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HEy novanative, I honestly believe that sports has everything to do about schools today. NCLB says to me, in every field of the education cycle.Sports is a part of that. Then you have the pencil pushed or coddled grades who cannot match up when it comes down to taking these NCLB tests, because of the extra coddling just to make sure they are on the field whether they can acknowledge and know their math or not. Can't deny any of this, there are plenty of examples. It is your ACADEMIC children who are going to college, not so many of the sports kids.
I did not hijack anything. I was and am on topic as far as I am concerned. Everybody already knows your opinion on it too. Sports are a big separator in the ACADEMICS and I believe that does fall into the category of being able to take these tests and know what the answers are. We have a petition going on right now against our Administrator who is trying to build a brand new sports complex for $9 million dollars at the same time he has 3 failing campuses and could care less about the ACADEMICS side of it. This definitely falls into the NCLB deal. Our kids are being left behind for a sports complex.
I am entitled to my opinion as are you, so lets just play nice.
I have to agree with novanative75, sports don't have ANYTHING to do with the factual basis of NCLB. With that said, I think I get your point; however, that sports complex may be very vital to your school system. A lot of the time, kids need to have something to look forward to and sports fill that void. But I don't believe that we should use sports as a means to get kids to college. That's something I wholeheartedly believe. If a student can't score 22 on the ACT, then I don't think they deserve a scholarship just because they can run a football. (I'm being incredibly short, but I think those of you that are smart will get my overall point.)
I do not think my brother would have been able to get a college degree, or even pass the test to get into college. But why would he NEED to. He makes a good living without one. He just wasn't cut out for college. He can read but not at a 12th grade level. My point is not all kids will or can graduate high school at a high school level. That doesn't mean they will never have a good job. Some kids ARE just going to be behind. He did the best he could in school but he was always going to be behind most if not all of his class. Someone has to be last, it was just my brother who was last. And that is OK.
His high standered was to grad. high school, that was very high for him.
Just an example of the failings of NCLB and our school districts' disastrous response to it; My grandson has ADHD his class NEVER goes outside to recess, they NEVER have P.E. ART is his doodling, or something incorporated into a lesson at the whim of his exaspperated teacher. When I questioned why, she responded "we're just cramming all day for these tests!" No child should be abused in this manner, to sit for 7.5 hours attending, reading, writing, and calculating, esp. one with ADHD. It is sad and undoutedly we will see the fallout in the years to come. NCLB is a bad, bad, bad thing. We need to overall it and fast.
We have tried over and over and over again to tell Unite this, not every school district is so sports-crazed as her's supposdly is. She refuses to look at other schools and see the good that is going on. We are all sorry her school is so terrible but it is not like that everywhere!
Hi novanative,
First of all, your first statement couldn't be anymore wrong if ya tried. Of course every k-12 schools with sports as a curiculum, is definitely dead set on winning every sport. Be at the top. Have that great big sports name.You are fooling yourselves. ALL KIDS NEED TO PLAY.
As long as sports is an affiliated curiculum with k-12 schools, than this NCLB does pertain. The program is about tests that no educator agrees with.I got that. But this is where the sports get in the way of these tests, on so many levels. If educators weren't so busy worrying about the sports programs than maybe, just maybe our children would stand a chance at an ACADEMIC EDUCATION, and an ACADEMIC TEACHER would not have to take a back seat to the coach/teachers.
The chosen few, just are not cutting it for the entire United States of America in the big tests.
I am on the outside looking in. I understand that this program does not work for anybody. Do something about it! I hear screaming from State to State from all kinds of educators about the bad program in place(NCLB).Why haven't all of you educators came together and got this resolved then? We gotta start somewhere. As a parent, I expect the ACADEMIC EDUCATORS to fix this and fast, we can't afford to waste another minute.
I have to agree with novanative75, sports don't have ANYTHING to do with the factual basis of NCLB. With that said, I think I get your point; however, that sports complex may be very vital to your school system. A lot of the time, kids need to have something to look forward to and sports fill that void. But I don't believe that we should use sports as a means to get kids to college. That's something I wholeheartedly believe. If a student can't score 22 on the ACT, then I don't think they deserve a scholarship just because they can run a football. (I'm being incredibly short, but I think those of you that are smart will get my overall point.)
Hi pennquaker,
Ya know maybe it's not these tests that are the problem. Maybe we should start looking at ACADEMIC TEACHERS. Oh wait, I forgot, they are the lowest on the totem pole, seeins how sports,coach/teachers, and administration comes before them.
Are you an educator? IF so what subject and age do you teach?
Do you have k-12 age children in school?
Do you realize that a child still has to get their grades to get a scholarship to a college. Just because they are good in community sports does not automatically make them college material.
"Alot of the time,kids need something to look forward to and sports fill that void."
"But I don't believe we should use sports to get kids to college."
These are your words. Hmmmmmm.
(I am being incredibly short, but maybe some of you smarter people will get my overall point) I can't believe I just lowered myself to this level.
Ok, so do you or nova have any suggestions as to how to get this program out of schools? What program would you suggest?
Unite, sorry i haven't checked back here. I realize that sports doesn't have anything to do with NCLB, however, whether some people want to admit it or not, sports does have a role in many places and does often work to the betterment of some of the kids by keeping them focused on school. It is often another form of support for those kids. As for my own kids, both boys..my oldest is a freshman in college and yes, played sports, and was at the top of his class academically. he attends washington university in st. louis, also one of the top universities in the country. my youngest is in middle school, also in athletics, also at the top of his class.
I think that they have to come up with the right standards by which to judge/test these children. if public funds are paying for education, there must be standards to hold them up to. and by all means, academics comes first, extra curriculars are just that..extra!
