Lots of good thoughts on all sides here. I think, tho, that it might be a little unfair to come down too hard on the colleges. A lot of these athletes (in particular, basketball and football players) come to college only b/c they're going to play that sport. They don't come to school with any academic aspirations or, for that matter, preparation. Many of these kids had miserable grades in high school, miserable standardized test scores and would never think about going to college if it weren't for their athletic ability (and many 4-year colleges wouldn't think about accepting them if they applied).
It seems unreasonable to me to then expect these kids to somehow transform themselves into students and commit themselves to the discipline of study, other than for the sake of maintaining their elegibility. Once their elegibility is done, or once it becomes clear that they'll make the next level, it is unreasonable to expect that they will stay for the love of their education.
Last thought:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brian Watson
these kids are adults
|
I don't mean to be a smart-@$$ (how many times have you heard me say
that?
) but you can't have it both ways. Are they kids? Or are they adults? I would ask you to think back to when you were 18 or 19. Did you have any friggin' clue about life? I know you
thought you did. But did you really? I didn't. All I knew was that I was supposed to graduate from college. The reason I knew that was that my parents had drilled it into my head from the time I was 7 years old.
But many of these kids (not all, obviously) have not had that message drilled into their heads. The message they've been getting since they were 10 or 12 is that they're pro material. So when either (a) the dream is within reach, or (b) the dream is clearly NOT going to come to fruition, how can anyone expect them to see the value in staying and graduating?
Chuck