Education (college, degree, public school, scholarship)

[UNITE]

Hello. I think it's time we take the sports out of EDUCATION! All 50 states!! Have a program in place for sports outside of the EDUCATION. Someone has to run this United States of America when we are not able. I'm not counting on how many baskets,homeruns,touch downs,spikes,or how fast a person can run to be able to take care and reason out my medicare plans or be able to take me to the moon. Hands on survival techniques should be required all 4 years of High School.Learn what the earth can do for us and what we can do to preserve our Mother Earth.I really do not want to become the United States of Japan or China or Mexico or India.....you get my drift?? Thanks for listening. EDUCATE EDUCATE EDUCATE p.s. you can't imagine the EDUCATION funds that go for sports.

[SmerkyGrl]

I find it ironic you talk about education and yet you did not know that the US was based on immigration and that the legal immigrants from Japan/China/Mexico/India are an essential part of the economy (not to mention the norm of this country).

I do, however, agree that too much emphasis is put on sports in this country so much that the entire school day is shifted forward so that sports teams will have time to practice while there's still daylight out. Pretty ridiculous to me. However, to completely take sports out of the curriculum? Physical education is already lacking and the effects are an obese young adult population. To take it out completely would just be outright stupidity.

[UNITE]

As much as I appreciate your attention on this matter, I don't believe you need to call it stupidity!!Hello, I did not say to take physical education out as a matter of fact up it a notch. Yes sports are in the way on a lot of levels of education.Thank you for your not so kind words of my personal education. I am not educated. My fault at this age. What you spoke of about the different countries is neal and void to what I posted about America being taken over by a country who is smart enough to do it. So you tellin me, that you wouldn't mind being called The United States of Japan or so on?? I have a 17 year old senior who has been in sports since the 3rd grade. His name is a household name to alot of people. Sports (especially contact sports) are only pummeling our children's undeveloped bones and muscles. And for what?? To have a big name for a couple of years?? Whatever> EDUCATE at Schools, play ball somewhere else. Besides this is in place already in some schools. Keep the sports.......seperate. The children not in them will no longer have to feel the wrath of the popular sports people and maybe just maybe we can get ALL teachers to give equal amounts of concern to every childs learning. We have alot of teachers who are also coaches. That sometimes creates problems for those who need to have a little extra time and help, but the teacher can't stay cause they have to go and coach. So open your mind and think about it.

[golfgal]

Sorry, but I disagree totally. Sports offer unique learning experiences that can't be taught in the classroom. The offer an outlet for kids and there are plenty of kids that only stay in school for the sports otherwise they would have dropped out and that causes a whole new set of problems. Sports and other activities offer the opportunity for well rounded individuals. Most students are well able to handle the demands of the classroom and participate in sports and other extra curricular activities.

[katenik]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Sorry, but I disagree totally. Sports offer unique learning experiences that can't be taught in the classroom. The offer an outlet for kids and there are plenty of kids that only stay in school for the sports otherwise they would have dropped out and that causes a whole new set of problems. Sports and other activities offer the opportunity for well rounded individuals. Most students are well able to handle the demands of the classroom and participate in sports and other extra curricular activities.

i concur with the original poster regarding sports in schools. organized competitive sports should be community-based activities, not school programs. your comment about students who would drop out of school without them makes the point for me: far too many student-athletes think that they go to school to play sports, rather than to learn. when i was teaching, these kids often had atrocious class attendance and work habits, and usually showed up at the end of the semester looking for me to "give" them passing grades "so [they] could play." my response in these situations: "i don't give grades; i just record those you earn." not that it mattered, as the coaches let them play, regardless of their academic performance. it sends a terrible message about the relative importance of sports and academics.

[UNITE]

Gosh I wish we had more people listening to us. You couldn't have said it any better. How ironic is it that you are or were a teacher and I am a sports mom of about 9 years. My child is a senior this year. I also spoke to children from another town and school about this subject and some really surprising answers. They agreed whole heartedly. They were all three playing football for their school at the time. They agree ALL kids do not get the same EDUCATION that they do. They also agreed that their bodies are being pummeled at a very young age. They don't like it. I told them to stand up and say so. Not sure if they did, I did not collect names. My child has gone to State 3 times in school sports. I would like to see the SPORTS MONIES GO TO EDUCATION.

