My impression was always that schools are supposed to exist to foster intellectual growth, so why is it that so many American high schools put such a humongous emphasis on other things?
Last weekend, my quiz bowl team from the high school at which I teach attended a big tournament in Roanoke, Virginia. We came in fifth out of sixteen teams, and two of my players received individual awards for their performances. The weekend prior to that, our perennially mediocre football team capped off its fifth straight losing season with a 34-14 shellacking in the first round of the divisional playoffs.
I'll let you guess which one got more coverage in the school announcements and in the local paper. In fact, I'll let you guess which one got ANY coverage.
At this point, I must issue a disclaimer. I love sports. I watch them all the time, I help out with athletic events at my school, and I have a part time job in an NCAA DIvision I college athletic department. I'm currently in the process of applying for graduate school in sports management and administration. So please don't think that this diary is about to devolve into an eliminate-all-athletics-in-schools rant.
Athletics definitely play a crucial role in a school community. The desire to stay eligible can motivate lackluster student-athletes to give it a little more effort in the classroom. Athletic events provide a safe place for kids to come together in the evening to socialize and cheer on their friends as they compete. One of the biggest crowds of students I've seen in years came to a girls' basketball game at our school last week to see one of their friends (and one of my students) break the 1,000-point mark for her career. When the in-season team is performing well, school spirit soars.
That said, the constant attention that sports teams get in a community can be very frustrating to someone like me who cares so much about academic competition. I do not think I'm delusional in being frustrated, either - I know damn well that students aren't going to show up in face paint to support a quiz bowl team. It's not incredibly exciting, and besides, it would be distracting as hell. I guess my anger stems from the fact that I got into teaching to get kids excited about learning, interested in history, in research, in the world - and yet when my students excel in those areas, it goes virtually unnoticed. The kid who rushed for over a thousand yards last year that was constantly being interviewed and featured on the news ended up dropping out shortly after the season ended, while the girls in my AP U.S. History class who got full rides to Cornell and Duke got a sentence in the local paper. The teachers who coach get stipends of thousands of dollars added to their pay, while the advisors of academic clubs get rewarded with one extra day off each year.
In my last Teachers Lounge diary, I talked about some of the reasons I had soured on teaching public school. This is one of my greatest gripes with our educational system. Until we do more to recognize and reward students who are busting their asses in the classroom and serving their communities, I fear that fewer students will take part in such rewarding exploits.
I'm curious to know if I'm talking about a widespread problem, or if academic achievements are praised more in other areas. I am looking forward to reading all of your comments!
UPDATE: Thank you for taking my rec list virginity, everyone.