No Duval high school sports?

[JeffreyS]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

[Cliffs_Daughter]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

I really like the way you said that.   +1

[Dog Walker]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

The question is not whether these things that are learned from sports, arts, etc. are important in life, but whether of not they should be in the schools.  Where do you draw a line?  Should fashion be taught?  Personal hygiene? Household budgeting?  Child rearing?

Maybe we should keep the schools to academics only and have other organizations take on sports, arts, music.  Neighborhood sports teams run by Parks & Recreation?  Music and art classes at the community centers?

How do the run it in other countries?  Germany, England, France, Finland (home of the highest academic scores in the world), Sweden?  Do they have sports teams and band?

[cityimrov]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

I would argue, sports first academics second for some kids.  Not all, of course, but a sizable group.  I find people who can hardly remember a single thing from their math book but can remember the stats of every single player in the NFL.  They can also do math with those stats that they struggle with in academia.  Reading?  Don't like reading but somehow they managed to learn to read biographies of major sports stars.  Also, this player centric idea of sports is a bad idea.  Sports encompasses all areas from reading, math, marketing, finance, sales, strategy, coaching, etc.  Kids are only allowed positions as players which I think is just as sad. 

Imagine if an entire high school curriculum was based entirely on sports.  A "sports" magnet school.  I bet a lot more kids would be more excited about going to school to learn more about boring topics like math or science just so they can figure out how it relates to their favorite activity. 

How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.

All this should be learned in regular school too.  The problem is, we don't allow kids to do most of this.

[JeffreyS]

I read in wired magazine that games are becoming the new Psychology for production.  That especially jobs with computers are more and more being designed to look and feel like games and keep score on production.  I see this as very transferable to education.  We do it already with grades, just up the immediate feedback.  

[Cliffs_Daughter]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

The question is not whether these things that are learned from sports, arts, etc. are important in life, but whether of not they should be in the schools.  Where do you draw a line?  Should fashion be taught?  Personal hygiene? Household budgeting?  Child rearing?

Hygiene USED to be part of Life Skills/Health or whatever the H they called it then. And Household Budgeting SHOULD be taught anyway. It may have prevented quite a few tragedies in today's economy.

And if you put these activities onto the community centers... on who's dime? The city-run ones? Or the privately run "we can exclude anyone we wish" ones?  Please don't even mention church-funded locations.

[JeffreyS]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on.  Academics first of course but athletics compliments academics in much the same way other activities do the fact that there is passion for it only makes it more valuable and leveragable by educators working with their students.

The question is not whether these things that are learned from sports, arts, etc. are important in life, but whether of not they should be in the schools.  Where do you draw a line?  Should fashion be taught?  Personal hygiene? Household budgeting?  Child rearing?

Maybe we should keep the schools to academics only and have other organizations take on sports, arts, music.  Neighborhood sports teams run by Parks & Recreation?  Music and art classes at the community centers?

I like the idea of schools including these things the Art room in the catholic school we chose for our son was the final selling point for my wife.  I see your point there will always be one more worthy endeavor.

The real debate going on in our country right now however is a political one that has little to do with how do we make education better.

[Dog Walker]

The real debate going on in our country right now however is a political one that has little to do with how do we make education better. 

Ain't that the truth!

Don't we all wish that our public schools could be like universities with a whole catalog of educational offerings.

I still resent it that the only music available when I was in high school was for the band members who could already play an instrument.  I never learned to read music or play and instrument and feel not fully educated as a result.  Maybe it's not too late and I should try.

[fieldafm]

The value of high school sports has nothing to do with professional sports.  How to compete, how to push for a goal, individual achievement, team achievement, working with others, finding inspiration, dedication, strategy, and on and on

There is a reason that the military conducts basic training in a team setting centered around the candidate realizing how his/her role affects the success of an entire organization.

Companies spend billions of dollars annually teaching many of the same lessons learned in high school athletics.

