Dumbing Down High School Athletics

Well, the tutoring thing sounds good, if it works. Too often when exceptions are made so students can play, it hurts them in the long run I think. Sure, some become professional athletes and all that, but it is not the norm.

John S., When I played high school sports there wasn't much time left in a day after practice and homework. Finding time for one-hour tutoring sessions four days a week would be a challenge.

I am so sick of hearing about lowering standards and celebrating mediocracy. My husband is a public school teacher and coach, so I get a good firsthand look at all the new ways we celebrate these things. I also read a lot of the education magazines he gets in the mail. A recent article I remember is they are now finding that this focus on self-esteem no matter how much you mess up is actually hurting, not helping kids.

When I went to a team banquet and saw them handing out awards to every swimmer, including the "Girl who always talks on her cell phone" award (I kid you not, that is actually what was written on the certificate), I had to try not to throw up. What makes winning an award special anymore if they give them out for things like that?!?

In South Africa, our matriculation exams are also dumbed down. The reason given, is that previously disadvantaged learners should now have a fair chance of passing. The problem with that is that we now have thousands of Matrics who are barely literate.
Dixiegirl
Cape Town, R.S.A.

My parents wouldn't let me play sports unless I had a 3.0. I think that should be the case. If you can't at least get c's (2.0) you shouldn't be playing sports. When I coached, anyone with a D or less (in any class), would be on the bench for the first quarter at least (Basketball). It comes down to responsibility.... (Huh, what is that?)

I don't understand why athletics can't be considered a talent and an asset. We don't expect scientists to be physically fit. We are born with different assets, and I think they should all be recognized, regardless of whether we possess the ones that are favored at the time.

That's an interesting point of view Sandy and had never thought about it that way. However, I think while a student is in high school they should have to grades up to a certain level - C's at a minimum. I do think high school's should accomodate athletes with alternative educational options to allow them to pursue their sport of choice. I ski raced competitively and I was allowed to leave school at 11:30 everyday for practice and I also traveled extensively and missed a lot of school. However, I still had to maintain my grades and complete all of my assignments and take the same tests as the other students. They just let me do it in a way that allowed me to pursue my sport. I was able to maintain a 4.0 and pursue skiing at a very competitive level, so I think it can be done.

Sandy,

You make an interesting point, but is high school academics really that tough? Besides, what will keep a particular person going after they start to age and their once so-called talent is long gone? How will they support themselves?

Clearly some people are better at certain things than others, but shouldn't MOST people be able to operate with basic high school knowledge? We all know that both math and reading are in trouble, why compound the problem by rewarding those who chose not to apply themselves? My thoughts are this is an effort for schools to catch great athletes without making them work to hard in other areas.

For some, high school academics are not only tough, they are impossible. I know three such people. One is now a very successful line manager in an extremely successful business. I watched the mother of another sit this child down and work with her on school work from the minute she got in from school until it was time for bed. There was no way this girl was going to learn what she needed to in order to make decent grades in school, but she did have other talents. I finally convinced the mother to let up and explore those other talents, before the girl's self-esteem was destroyed. She is also doing well today, in her own field. The third was an athlete. I won't tell much of his story, because he might be recognizable. He was also one of the kindest, most wonderful young men you could ever hope to meet. He had a difficult time learning. He makes his living playing ball now.

My daughter was a tough one. She had the ability to make straight A's without trying, but her real interests were in other areas. I wasn't sure how to deal with her. It ends up, she graduated high school early, with a decent GPA and finished a semester of college before the rest of her class graduated. However, academics still don't interest her. I wrote an aticle about her (not trying to hijack here, but I also don't want to write a complete article in this comment box.
Define Education

Zenith, thanks for the dialogue. I agree that the most important point is seeing each child as an individual and looking for what will benefit that child most. I don't necessarily advocate lowering standards so every child can fit the program, I believe we need to broaden the program to include subjects that will take every child into a future. For example, why aren't culinary arts, wood-working, dance, and sports considered educational programs instead of extra-curricular activities? They can all lead to successful lives and careers, and if a child is not able to grasp math, should he not receive a degree that says he has put in the required effort and hours to further his career path?

