Sunday, September 29, 2013

Period 2: HAVE SPORTS TEAMS BROUGHT DOWN AMERICA’S SCHOOLS?

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/09/have-sports-teams-brought-down-americas-schools.html
1. Read the article.  Consider the author's tone, structure of the essay, and your personal reaction.
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 3 sentences) in response to the linked article from the NY Times.  Be sure to reference specifics from the article.
3. Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and period of class to identify yourself.

28 comments:

  1. Caroline M. 2
    Although Poland along with a few other countries outscore the American children today they are not receiving other great skills and learning techniques if they were playing a sport at a young age. Playing a sport brings you skills and knowledge that a teacher can not teach you in a class for 45 minutes a day for 5 days a week. Here in America sports are apart of our everyday life. It teaches us not to give up and if you work hard then you will see success in the future. Not everything is written in a book, you have to play your own game.

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    1. Jared C. 2
      I agree with your sentiment that sports actually help kids in school: it keeps them healthy, which is one of the best feelings in the world; it provides community and social interaction; and it teaches valuable skills only learned through hard work and perseverance. Also, the time spending sports would most likely be spent doing something unproductive like napping or watching TV. In the long haul, sports make a more well-rounded individual and a better student.

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    2. Caroline M. 2
      Going along with the health aspect of Jared's comment, about a month ago The New York Times published a experiment that researchers tested on; "Can Exercise Make Kids Smarter?" The kids who were fit and play sports tested better not only in activities pertaining sports but also on test scores in school. This is because kids who are more fit have significantly a larger basal ganglia, a key part of the brain that aids in maintaining attention and “executive control,” or the ability to coordinate actions and thoughts crisply. Sports are apart of almost every typical American teenagers life today. Just because Poland does not have school varsity sports DOES NOT mean it makes them smarted then us. They spend the majority of their time doing one one thing. While we are more well rounded and have a variety of activities that are available to us that we participate in. At least we know there will be more athletic scholarships available for us since Poland will not be participating in any college sports teams.

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    3. Chaylea F. 2
      I also agree with this how sports are good and help kids in school. I also agree with what Jared was saying about keeping them healthy. Another thing that this does is it keeps kids that are dedicated on top of their school word. This is because if they have a bad grade, most schools and sports teams would kick them off of the team or put them on probation. If they are dedicated enough they will stay on top of their work and keep their grades up so they can keep playing the sport.

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  2. Jared C. 2
    The article in question points out many facts including Poland's and the US's lack or abundance of sports and also their respective math and reading scores relative to the world; however, these facts are just facts. There is no reason to believe that sports would in fact lesser scores on tests or grades in general. A scientific phrase comes to mind whilst reading this, "Correlation does not imply causation". As someone who plays a sport after school, it is difficult but definitely not overly grade altering. There are many factors that could affect the US ,and not Poland, that could cause this including: lack or abundance of income, quality of said teaching/curriculum, student drive and opportunity, government aid or access to a higher education after schooling, job opportunities after schooling, and a plethora of other reasons. Even with a proper scientific study, which this article doesn't even include, it would be difficult nigh impossible to find the root cause of lower or higher test scores/semester grades. Another large reason why students in Poland would like to succeed is due to life being harder to live without an education, and opportunity being severely limited in Poland opposed to say, the US. The United States of America is THE land of opportunity; you can drop out of high school or college and STILL be able to become a millionaire or billionaire, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Sports are a slight hindrance of education but definitely don't cause such drastic changes that we see on world-rankings. "Nothing limits success except the belief you have limits." - Jared Carlson

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    1. MaryColleen Per 2
      I completely agree with Jared. I don't believe the two have any correlation what so ever. Yes she said that in Poland they don't have school sports. So what? They might also have better trained teachers, a different teaching method, less students with ADD or ADHD or any kind of disorder for that matter, the list is endless. I just think it's wrong to compare these two things without a direct line to them.