I know for myself, I didn't really take to school until my junior year of high school.  I really excelled in college once I found what my passion was for learning.  My freshman and sophomore years in high school, probably would have resulted in much poorer grades if it wasn't for the academic requirements to play sports.  It provided me just enough motivation to keep my grades above water until I found subjects that sparked my true passions in life.

Many of my friends at the time, didn't have that motivation to keep their head above water, never knew what it took to become a leader/self-motivator and never found that inspiration in learning...  I don't have to tell you how far those people went in their chosen occupations post high school.

[uptowngirl]

There are academic clubs and competitions that can provide the exact same experiences to our children. Are we really saying American Children are so lazy and unmotivated that they need to be allowed to dress up in padding and beat on each other to make it through life? Really?

That American parents are too lazy or too selfish or too cheap to pay to play such activities?

Sad, just sad.

[uptowngirl]

I am coming and bringing my tiny stitch bitch with me :-)

[dougskiles]

I think Mark Woods summed it up very well in his blog yesterday:

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/401820/mark-woods/2011-03-20/mark-woods-don%E2%80%99t-let-music-die-schools

Mark Woods: Don’t let music die in schools

Submitted by Mark Woods on March 20, 2011 - 2:38am

Mark Woods' Blog

I have “Hot Cross Buns” stuck in my head. And I know I’m not alone.
Many parents of third-graders at Hendricks Avenue Elementary have been hearing this played on a recorder, over and over and over.
Perhaps you remember the recorder, a cheap wind instrument that when played just right produces a smooth sound â€" and when played not quite right produces a high-pitched whistle capable of making dogs howl.
Few things this school year have gotten Mia as excited as the recorder. For months, she awaited the arrival of the $6 instrument and the chance to earn the different colored belts that Mrs. Prisby awards for successfully playing songs.
I’ve decided Mrs. Prisby is a saint. She doesn’t just teach the recorder to dozens of kids at a time. She does it in the school auditorium, a place that has an uncanny ability to make sound echo.
These days, that cacophony sounds beautiful.
Not only are public schools facing major cuts in the near future, but the first bill of this legislative session â€" passed by our fiscally conservative legislators and headed to the desk of our fiscally conservative governor â€" will require big bucks and bureaucracy in years to come.
The state already spends about $12 for each FCAT exam, a $40 million annual tab. And new student tests, to help evaluate every teacher, will cost more money. Much more. Federal funds will cover some of the initial cost. But after that?
Unless we increase spending for education, which seems unlikely, something will have to go. And my fear is that it will be something like the cacophony in the auditorium. Never mind all the studies that show how music and arts help little minds with things like math and reading.
It was hard not to think about this when we went to “Family Music and Arts Evening” at Mia’s school Thursday night.
In the cafeteria, kids did art projects with Ms. Harris. In a hallway, winning entries in the Art & Literature contest were displayed. In the courtyard, kids were given chalk and the permission to cover sidewalks with graffiti. (I especially liked how some created an elaborate road system, complete with signs and arrows leading to “Recess Parkway.”)
And in the auditorium, after Mrs. Pena led the Melody Makers in song, Mrs. Prisby announced it was time for the famous broom dance.
“How many of you would like to get rid of computers and video games and go back to old times?” she asked after the dancing.
Parents all over the room raised their hands.
I worry that this is old times, that we’ll soon be reminiscing scenes like this. Some schools already are. I know we’re lucky at Hendricks. Strong parental and neighborhood involvement help make events like this possible. Still, at every school there’s reason to wonder whether Recess Parkway and other nearby roads will be closed due to budget cuts.
For now, I just know that I have “Hot Cross Buns” stuck in my head. And every note, even the shrill ones, sounds beautiful.

BTW, 'Recess Parkway' was the creation of my 11-year old son, Sam.  I know, I shouldn't be so proud of his efforts to deface school property...

[mtraininjax]

I think Mark Woods summed it up very well in his blog yesterday:

More people voted in the elections, than actually read Mark Woods columns.