Very interesting discussion and I agree with many of the points made by both Sandy and Zenith. The school system in this country certainly does not offer enough options for children whose talents, skills and interests lie outside of the standard curriculum. As a result, some children do not prosper under the current system because they are unable to find the educational options that suit their individual needs. I believe that is part of why our secondary education system falls behind other developed nations in Europe and East Asia. I know in the Czech Republic, there are many more options during the traditional "high school" years that give the child the opportunity to better prepare for the field they are interested in, such as a vocational school, a language school, a technical school, a science oriented school, etc.

Sandy, Zenith, and Kat,

As much as my comment might indicate above, I too believe in a more individualized education. Despite my husband being a public school teacher, we think our son would get more use out of a non-traditional education such as the Montessori or Waldorf systems. Right now we are leaning towards the Waldorf system because of its strong emphasis on integrating the arts into all parts of the curriculum. See this website for more info http://www.waldorfanswers.org/PublicWaldorf.htm.

While I agree that there are individuals and the educational system needs work, it does seem that a high percentage of athletes are able to just skate by with minimal academic effort, even if they are able to handle the coursework.

For instance, I took an Anthro 101 class in college as part of a requirement, and was suprised to learn the class was largely football and hockey players ( I am not singling out, just telling it like it was). By chance, even though I didn't think I needed it, I attended a review session. Imagine my suprise when the professor was basically giving us all the questions and answers for the upcoming test! And who was in attendence at this studt session? You guessed it, 90% athletes.

Katrina, I had the same experience when I skiied NCAA at the University of Colorado. I took one "Athlete Blow-Off Class" the entire time I was there because it was the only one that fit my schedule and satisified a Liberal Arts requierement I needed. 90% of the class was athletes and most on scholarship.

Funny enough the teacher was Ward Churchill - the same one that's been in the news a lot lately. Besides the fact that he told the entire class that if he had his way he would scalp all white people, blow up Mount Rushmore and other such nonsense, his class was a total joke. You had to buy his book ($50 or so) - there may have been 2 books, which you did not need to pass the class. For the midterm it was a 10 question multiple choice test for which he gave us the answers ahead of time, as in 1 is B, 2 is C, etc. The final was a paper that was graded based on the number of Camel Bucks (yes, the cigarettes) you attached to it for the TA.

I made the mistake of trying to participate in a class discussion once and because I did not agree with him that prison labor (we we talking about murderers and rapists building desks) was the equivalent of modern day slavery because they weren't getting paid the same as a non-prisoner for the same work, I was called a Nazi and accused of being a slave owner. It may have been a little unnverving given the number of large black men in the room, but luckily I was friends with most of them.

Kat,

Good for your for standing up for it. Too bad the professor acted in that manner. The ironic thing is, 2 years later, I took a class called "Religion and Politics" with the same professor. We studied how fundamentalist sects of all religions influenced politics. I found it extremely interesting and even though I was a business major, still to this day I feel it was one of the best classes of my entire college career.

Ps. I agree with you on the prison labor issue.

This article made me so angry yesterday I had to collect my thoughts before I could comment. My first reaction is that the school system is creating a bunch of "Randy Mosses". (Atheletes who don't ever have to face consequences and therefore never learn from their mistakes until it is too late.) Next, I thought, "Gee and everyone thinks northern schools have higher standards." Here in NC students must have a 2.0 in order to compete. What are they doing up there? Does a board member have a student athlete at home who can't cut the mustard????

This is a fascinating discussion. In Texas, a student must maintain a 2.0 to play. But I was having lunch today with a friend and we were discussing the increase of ADHD cases and ADD cases. When I was in grade school, this was almost unheard of. Now it seems like an epidemic. One possible cause? The administering of so many vaccines prior to two years. It made me curious enough to look it up and sure enough, there are many studies being conducted with regards to this phenominum. We are damaging our immune systems, thus causing adverse reactions like autism, ADD, ADHD. And this makes it more difficult for kids to learn. Instead of fixing the problem, we tend to put bandaids on it. (after each shot of course)