- The United States routinely spends more tax dollars per high-school athlete than per high-school math student—unlike most countries worldwide. And we wonder why we lag in international education rankings?
I can't even begin to tear apart the above quote, so I'll leave it alone, but I'll just point out that sports aren't all bad. A little back story about me. I've been playing ice hockey since I was about 6 (still do it 3 days/week and I'm 31 now). My high school didn't have a team at that time, so I played in travel leagues around town. This gave me no incentive to give a shit about school (which I didn't), and I thus continued to fail miserably. Had I been on the high school team, which I would have been if it were an option. I couldn't play if I didn't keep grades. And I would've definitely kept a high GPA, because playing hockey was the most important thing to me. I think sports, team sports especially (since they have the extra cooperative component), exercise so much of you physically and mentally, that it would be a shame to get rid of them. I don't know if I'll ever have children, but if I do, there's no chance I won't get them into sports (not as one of those crazy rabid fathers, but as an encouraging sort, I hope; I've seen some weird, unbelievable shit from parents at the rink). If high school sports are an option, then that's what they'll do. Currently, I don't feel bad about my property taxes supporting other people's children to play sports one bit.
First of all, thumbs up on you being a hockey player. (I play, too... when I am not injured... which seems to happen a lot.) I don't think you would have had to worry about a high GPA, because frankly, that gets overlooked more often than you think. I played varsity soccer in high school. We were required to keep a 2.5 to be on the team; 3.0 to start. Every player signed paperwork acknowledging this rule. Our grades were checked. When the team's leading goal scorer was failing all of her classes, the coaches kept her as a starter. A bench player who barely missed the 2.5 minimum was put on probation. I'm not saying all coaches do this; many have integrity and bench the kid in this situation. But there are a lot that don't.I couldn't play if I didn't keep grades. And I would've definitely kept a high GPA, because playing hockey was the most important thing to me.
Haha. Preaching to the choir. In an average year, I'd say I play about 100 hockey games between the leagues I'm in and some pickup. This leads to getting banged up way too much. People at work always just shake their heads and laugh when I come in with a limp, or a busted nose or a bandage. I was recently reflecting on the number of serious injuries I've had in my life, and it's almost comical. Broken wrist, jaw, thumb and nose. Separated shoulder. Concussion. Sprained MCL. Pulled groin. More black eyes and bruises than I can count. When you add it all up, it's a pretty long list, and makes me think I'm going to have a really shitty old age when my body is finally broken. But, on the bright side, despite not wearing a mouth guard or a cage, I've never lost a tooth! Sometimes life is good.(I play, too... when I am not injured... which seems to happen a lot.)
My son runs XC at his school, which is between second and third in the state in their conference (based on school size, mostly). His practice is 90 minutes/day, with an optional 90 minutes additional over the week for varsity runners. I promise you that the average HS student spends more time than that a week on social media, texting, and skyping. That said, spending money on expensive sports when your school is broke and failing is stupid. XC costs $60/year in uniforms and kids bring their own shoes. Meets are local and you don't need many - the value is in the practicing. The same could be true for most sports. Baseball can be cheap, as can soccer. -XC
Hockey, obviously, cannot be cheap. But it's common practice to have the school pick up a small part of the tab (for transportation and coaches' pay, for example), with parents footing the rest (equipment and ice time, big $$$); similar models exist for a ski team or any other super expensive sport. (Also, I love how you used XC with two completely different meanings in one post; not something one sees everyday.)
I was not trying to pick on Hockey or any expensive sports, I have no experience with them, I have avoided them like crazy as a parent. All my kids fence, which has stupid expensive equipment, but it never breaks and doesn't wear out, so over a kids sport lifetime it's not a big deal. Did not think about the XC thing - funny. -XC
This almost seems like a weasel sentence. Do students not take AP tests because they cost money? Or they only want honors points for their GPA? Or are they just not smart enough to be in an AP class? When I was a senior... last century... I think my school offered a total of 11 AP classes. The cost for each test -- yes, it costs money to take these tests -- was about $70, picked up by the school. The school ended up receiving 10x as much funding from the district in return for a passing grade. I couldn't tell you if this was a state policy, district policy or something through ETS. Maybe the same environment doesn't exist at the school(s) noted in the story. The gist is, the situation above encouraged schools to bolster their AP programs. After I graduated, I know my high school added several more AP courses to the curriculum. But at the same time, you can't expect half of the school to be at AP level... certainly not with the dumbed-down academic standards students have been exposed to since elementary school. Let half the school feel special for taking part in sports; AP should be reserved for the students who display the aptitude. Honestly, would we be happier if 50 percent of the school took an AP exam and 90 percent failed?But in 2012, only 17 percent of the school’s juniors and seniors took at least one Advanced Placement test—compared with the 50 percent of students who played school sports.
I'm listening to an interview on NPR between the author of this piece and a couple other parents. They are discussing the variety of arguments for and against sports in high school. There is one lady from a black community pointing out that the kids in her area only go to school for the sports. The parents in the community come together for the sports. And the kids look up to the athletes and have goals and ambitions and only attend and potentially graduate because of sports. Money is an issue. Separation of education and athletics is an issue. Healthy kids are an issue. There is way too much information on this topic that this interview and even this write up can't cover it all. http://www.npr.org/2013/09/24/225747074/should-parents-nix-a...