Ramona community.
Dr. Miller, Thank you for highlighting this positive event at Ramona. I think the football players and coaches and the life skills academy students and teachers grew a little bit taller on Friday, even before the big win! As always, I am proud of the Ram community!
ReplyDeleteThose young men are examples for their classmates and the community beyond Ramona. It is wonderful to see students with disabilities acknowledged as people first, and invited to and included in activities beyond their classrooms. I would hope that someday the community at large will take the lead of the Ramona Rams football team and see people with disabilities as unique as opposed to broken, and that cases of people reaching out to one another will be unremarkable.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a week since the football game. At Ramona, these events occur on a daily basis. Students greeting eachother, from all disciplines. The Lunch Buddies Club that boast of 50+ members, those wanting to learn more about each other, culminating in a journey to Sea World in May of next year. Our 4th Very Special Arts Fair that will include all (SH)intellectually challenged students in our district, and the list goes on. See you at the next football game!
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