High School Sports

[cmathews]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Yes. Basketball is a game. It has got absolutely nothing to do with education.

I whole heartedly believe that sports are an important part of education for some students...not all, but some....They do provide an opportunity to learn lessons valuable in life. Teamwork, fair play, that actions have consequences. Sometimes the athletics are the only incentive to get Johnny, or Mary to do the school work. It is a sad commentary on the situation but to deny it is true is sticking our heads in the sand....Athletics are not more important that education to the majority of people, they are to a very small portion of the population....However they do in fact lend a valuable hand to education to the vast majority of participants.

[BillyMac]

From Jurassic Referee: "Basketball is a game. It has got absolutely nothing to do with education".

Many Forum members officiate games according to NFHS rules. Here is an edited version of the Mission Statement of The NFHS:
- interscholastic activity programs enrich each student's educational experience.
- participation in education-based activity programs promotes student academic achievement.
- interscholastic participation develops good citizenship and healthy lifestyles.
- interscholastic activity programs foster involvement of a diverse population.
- interscholastic activity programs promote positive school/community relations.
- properly trained administrators/coaches/directors promote the educational mission of the interscholastic experience.

In many school districts here in Connecticut, interscholastic sports are no longer referred to as extra-curricular, but instead, are referred to as co-curricular. Here in Connecticut, we have a noted author of a book on children and sports, who refers to interscholastic sports as "the last class of the day".

[A Pennsylvania Coach]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

Yes. Basketball is a game. It has got absolutely nothing to do with education.

This may be the most inaccurate thing I've ever read.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by A Pennsylvania Coach

This may be the most inaccurate thing I've ever read.

Does that include the NFHS Coaches Code Of Ethics too?

[A Pennsylvania Coach]

Originally Posted by A Pennsylvania Coach

This may be the most inaccurate thing I've ever read.

Do you actually think basketball, youth/scholastic sports for that matter, has nothing to do with education?

[Adam]

Originally Posted by A Pennsylvania Coach

This may be the most inaccurate thing I've ever read.

The bar for this prize is set unusually high right now due to the recent appearance of a particular "official." It makes your statement one of the most extreme examples of hyperbole I've ever read.

Edited to make the requested change, plus one that the intern didn't catch.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Jimgolf

Is another paper on some Jane Austen book or a trigonometry test really more important to their education than this?

Yep - I made sure my son took triggernometry in high school because he was the worst shot in the family.

[HawkeyeCubP]

Originally Posted by Jimgolf

What is the purpose of education? To learn how to take tests?

For some of these kids a television appearance may be the highlight of their lives.

Is another paper on some Jane Austen book or a trigonometry test really more important to their education than this?

I'm guessing the mission statements of any high school (or collegiate) athletic department would speak to an affirmative answer to your question.