On Wichita East High School
A trending topic right now is that a student with down syndrome was asked to remove a varsity letter. His family bought him a varsity letter like the other kids wear when he was recognized for playing basketball.
According to the article I read another parent was upset that her son was wearing it when he didn’t participate in varsity sports and (I believe) a staff member asked him to take it off and gave him a sweatshirt instead.
The article continues to read:
The family says it was told only varsity teams can wear the letter according to East High’s policy.
East High Principal Ken Thiessen says, “Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket.”
Thiessen pointed out his special needs teachers do a lot of volunteer work, like organizing basketball games, and he appreciates their efforts.
KSN also asked Thiessen if the school would consider giving a varsity letter to special needs kids.
“We have considered it, and our decision was no. We decided that is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity level competition.”
Thiessen says his building decided varsity letters would be for varsity letter winners only. KSN found out that there is no district-wide policy in Wichita.
The thing about this story is that it is a perfect illustration of how seriously things in high school are taken. They are taken so seriously that the word moronic comes to mind.
It’s all about the cliques in high school, and how a kid with down syndrome can’t be part of the varsity clique. If the loneliest and saddest kid in that school also tried to wear a varsity letter to fit in more, the response would’ve been the same and just as moronic.
Those in high school who got a letter, good for you. If you think it matters, good for you. But try to tell me why some other kid can’t wear it just so they can feel more comfortable in a way that doesn’t make you sound like an asshole, please.
High school has a tendency to make the kids who are left out REALLY left out. When I went to high school I participated in extracurricular activities but I was never part of a clique, no one ever thought of me, and at the end of the year no one even mentioned my name for “most insert title here”. And I imagine there are a lot of people who feel like that, who felt like they didn’t matter in high school. And maybe they didn’t matter in high school, but here’s the thing: high school is stupid.
So yes, you should let a kid with down syndrome who participates in this sport wear a Varsity Letter so he can fit in. But you know what else you should do? Make the drama kids, band kids, debate kids, and all those other kids in high school feel just as special as those doing sports.