Thursday, May 26, 2011

Given option of increasing class sizes, not updating technolgy, it would be wiser to cut sports

This is an article about saving money for education by cutting sports. As someone who played sports and only went to the public high school in order to play, I have mixed feelings on the subject.

Yes this would save money but it would also take away an institution that helps some students meet friends and stay motivated to keep their grades up.

On the other hand, Europe has proven that without school sponsored sport, teams do not disappear. My friends that lived with me through high school were all multi-sport athletes and did this through great club sports. If we could develop these teams and found ways to keep them as inclusive as school teams they may be an adequate substitute.


http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/05/viewpoint_as_a_coach_and_a_tea.html

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I thought I was going to strongly disagree with taking sports out of public education but your thoughts about club sports like in Europe makes some sense so I'm conflicted now. I'm sure that those people who are strongly committed to athletics would keep playing through clubs, but would this further widen the gap between children who play sports and those who don't?

    Looking at being part of an athletic environment/sports team as an important and valuable part of a full education, we would need to be careful to keep athletics widely accessible.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with the article. Sports are great, but in the end they are ancillary to the mission of schools, which is to educate kids and get them ready for college. Sure sports are really great for the kids who participate, as are other extracurriculars like FFA, DECA,debate, etc. It'll be a real shame as these programs along with art and music get cut. But in the end, that makes more sense that letting outcomes in math, reading and science fall.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I had a similar discussion with a friend about choir/the arts in schools, particularly Portage schools. There's a rumor that Portage public schools are cutting librarians. Yet keeping choir. I found this ridiculous! I took choir in high school, it's great, but it could easily (and should) be changed into an extracurricular. Sports are already played not during the school day usually, if cuts need to be made sports should become club sports. Kids can be introduced to these clubs during gym classes at school, and continue playing sports they like outside of school. Great article!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Zach this is a very interesting article and I enjoyed reading it. I think with sports, there are many alternatives to having teams, like you mentioned with Europe. I know for basketball their are programs such as neighborhood club teams and nationally recognized programs like AAU (American athletic union), which are offered that can take place of high school sport, leaving money for education.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with Alex. When I first read the top of this article, I was definitely not in favor of cutting funding to sports, but it is not fair for teachers and rest of the school districts to struggle. I am shocked that some football coaches in the south can make up to $100,000. I do not know any public school teacher that would imagine making this much!
    Though sports are important, improving technology and providing necessary education material should always come first.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I studied in a school which had little or no emphasis on sports but was really good in academics. I personally feel that sports are really important but they cannot supersede academics. So I straight up agree with the article that given option of increasing class sizes, not updating technology, it would be wiser to cut sports.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I agree that updating technology and keeping class sizes small are more important than sports. However, i think sports are still important to those students who rely on them for scholarships to college. In my high school, the district started a "pay to play" fee to help pay for sports. Every student who wanted to play a sport had to pay $100 dollars a year to play. I think in struggling school districts with students who can afford the fee, this is a good idea to keep sports.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree with Adam's comment that academics should come first in schools. Sports are not the primary reason kids should be attending school, and I don't think that the entire school should suffer just so some students can play sports. Keeping class sizes small will benefit every student, while keeping funding for sports helps a few while hurting everyone else.

    ReplyDelete