Jock Support, or How to Make Chess Tournaments Fun
Posted from Things to Discuss
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So the raw food diet didn't work out at the moment due to some money problems that cropped up. But this blog is called "Things" to discuss, not "my diet issues", so let's get going with an actual thing to discuss.
Coming into work today, and hearing about more money issues around the US, and budgets getting tighter (not to mention the continual recall of Luna here in Idaho), I had a thought about what should and probably needs to be done so that we quit dropping school programs and make them "cool". Maybe again, if they were cool in the first place.
Sports has always been the big draw to schools. You don't see football being cut when budgets get tight. Sports like football bring in a lot of money into the schools, so to cut those would be like cutting off your right hand.
The problem is when the other "extra" classes are considered by our culture to be expendable. Music and Art, and things like the Chess Club or other "brainy" activities that we must frown on. They basically end up as the "mushy seconds" of school, because instead of brawn, these students were born with more brains than body mass; the theoretical "good genes".
My fix would be this:
1. Require that any student who plays sports has to take an art class, or at least a class that requires some kind of studying of culture. This may vary, since a lot of schools have already scaled back their departments. Should these become successful enough, then it's easier to defend on not cutting these classes, as they're now a requirement, and no longer "extra".
2. Require classes that will put the "jocks" with the "nerds". Design the class so that both of these students will have to learn to depend on each other. No bullying allowed, which would be obvious to tell when they have to test.
3. Students enrolled in sports or clubs (ideally any "sport" that you can get a trophy for) should require those students to appear at those games. For example, Football players would have to show up at club competitions so they can cheer on their classmates. This way both sides can get their support from their other classmates, and the Chess Club winning state tournaments can be just as important as winning the championships in Basketball.
4. Design classes to encourage working together. Classes are unfortunately only going to get bigger, and No Child Left Behind is killing a teacher's ability to innovate, but our thinking of "teach and test" is no longer working. Pulling together to get ahead is what we should all be learning, and if you do it right, the testing won't be a problem.
These were just the thoughts off the top of my head today. What about your thoughts?
Additional reading:
When it comes to budget cuts, high school football should be first to go (Note: I don't agree with the bottom half of the article, but the rest I do agree with)
High school football a big money maker for schools
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