Hi novanative,
First of all, your first statement couldn't be anymore wrong if ya tried. Of course every k-12 schools with sports as a curiculum, is definitely dead set on winning every sport. Be at the top. Have that great big sports name.You are fooling yourselves. ALL KIDS NEED TO PLAY.
As long as sports is an affiliated curiculum with k-12 schools, than this NCLB does pertain. The program is about tests that no educator agrees with.I got that. But this is where the sports get in the way of these tests, on so many levels. If educators weren't so busy worrying about the sports programs than maybe, just maybe our children would stand a chance at an ACADEMIC EDUCATION, and an ACADEMIC TEACHER would not have to take a back seat to the coach/teachers.
The chosen few, just are not cutting it for the entire United States of America in the big tests.
I am on the outside looking in. I understand that this program does not work for anybody. Do something about it! I hear screaming from State to State from all kinds of educators about the bad program in place(NCLB).Why haven't all of you educators came together and got this resolved then? We gotta start somewhere. As a parent, I expect the ACADEMIC EDUCATORS to fix this and fast, we can't afford to waste another minute.
Do you have any solution answers?
Will you EVER understand that not all schools are like yours???? Most schools incorporate sports in a positive way. WE GET IT, yours does not, but stop making it out to be like that everywhere, it simply is not. Sports have NOTHING to do with standardized testing or NCLB. If anything, NCLB would reduce the importance of sports, so you should love it! I have worked at several, several (how many have you worked at again??) high schools and although sports was a fun, exciting and important part of the school community, it NEVER outweighed the importance of education. EVERY coach I knew, most of whom were teachers, had a 'academics first' policy.
You need to spend some time in other schools. You are using the example of one, horrible it sounds like, school and falsely promoting that all schools are the same. You have NO IDEA!
However, as we all know and as the past has shown, you are not willing to open your mind to the possibility that sports are actually helping a lot of kids and are, for the most part, a positive part of every school community.
As far as getting rid of it, the right president will do that. People, pay attention to who you are voting for if you care about our kids.
Unite, sorry i haven't checked back here. I realize that sports doesn't have anything to do with NCLB, however, whether some people want to admit it or not, sports does have a role in many places and does often work to the betterment of some of the kids by keeping them focused on school. It is often another form of support for those kids. As for my own kids, both boys..my oldest is a freshman in college and yes, played sports, and was at the top of his class academically. he attends washington university in st. louis, also one of the top universities in the country. my youngest is in middle school, also in athletics, also at the top of his class.
I
You make great points, sports helps kids.
arrrghh, can you imagine schools without sports and other extracurricular activities? Imagine what horrible places they would be. We want our kids to want to go to school. Sure, some love academics but let us face it, a lot of kids go for the other stuff and that is fine with me, whatever gets them there. Once they are there, they learn to appreciate what they are learning, etc.
Unite, sorry i haven't checked back here. I realize that sports doesn't have anything to do with NCLB, however, whether some people want to admit it or not, sports does have a role in many places and does often work to the betterment of some of the kids by keeping them focused on school. It is often another form of support for those kids. As for my own kids, both boys..my oldest is a freshman in college and yes, played sports, and was at the top of his class academically. he attends washington university in st. louis, also one of the top universities in the country. my youngest is in middle school, also in athletics, also at the top of his class.
I think that they have to come up with the right standards by which to judge/test these children. if public funds are paying for education, there must be standards to hold them up to. and by all means, academics comes first, extra curriculars are just that..extra!
Hi sgresident, I also have a sports child. He is always at the top of his game. He has ribbons,medals,letters,tropheys,awards. Alot of respect from alot of people. So I do realize what you are saying about the child getting some relief of the ACADEMICS day, then wouldn't it be safe to say that they ALL need a break? I just don't like to see all the seperation that sports cause in schools. THe money that goes out for them is incredible. I wish I could make it all better,but as long as there is seperation on what is more important to the future, than we will have this.
I would like to see every teacher and child excel, but I do not believe NCLB is going to give them that oppurtunity.
As a parent first, and a former teacher second, I have to say that NCLB should be given a drastic overhaul. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to education.
To answer the OP is impossible. However, with that said, there ARE some kids that could be left behind. Bare with me:
As a high school math teacher in a rural area I had students from all ethnic and socio-economic background. Across the board I had many parents that were not involved with their child's education. I had one student at 3 different times and NEVER met the parents. I tried, they didn't. Out of the thousands of students that I had I can honestly tell you that I may have met 100 +/-. Less than 10% of those were actively involved with the school.
I taught in an area of Virginia where some of my students came from an area comprised of watermen. All these kids wanted to do was sleep until they were 16 so that they could quit and go to work on the water. They couldn't read nor did they want to. However, they were among the most intelligent people I have ever met, just not scholasticly. They will make a very good living working the waters of the Chesapeae bay. They knew more about that way of life than I will ever. They wouldn't do a lick of math in school but, they sure knew how to do the math that they needed for that business. Those kids didn't want to be there and their parents didn't care either. They would play the attendence game. Some of this kids I saw MAYBE 10 days out of a year.
Guess what? I wasn't their first teacher to witness this but, they were passed on year after year so that the other teachers could get them off their rolls. But ya know what else? These students that didn't want to be there took a heavy toll on MY stats. When you have kids such as these in your class you test scores and pass/fail ratios are abismal. The way NCLB is written is that ALL students are educable. Not all are (on the schedule demanded by administration because of testing) nor do all want to be. Not all are able to learn on the same level as the "norm." There are many ways to teach these kids but we are not given the time to do so.
We as teachers take the blame (for that is what it is) for these students' lack of progress. NCLB does not take these types of situations (and others) into consideration. There is great pressure on teachers to get the job done but at what cost to our future as a nation and that of our youth?
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Unite
