Throw Prom Life Preserver

We may never have another prom again – that is, if we have no help.

With more and more teachers refusing to help out student classes, raising money has become a hard feat to overcome. And if teachers continue to be reluctant to become class sponsors who help plan and fundraise for proms, the absence of prom may become a sad reality. The best way to solve this mendable problem is to provide an appealing incentive for those teachers willing to take on this mounting challenge.

We all realize the vital role teachers play in the four-year production of prom. Each year a new freshman class is introduced with the left over money from the previous year’s senior funds and with classes in recent years stealing money rightfully from the freshman class, more often than not this leaves the incoming class with no money. If each class was promised a dedicated sponsor, by the time senior year arrived, prom would be a near guarantee.

Students go through four years of exams, extra-curriculars, and essays ultimately for one reason – graduation. Prom, however, is the icing on the cake, the pretty red cherry on top of the perfect ice-cream sundae. After the work students put in, we expect a prom. We deserve a prom. When people look back on high school, the first thing they look back on is prom. It is a pivotal moment in every student’s life.

There are those who believe that giving class sponsors stipends, or extra pay, and an additional planning period is a waste of school resources, but it is worth it to continue the long-lived tradition of prom. These are things that must be rectified if we are to make any progress in reversing what has become a gradual decrease in teacher participation.

It is true; being a class sponsor is a time-consuming project, and though some may believe it to be a tragic waste of time, the silver lining lies in the gratification that comes with being a teacher at all. Teachers are educators. Teachers are motivators. Teachers are the authority figures that not only give students the tools to be successful in academia but in life, as well. How would it look if a teacher felt it to be useless to help with prom? How would it look if a teacher decided to pass on helping with the senior class fundraiser? How would it look if a teacher decided that making that extra effort was pointless? To a student it is that one look that can define their involvement in key moments of their lives.

It is time for prom to become the revered celebration it once was. Now is the instance to snatch prom back from the clutches of extinction. In order for that to happen, certain perks need to be added to the job of class sponsor as an enticing incentive.

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