[ahava]

Just because people aren't replying doesn't mean they aren't listening. I agree with golfgal. Participating in sports teaches teamwork and working for something greater than one's self - real life lessons that are not as successfully duplicated in the classroom. Studies show that students who participate in extracurricular activities do better in school. Athletes getting As without showing up to class or doing the work is a problem, however I think it occurs mostly in rural areas where the focus is on athletics, not academics. I teach in a suburban high school and we have to turn in grades for student athletes every week. If an athlete is getting a D or F in an English, math, science, or social studies class, they don't get to play or practice until their grade is better. They could be the star quarterback of the football team, and if they're failing math they won't be playing. It's also in rural areas that schools have less staff so that the athletic director is also a teacher (UNITE mentioned this in another thread), which can create a conflict of interest. But if a coach is putting their coaching duties ahead of helping their students, that's a problem with the coach, not athletics as a whole.
There's also something to be said for school spirit. For some students, pride in their school's athletic teams gives them pride in their school, which in turn motivates them to go to school and be better students. If you take that away, you take away their desire to try. Can you imagine high school without pep rallies, Friday night football games, or wearing your school colors? I can't. It's nice to think that by taking away athletes you'll take away the popularity contest, but kids will always feel that they don't fit in because they don't have the right clothes, the right hairstyle, etc.
One last thing: for students who come from lower-class families, an athletic scholarship might be their only chance to go to college. A college degree is becoming undeniably important in getting a job these days, and you want to take away what is probably the only opportunity these students have to create a better life for themselves?

[part_iv]

It is important for students to get the physical education they need in schools. I've taken regular old P.E. classes in high school, and they were fine. We ran every day and then went on to do something else--a quick game of basketball, softball, volleyball, whatever. This is the sort of physical education class that should be offered, not the organized sports--those should be left up to local communities.

I graduated from high school last year, and I never played any sports. I'm far more academically inclined than physically, and I know there are plenty of other students out there who are just like me. So to give all of these full-ride scholarships out to all-star athletes to attend schools my family and I could only dream of being able to afford is completely unfair. I don't think anyone can argue that the full-ride scholarships tend to be saved for those students who the school knows can make them the big winner in football or basketball games, regardless of grades or any other activities. All the others who have made the As and Bs throughout their high school careers and taken part in various other non-sports related activites are more often than not left behind to pay for college more-or-less completely themselves.

And on the matter of special treatment, of course athletes get it!! They are put up on a podium and more-or-less worshipped during sports season at both the pep rallies and in the class rooms. My school allowed for athletes to be absent from school completely unpenalized if there was a game that evening, and on many occasions athletes were pulled from my class by their coaches to practice in the gym or weight room in preparation for a big game or match. Yes, many were supposed to maintain the A or B averages in all their classes in order to play, but last year my school got so caught up in the idea of the soccer teams going to state, some teachers curved their grades in order to let them play.

[ggluvbug]

The question shouldn't be whether sports are taken out or not...it should be how to keep the standards same for all students.....I think that sports add to the high school experience. Not everything in school is academic nor should it be. Students need other learning experiences. Sports provides that for some students.

[dgz]

Sports can be fun but sports do not belong in the schools. Schools should be about education. Perhaps if the focus was solely on education, the quality would be there. If I had children, I don't know if I would send them to a public school today. When I talk with friends' children (who are in high school), I'm amazed at what is not covered in school. What are they doing in there? Why aren't they coming out of school speaking multiple languages (as in other countries)? Why aren't they able to recognize the works of at least few key artists? Why haven't they read at least perhaps 20 books by some of the world's greatest writers. After all... 7th grade to 12th, that's 5 years... Is it so difficult to get someone to read 4 books within a year?) And why aren't they coming out of school with some interest in developing a positive relationship with the earth and with other people? (I've actually met several people who did not know that Bolivia was in South America!)

As far as sports goes... If someone wants to learn how to play soccer or football, there should be neighborhood/community teams that they can join and participate in after school.

When I was in junior and senior high, there was gym class (which was useless) and then there was sports. And sports was for a very small segment of the student population. And when I say 'for'... I mean 'for' students who could participate ('watching' sports doesn't count). I think that if there were more community teams, more kids would have the opportunity to participate in sports. Even if they ended up on a low ranking team, they would still get to play and life is all about 'doing.' We already have too many spectators in this society.

Originally Posted by UNITE

Hello. I think it's time we take the sports out of EDUCATION! All 50 states!! Have a program in place for sports outside of the EDUCATION. Someone has to run this United States of America when we are not able. I'm not counting on how many baskets,homeruns,touch downs,spikes,or how fast a person can run to be able to take care and reason out my medicare plans or be able to take me to the moon. Hands on survival techniques should be required all 4 years of High School.Learn what the earth can do for us and what we can do to preserve our Mother Earth.I really do not want to become the United States of Japan or China or Mexico or India.....you get my drift?? Thanks for listening. EDUCATE EDUCATE EDUCATE p.s. you can't imagine the EDUCATION funds that go for sports.