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.
George H. period 7
ReplyDeleteThe article states many facts including the United States math and reading scores relative to the world and Poland's lack of sporting events within the school. However, these facts are just facts that people believe to be a major reason for grades, yet this might not be the case. There is no reason to believe that sports could in fact decrease scores on tests or grades in general. It depends primarily on how the student applies his or hers self on a daily basis in a learning zone. If he or she needs help and doesn't advocate for it she or he is more likely to fail or see a grade and or test grade drop. There is also a possibility that the student may not want to learn and this could also factor as a major reason for grade drops in the United States. I believe that sports are as educational as work because you still need to put forth an effort to try and play as hard as you can with teammates. This is teaching valuable social skills and listening skills which can be very hard for some students. Essentially they might be getting more out of sports then the Polish do in there sports games because we coordinate better by having an active adult or adults who actually know the rules instead of the kids coming up with them as they go so in essence we are still teaching important skills by having sports in are country within the school systems. I really believe that even though we still are not the smartest country out there will still take the time to modify or make change with the work ethic in order to better are students for the future. In conclusion I feel that sports are not the cause of the drop in grades yet the majority of sports players are at own fault for not being right to study and work hard and advocate for help when needed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree. I do not think that sports can ultimately affect test scores. I also agree with how you said it depends on the student, everybody is different and not everyone can have the possibility of dropping test scores due to interference with sports. I like the point you made about how sports are as educational as work because it is true. It does teach up social skills and listening skills that we can apply now and later in life.
DeleteChristian F.
DeleteI agree with you George. I like how you pointed out that sports can educate students in other way than just sitting behind a desk studying math. There is no proof that high school sports is the reason why the US is dropping test scores, and I feel that doing a sport can be just as helpful or even more helpful for many people.
Christian F. period 7 ^^
DeleteConor Duffy
DeleteI strongly disagree with the article. I believe that sports create and give a purpose, other than schooling, in a students life.. it keeps students active and motivated.
I agree with you George, Poland might have different standards in what they belive in; but there education could be more difficult. I truely think that students need something else but schooling. Sports shape people in what they are today. It trains them to be dedicated, commited, smart, strong and loyal to eachother/peers. So sports overall create you into a well rounded person
Cassie Vaccaro. Period 7.
DeleteI agree with you George, you made some really good points. I believe that sports can make a person become who they are. For example, when people play sports, they are often confident in themselves, smart, and dedicated, and very loyal to everyone on that team. I think that Poland does have a lot of different standards then we may. But, on the other hand students cannot only just go to school, they should be able to play schools, and that's what i truly believe in.
Cayla F, period 7.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe there is enough evidence to prove that sports significantly affect students test scores. I truly believe it depends on the person. I know many people who are able to balance a sport, job, and school at the same time with little struggle. But there are a few people who just find it impossible to do all at once. In the article, Kolbert states, "Polish kids now outscore American kids in math and science, even though Poland spends, on average, less than half as much per student as the United States does." then goes onto say that the high school in Poland "has no football team, or, for that matter, teams of any kind.". There is many elements leading to the fact that Polish kids score higher on math and science, it doesn't have to be blamed just by the sports. Polish High Schools can have a different curriculum as us, maybe they are ahead of what we are doing in the United States. Sports could possibly not be related to test scores at all.
George H. period 7
DeleteI agree with you that Poland probably has a different curriculum. I know that education teaching methods differ from place to place. Its totally possible that maybe they teach at higher levels earlier so the students retain more knowledge instead of waiting later to teach the hard things. Yet this still doesn't show that sports are involved one bit. You really give a good strong reason why the grades would be different I never looked at it that way. I also liked how you took quotes from the article to help support your main belief on the subject. Real good job Cayla.
Christian F. period 7
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is a connection between sports in high school, and bad scores on the PISA test. This article shows the perspective of one persons meaning, and the author has no proof that football is the major problem when it comes to math. Poland might be good in math, but there might be a lot of other reasons causing this. Such as starting with a lot of math earlier, or other things. People have the oppertunity to not do football in high school, and most people don't. In general more people attend to some kind of sport during the year, but there is still no proof.
A quote from the article: "I wondered what would have happened if their math teacher had tried to call them in two weeks before school started to hold two-hour drill sessions." Personal I think this is a stupid idea, because what happened to all the other things in life that is important. So the US might not be scoring as well as Poland on the PISA test, but a training session once in a while might be helping you more than 2-3 hour drills with math. Even though some might think that high school sports is the reason for why the US does worse than Poland in math, I honestly think there is a such a small connection and there is no proof these things has any sort of connection at all.