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  3. Alla M:
    Even though the article, "Have Sports Teams Brought Down America's Schools?"
    makes interesting and relevant points on why we should not have sports teams, I disagree with them. We should have sports. Although it takes up a lot of time, kids need the exercise and do not always want to be focused on school work. They need a break from school. Sports might have brought down our test scores and our grade point average but without sports, what social activities can students do where they can make friends and form bonds? Sports are a students time away from constantly thinking of school. They can enjoy themselves and have fun. Poland does have some good points of why not to have sports, it makes sense for them. But that is not how we are. We enjoy sports and look forward to them throughout the day. Does it really matter if we aren't the smartest students? We still have a valuable education. And I'm sure it is not all sports faults for bringing down our test scores. Many other things effect it besides sports.

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  4. MaryColleen per 2
    Though I am not a fan of playing sports, and I think they take up a lot of time and maybe get in the way of grade, I don't agree with this article. Not everyone plays a sport and can still be at the same level as someone who does, or below them quite possibly. It's absurd in my opinion that we compare our children's intelligence with other countries and pout when we aren't the best. When we have different policies and cares then they do. Doing sports in high school demonstrates s lot more then hours of school can. They teach you time management, leadership, and how important it is to work together. I feel that this article was very one sided and didn't give evidence to the opposing side. Sports are much more then just practices and games to some students. They can actually be their life. And it can prepare them more for the real world with disappointments, hard work, and time management more then sitting in a classroom, reading out of a textbook, and taking tests can.

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    1. Jordyn B. 2
      Mary makes extremely valid points about how the comparison between our country's children and other country's children should not be compared.For our students to be equally compared to those of other countries, we would all have to have the same schedule. Obviously children in China are going to be far ahead of us, since they go to school year round! Many countries also go to school six days a week and even have longer school days then we do. Sports are not the reason we are falling behind on our test scores. i do agree with her that it is absurd that we compare kid's intelligence and then try to find a scapegoat, such as sports, to have a reason for it! I also agree with her points about how sports can teach us many more valuable lessons than most classes and teachers can. How can a class teach you the importance of working together while you are always testing by yourselves, reading to yourselves, and in some cases learning by yourselves. Sports are valuable, and not the main reason we are falling behind other countries.

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    2. Jordyn B. 2
      Mary makes extremely valid points about how the comparison between our country's children and other country's children should not be compared.For our students to be equally compared to those of other countries, we would all have to have the same schedule. Obviously children in China are going to be far ahead of us, since they go to school year round! Many countries also go to school six days a week and even have longer school days then we do. Sports are not the reason we are falling behind on our test scores. i do agree with her that it is absurd that we compare kid's intelligence and then try to find a scapegoat, such as sports, to have a reason for it! I also agree with her points about how sports can teach us many more valuable lessons than most classes and teachers can. How can a class teach you the importance of working together while you are always testing by yourselves, reading to yourselves, and in some cases learning by yourselves. Sports are valuable, and not the main reason we are falling behind other countries.

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    3. Skylar Sandler P2
      I completely agree with your point about the absurdity of comparing children's intelligence from various countries. Did they ever think to check the children's happiness levels? Nope. Also, it is completely bias to point to sports as the cause to the USA's lower intelligence when there are so many factors that go into being a successful student.

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  5. Jake S. 2:
    There is something to be said about how sports develop key life skills that wouldn't be learned otherwise, had sports not become an important piece of the puzzle that is education. Skills such as teamwork, sportsmanship, and the essential lesson of not giving up shape a foundation for a life of success. A wise man once said, "Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts." - Dan Gable. Without sports, Gable would not have gone onto learn the value of hard work and would not have gone on to win sixteen NCAA team titles coaching wrestling at the University of Iowa.

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    1. I agree completely with Jake, sports teach valuable life skills that can only be taught in situations that sports provide. It is very hard to teach things like teamwork and sportsmanship in a classroom, whereas sports are built around these values. The argument could be made that these skills can be taught in a classroom through activities such as group work, but the level of teamwork that this achieves is far surpassed by that of a sports team. As Jake said, sports are a great way to teach life skills that are extremely hard to learn in a classroom setting.

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    2. I agree with Jake's statements that sports teach valuable life skills. However, I believe American school systems should focus more on education and incorporating other useful programs into our school systems. At Branford High, we are lucky. Our school is one of the few schools that offers a wide range of electives. Not many schools have classes that we have here at Branford like Hands on Engineering. This class helped me decide my career choice and I am learning valuable skills that will help me if I do become an engineer. If schools try and spend more money and put more stress on education, the students will benefit greatly.

