This holiday tradition was started with my family last year when one of my young great-nieces, Kyche, not only received straight A's for the first half of the school year; but she also received the highest score among the third graders in her school on the Pennsylvania standardized test. To celebrate this achievement I announced that we Elders would honor her by hosting a Straight-A party to be held at Dave & Buster's in Philadelphia. We had thirty-nine parents, nieces, nephews and assorted cousins turn out. The youngsters ranged from 5th grade to nursery school with a toddler or two thrown in.
We exchanged holiday gifts, acknowledged academic achievement for those who made the honor role and turned up the volume when we acknowledged Kyche's achievements. All the family was proud of her and gave only positive feedback. The other children joined in with cheering and clapping as well. So much so that, Taylor, who was six years old, loudly proclaimed that we needed to start a "Straight-A Club". This way all the children would have a chance at having a party at Dave & Buster's. What better reason to strive for excellence? And, parents, what better lure than a party at Dave & Buster's could you even think of?
Now, Taylor pulled me aside. She said, "Aunt Toni, do you think we could also have a Straight-B Club?" When she looked into my eyes, she hurried up and added, "That would be for Jesse. See, he may not make it into the Straight-A group. But I'll be OK." I looked at Taylor and said we don't need anything but a Straight-A Club right now. We'll give Jesse a chance and see what happens.
Well, since that time last December, Kyche has received straight As since January 2008 as have Taylor and Jesse. We have a few youngsters who are still striving but they will be invited to the party and gift exchanging. It is sharing pride, seeing role models and enjoying family along with a holiday celebration. They can cheer for their cousin's achievements as well.
My little group of academically competitive great-nieces/nephews/cousins is giving my family the best holiday gifts we could ever receive. There may be a modest strain of bribery involved but so is there when we tell them to be good for Santa. We are telling them to be good for themselves. We are staying actively involved with them, encouraging academic excellence and having fun doing it! Plus it is giving Kyche a little competition and pushing Jesse to achieve more. What more could we want because the youngsters are having fun too? They have already started asking questions about what grades did we get when we were in the same grades that they are in now. They are asking questions about what did we do when we finished school and how did we decide what to do. From this multigenerational communication we have found several family examples of what not to do also. We have also discovered that one of our cousins has been accepted into the NASA astronaut's program...but that's another story.
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Toni Ford established the Double Nickels Theatre Company after she sold her business and considered herself retired. She dramatizes stories from her life experiences and uses them as a way to communicate with her friends from younger generations. Toni welcomes others to join with her in creating reminiscence theatre. http://www.doublenickels.org/