Jonathan B Period 7
DeleteI agree with you Christian you make some really valid points. There could be many more reasons for students that are getting worse test scores. Also I think that working with math earlier would cloud a students mind for other subjects other than math. This could make the student confused and start making mistakes which could lower their grade overall.
Cassie Vaccaro. Period 7.
ReplyDeleteFirst, this article only shows a view of ONE persons perspective, they can believe in whatever they want to believe in. I think that they should of gotten other peoples thoughts instead of just one persons thoughts about the situation with the PISA testing. I dont think that sports would bring down a student(s) grades or test scores, for example; when i play Lacrosse, it didn't really ever affect my testing scores, or my grades. So, I strongly disagree with this article. I don't believe that there is any connection what so ever with students playing sports, and their PISA test scores. So what, that the US doesn't score as good as Poland on the PISA test, but sports help with things like, dedication, commitment, and how strong people are. I think that it affects only certain people. But, i strongly disagree it would take up THAT much time, people need to be able to go out of their elements and do things with members of a team. If someone on the PISA test does really bad, then they can take into consideration to look at their sports, and how much time it takes up for them. But, in my opinion i strongly disagree with this article about sports affecting students ability to perform well on this so called, "PISA" test.
Cassie Vaccaro. Period 7.
DeleteIt also says in the article, "Polish kids now outscore American kids in math and science." I don't think it should matter if Poland has better test scores, it all depends on the person and their different learning abilities.
I completely agree to what you’re saying. I think that this article is based
Deleteon one persons perspective too. Also when you said it’s different for every person, and great
example with you playing lacrosse. It depends on the person, not the sports.
Jonathan B Period 7
ReplyDeleteI disagree with this article, not all high school students are doing well in school just because of a sports team. There could be personal issues with the student. The student could also not understand the subject. The decision of going and getting extra help is on the student. The student should make time to see a teacher after school if they have any questions. I also know that in most schools students need to have a certain average grade to continue with sports, the students could be trying their hardest in school to keep their grade up so they can play sports. Playing a sport I believe keeps a student focused when they are in school because they have to be so focused when they are on the field."When she said that the football program was weak, the parents suddenly became concerned." I don't believe that all parents are like this. Not all parents are overly obsessed with football. Other parents I would think would rather have a better math program than a football program.
In my opinion, I don't think that sports affect school work at all especially test scores. In the
ReplyDeletetext it says, "American kids' performance on the field shows just how well they can do when
expectations are high and they put their minds to it." If American kids put their mind to school
just like they would in the field, they would do just as good. But I think it all depends on the
person. Some people can balance school and sports whereas others can't do it as well. Playing
a sport can help bring up grades because you have to maintain a certain grade point average to
stay on the team. I don't think that there's enough information to tell that test scores are affected
by sports. Some parents would rather have a better math program than a sports team, and for
others it's different. It all depends on the family. Some kids have a different learning ability than
others. I don't agree with this article at all because I don't think sports has anything to do with
school.
Stephanie Durso.Period 7
ReplyDeleteI do agree with George that other countries may have a different curriculm. Though does that change the impact of focusing on school not sports. Sports are important though it would benefit students to focus on school. Sports do make the player keep up their grade, but are they really learning or learning just to get a good grade to be able to do sports. I do agree with the author that if more focus and time was spent on school work students understanding would improve. Learning material is more important than just learning it to get good grades so that you can continue playing sports. Education should stop being overlooked because of how important sports have become.
I think that sports do have a purpose. Though it seems that many are forgetting that education should come ahead of sports. It seems that we consider sports more important than school. Sports do teach important lessons like team work, integrity, respect, and dedication for something. What proved what I previously said is these sentences, " When she said that the math program was weak, none of the parents taking the tour reacted. When she said the football program was weak, th eparents suddenly became concerned." Our society has put sports ahead of the importance of education. It seems that they think its more important to do well in sports than to excel in school. School had become the backburner to sports. We are a sports obcessed society. So yes, in that sense sports have brought down America's schools.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Durso Period 7 paragraph written before without a name
DeleteKarisma Patel, Period 7
ReplyDeleteI dont think that there is any connection between playing sports and getting bad grades on a test. I think it really depends on the student. I know people who have a job, play a sport and still get good grades and I also know people who are the complete opposite. It just really depends on how dedicated you are to the sport you play, the job you have and your grades. If a student tries really hard and puts in enough effort to their job, sport and their grades. Then they will do well on everything, but if they don't put in enough effort on their job,sport or grades then they will do really bad. It's basically just depends on the student and how much effort they put into everything they do. Also, Polish kids shouldnt be compared to American kids because our curriculum is different from theres. They might be ahead of us or we might be ahead of them. But they shouldnt put the blame on sports, they should put the blame on how hard a student tries and how much effort a student gives.