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    3. Ryan Connell
      I totally agree with what Jake has said about athletics. It's the little things like teamwork and mental toughness that sports don't get credit for. People always say that sports just lower test scores, but in reality sports raise people skills. Sports allow you to come together as a team and overcome something greater than one individual. According to runner John Schiefer, "Mental toughness can take you to the top, and mental weakness straight to the bottom, but if you put your mind to it, then you will overcome mental weakness and bask in the glory of being mentally tough."

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  6. While there may be correlation between how students perform in standardized tests and whether or not their school has sports teams, this does not mean that they are cause and effect of each other. Yes, it is possible that schools who don't have sports teams often do better on standardized tests, but this is not necessarily because of the fact that there aren't sports teams. It is very possible that the schools who perform better do so because they are a private school that accepts students on academics and only academics, leading to a "smarter" environment, but not because there aren't sports. I believe that this article is trying to find a scapegoat for why America is not living up to its previous standards and, after finding that it had even maybe the slightest correlation, blamed the problem on sports.

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  7. Holly P. 2
    The article first compares students in Poland to students in America. It says that Polish children are more academically smart in certain areas because their sports teams have been cut out of schools. Although this article describes key points about why sports teams bring down students grades, I disagree and think that the article missed some important advantages of playing sports. Sports teams help students develop confidence and the ability to grow socially by interacting with each other. They also allow you to stay active and not caught up in all of the technology that is out today. In America, being on a sport team and representing your school is a tradition and it should continue. There has to be some balance between sports and academics in order to maintain a well-rounded life.

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  8. Although students gain valuable life lessons from playing sports and being on a team, I believe that the money should be balanced more towards academics. Instead of spending thousands and thousands of dollars on new turf fields, new tracks, etc. and focusing a great amount of time on sports, more of that money and time should be shifted towards our education. In reality, there are less than 100,000 professional athletes and 300 million people in the United States. This gives someone less than a 1% chance of becoming a professional athlete. If the schools focus on enhancing our educational skills America's youth will greatly benefit and be more prepared for tasks that might be presented at our future job. Sports don't have to be completely eliminated, but education should be stressed more.
    Joe R. Per 2

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  9. Jordyn B. 2
    In light of the ever intensifying role of sports in children's lives, it is also bringing attention sports correlation to school grades. In my own opinion, I do not believe that playing a sport automatically causes you to be either bad or great at mathematics or reading. For starters, in order to play a high school sport you need to maintain a GPA of at least a C+. And from personal experience, the coaches keep a very close eye on your grades and if one player starts to slip, they will be warned to work harder or they will lose their playing time. Sports just may be increasing students drive to succeed in school because the more they succeed in class, the more they will succeed on their field or court. Also, the writers states that the schools are paying more for sports than math. The school itself only pays for coaching and uniforms every 5 or so years. All the other money that teams need for gear or new equipment is raised on their own terms, completely separate from the school. Lastly, the authors tone throughout the article is quite confusing. She will state things about sports affecting schooling, and then refute her own statement in the next paragraph. I feel her ideas would have been more clearly understood if she had in fact stated her opinion.

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  10. Skylar S. 2:
    Just to echo my fellow classmates, sports teach skills that one can just not learn by sitting in a classroom. These include leadership, sportsmanship, and teamwork. Sports, studies have shown, cause more focused students. Also, there is a difference to being successful in school and successful in life. Though someone may be prepared for the next test in school, it doesn't automatically mean that they will have the social skills necessary for later in life, for things like their first roommate or their first job

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  11. Chaylea F. 2
    This article tells us how in the U.S. we do not have high enough education and we do a lot of things, like sports, that some other places do not do any of them. I think that our schools doing sports keeps everyone that actually plays them very healthy. It also helps them focus a little bit more on their school work. Usually, kids that play sports and love it enough, will keep their grades high so that they don’t get kicked off the team, or just so they can play more. Coaches say that academics come first, then family, the sports come after that but not after anything else. if you are struggling they would try every way possible to help you get your grade up so that you don’t have to leave, and so that you can still play. I am sure that it is not all the sports faults for bringing down our test scores, it could be our own.

