Do you think our schools put too much emphasis and resources into sports?

[Anonymous]

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/

[Anonymous]

Obviously. It's an attitude common to every Anglo-Saxon country. On the one hand, interest in sports has no effect on the overall obesity statistics in those countries, which are worse off than many other developed countries withOUT such an athletic emphasis. And on the other hand, it takes time and attention away from academics, which need to be intensified here. Lose-lose.

[Anonymous]

The article mentions the benefits of sports teams:

the many benefits of high-school sports: exercise, lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, school spirit, and just plain fun

I would add the ability to work with others and develop leadership and subordinate skills/relationships.

I think most people who advocate team sports to help their children develop interpersonal, group, and leadership skills. These soft credentials are very important in today's job market. Being smart is not good enough today. Employee need to be able to manage, coordinate, self-promote, and advocate. Schools do not do a good job of teaching these skills.

[Anonymous]

NCAA athletes graduate at a higher rate than other students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article mentions the benefits of sports teams:

the many benefits of high-school sports: exercise, lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, school spirit, and just plain fun

I would add the ability to work with others and develop leadership and subordinate skills/relationships.

I think most people who advocate team sports to help their children develop interpersonal, group, and leadership skills. These soft credentials are very important in today's job market. Being smart is not good enough today. Employee need to be able to manage, coordinate, self-promote, and advocate. Schools do not do a good job of teaching these skills.

This. Your comments cannot be overstated.

[Anonymous]

Do other countries have less interpersonal skills? Maybe sports is one way of developing these and there are other options that should also be considered.

[Anonymous]

As much as I fought with my son over homework, I'll have to admit that the lessons he learned in sports are helping him just as much-or more-in his current job.

[Anonymous]

...interest in sports has no effect on the overall obesity statistics in those countries, which are worse off than many other developed countries withOUT such an athletic emphasis.

I have no statistics to support this, just anecdotal knowledge of my own friends, relatives, and acquaintances, but in general, the people who are obese are not the same people who are sports participants. People I knew who participated in sports in high school and/or college thirty plus years ago tend to not be obese today, particularly those who remain active today (even just walkers or hikers). So, I would hypothesize that if someone did a study, they are likely to find that sports participants tend to not end up obese.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on whether the parents continue their sport into adulthood. I know a lot of obese ex-football players.

[Anonymous]

It is important to be physically fit. However, the emphasis on organized sports is counterproductive. The term dumb jock is not completely without merit. Our entire American society is in intellectual decline as a result of junk food and an over emphasis on sports

[Anonymous]

Yes. Resources should go first and foremost into the educational mission of schools. We should be putting more into academics and less into sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The article mentions the benefits of sports teams:

the many benefits of high-school sports: exercise, lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, school spirit, and just plain fun

I would add the ability to work with others and develop leadership and subordinate skills/relationships.

I think most people who advocate team sports to help their children develop interpersonal, group, and leadership skills. These soft credentials are very important in today's job market. Being smart is not good enough today. Employee need to be able to manage, coordinate, self-promote, and advocate. Schools do not do a good job of teaching these skills.

But why do these sports have to be school sponsored or affiliated? Shouldn't schools solely focus on academic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The article mentions the benefits of sports teams:

the many benefits of high-school sports: exercise, lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, school spirit, and just plain fun

I would add the ability to work with others and develop leadership and subordinate skills/relationships.

I think most people who advocate team sports to help their children develop interpersonal, group, and leadership skills. These soft credentials are very important in today's job market. Being smart is not good enough today. Employee need to be able to manage, coordinate, self-promote, and advocate. Schools do not do a good job of teaching these skills.

But why do these sports have to be school sponsored or affiliated? Shouldn't schools solely focus on academic?

I don't believe people think schools should solely focus on academics. We'd need to stop teaching art, music, and PE. From reading DCUM, most parents want more art, music, PE, and recess. Sports should be school affiliated to develop the skills the previous poster noted. Also, sports develop school pride. Every firm, corporation, and government organization is working to develop employee pride and dedication towards their employer. Students learn this through school activities, sports being one. The band is similar. If they stop supporting sports, then they shouldn't support the band.

It's not just high schools, though. It is part of the fabric of America. Sports are huge in colleges. People in this country respect the drive and ability it takes to become a premiere athlete. College athletes are highly recruited into upper echelon positions in powerful American industries - law firms, business, ect.

Most of the people who are against sports either have never been athletes or have never have children who excel at athletics. It's just sour grapes.

[Anonymous]

Maybe there would be less sour grapes if there was a method for everyone to participate. Other than track, there doesn't seem to be. The way it is set up now, only a few children benefit from all the tax money spent on sports. At least the AAP/AP track kids seems to get the same if not less money than the kids at the lower end of the spectrum. Sports however is the opposite where only a few children really benefit. Does the entire school really benefit from having sports teams? Is there the same emphasis with sports as with Octagon Club and Drama Club?

[Anonymous]

And then there's the whole argument about the private school and homeschool kids wanting to join these teams. Is it still a benefit to the school as a whole in that case?