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  12. Jordyn B. 2
    In light of the ever intensifying role of sports in children's lives, it is also bringing attention sports correlation to school grades. In my own opinion, I do not believe that playing a sport automatically causes you to be either bad or great at mathematics or reading. For starters, in order to play a high school sport you need to maintain a GPA of at least a C+. And from personal experience, the coaches keep a very close eye on your grades and if one player starts to slip, they will be warned to work harder or they will lose their playing time. Sports just may be increasing students drive to succeed in school because the more they succeed in class, the more they will succeed on their field or court. Also, the writers states that the schools are paying more for sports than math. The school itself only pays for coaching and uniforms every 5 or so years. All the other money that teams need for gear or new equipment is raised on their own terms, completely separate from the school. Lastly, the authors tone throughout the article is quite confusing. She will state things about sports affecting schooling, and then refute her own statement in the next paragraph. I feel her ideas would have been more clearly understood if she had in fact stated her opinion.

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  13. I believe sports should remain in schools, but we do need to get our priorities straight. School is the most important thing, as it will determine your future, and sports will not. Kids playing sports are called student-athletes for a reason, being a student is supposed to come first. Hopefully kids will realize that more and coaches will tell their team that, so our education will continue to improve.
    Evan S

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  14. The position presented by the article strikes me as being complete and utter rubbish. It attempts to blame the inadequacies of the American education system on school sports. Sports are not to blame. The American school system is failing because of its ineffective teaching methods. This makes obtaining a good education very difficult for many students. For some, sports are their only means for success. Sports provide students with an opportunity to secure scholarships. They also encourage athletes to maintain the grades that are required for one the participate in their sport. Actually, studies have proven that students have better test performance when they engage in 60 minutes of physical activity per day. This being said, it is clear that sport have done nothing but benefit American schools.
    Iana West

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  15. The stance that this author takes when writing this article is from both sides. She talks about the role that sports play in kids lives including her own two kids. She also talks about the low test score within our country. She says that her son loves soccer more than math. I can tell you from first hand experience that athletics draw more interest from kids than, school does. I understand that test scores are low in both math and science, but the athletes aren't the only ones to blame. What about the kid who goes to school because he has to and just goes home and plays video games? Why is it that athletics take the blame for bad test scores? If you put your mind to something you can achieve it and kids would rather put their mind towards sports, than school any day.

    Ryan Connell

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  16. Unlike many of my classmates, I agree with the author of the article that school sports have an impact on students' academic achievements. While sports have a strong influence on the lives of many children in the American school systems, they have no place in schools. It is pointed out that, " American parents didn’t care about math as much as football," in the article, and that is a cause of concern. It should raise a red flag that there is something wrong. If we continue to care more about school sports than academics, I can predict even more problems in education than those that currently exist. Some may believe that I am suggesting completely taking sports out of the lives of the millions of students that participate, however I can assure that I am not. Rather, we should fill the time spent at school with learning, and separate the sports teams into a different area of life.
    Ahnna Gunneson

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  17. Dan L p.2
    Kolbert raises an interesting point, however I would not consider the idea to be entirely true. Yes, there are many parents who value achievement in sports more than mathematics, yet that certainly isn't enough to suggest that participation in intensive sports teams are bringing students' test scores down. The payoff for winning a State championship is far more exciting and tangible for a high school student, therefore it makes sense that many students would rather suffer through football practice than slave over a 40 problem Algebra sheet. Not to mention, students who excel in sports achieve great social standing among their peers and maintain proper physical fitness. From the eyes of a parent, this is very positive as their child is in good health and participate in an activity which grants them a social life; so why should one blame them for being concerned with the sports teams at their child's school? Now, of course students need a core understanding of mathematics in order to find success in their financial lives, but unfortunately schools do not structure math classes to assure success later in life and instead focus far more attention on success with standardized tests. That's where I think the blame lies, not on after school athletic activities. American educational institutions are using a system to teach mathematics which clearly isn't working; one that clicks with less students than the ones it ultimately fails.

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