Each year about this time a relative and I have an argument, I mean conversation, about athletics. He thinks our country is dumbing down our kids with too much sports. He thinks other countrie's kids are much smarter and better educated. I think our kids are just more rounded. My argument is that our atheletes make better citizens. Ask any officer in any military branch and they will tell you the best soldiers are atheletes, especially wreslers. They have experienced the ups and downs that life will throw at us in sports. I think it is hard to teach that in classrooms. Some teachers do a great job of it don't get me wrong, but many lessons are learned in a wrestling tourney. Yes the Japanese might know three different languages by the age of 15, but I would feel a lot more comfortable going into battle with a wrestler beside me than a bookworm. Here's a salute to the soldiers who keep our country free.
Anyone help me out with my annual debate with my relative?
I hope my poor spelling and english here does'nt add to his argument.

I teach American history at Crete high school. For six periods a day, I try to tell the story of our country's beginnings, the ups and downs of it, and what lies ahead for us. It seems as though most students let this go in one ear and out the other. But when I get to coaching for the three sports that I do, it seems to me that students actually get something out of it, moreso than the classroom. Wrestling I think actually teaches more to kids than a lot of academic curriculum. We teach hard work, dedication, sacrifice, humility, perserverance, pain, humiliation, joy, and leadership on a regular basis. I don't know about anyone else, but I learned a whole lot more about myself and life in general from wrestling even though I didn't "get it" at the time in high school. It happened when I finally matured mentally (last year I think!) and was on my own. I remembered more from sports than any class I ever took, and I think our kids are the same way. I value the message behind all things that coaches and teachers give to their pupils. I just happened to learn more from my coaches. Both academics and athletics have a place in any society.

The arguement about most other countries is a moot point. They are compairing apples and orages. The USA not only allows but mandates that all kids MUST attend school until age 16. Other countries also attend school but have weeded out what specialties their kids are going into. If other countries were using statistics from close to 100% of their youth population I would venture a guess that our statistics would be much closer. Our colleges are demanding that our youth take 3 years of math, 4 years of social studies, 4 years of English, 2 years of foreign language, and 3 years of science.

Being older now- and someone who didn't participate in athletics in high school I feel that I missed something that would have helped me as an adult. (I went to a larger school and one that you had to specialize- I wasn't fast enough nor popular enough and felt intimadated that I would only sit on the bench and be laughed at) Sure I participated in the school functions and was active in the fine arts but I missed a lot of the guts and determination that one has to have to compete in athletics.

I don't feel that athletes make better citizens however it does give you valuable tools to become productive members of society. Being involved in any High School extra-cirricular activities do this as a whole but there something differant each activity contributes. The individual events give the person a sense of accountability. Only you can change what happened. The team sports help give a sense of working with a group. The fine arts allow you to accept that its ok to be differant. Student council allows you to see the insides of politics. When you combine being an active participant in extra-cirricular activities with the academics that colleges demand and that is what makes productive members of society and probably the best well rounded group of college students in the world.

Cowcatcher,

Ask your relative if he has ever gone to an athletic event that was graded on the curve. Then ask him how the Grade Point Average of the athletes in school compares to the GPA of the entire student body. I'm certain that the GPA of the athletes will be higher because they are programmed to set goals, then budget their time and work hard to meet those goals. You will find many non-athletes with that same mentality but I believe that the percentage of students with that mentality will be higher among athletes than non-athletes.

We have too many "students" graduating from high school who are unable to read, write, or communicate at the level required to get good jobs and be contributing members of society. Many cannot do a simple math problem or be able to explain the differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Too many people say that the student who just drifts along is only hurting himself or herself. WRONG !!!! Aren't you thrilled that they are going to be electing our government officials in a few years?

Our education system began to slip when we got on the "build self esteem" kick. Too many school administrators and teachers bought into the erroneous concept that if we can make students feel good about themselves they will work harder and learn more. We will do away with grades or a least the D's and F's and make everyone think that they are good students. Therefore they will become good students. WRONG !!!!! When we unplug the scoreboard the students don't know where they stand and don't realize what areas they need to improve. So we graduate people with high self esteem, which gets knocked down considerably when the realize they aren't qualified to get a good job. And it gets knocked down even further when they do land a much lower job than they want and then get fired because: a) They don't have the skills necessary to do the job, or; b) They still have the mentality that if I don't get this term paper done on time I can really cram the last day and get it done so it really doesn't matter if I get to work on time or not.

16 kids qualified for the state tournament in each class. 6 of them medaled. Are the other 10 losers? Not at all. They have the satisfaction of knowing that setting a high goal and then falling a little short is far better than having no goal and not knowing whether you achieved it or not.

Kids want discipline and they want structure. Over the past 3 days you saw hundreds of kids come off the mat and hug one or both coaches. I seriously doubt they were telling those coaches, "Thanks for taking it easy on me and giving me a chance to develop my self esteem".


My closing argument. My son ends a lot of his emails with a quote. I can't remember the name or the exact wording but it is a quote from the head of the English department in a high school in New York. She says something to this effect, "Football is the best taught subject in most high schools because it's the only subject we haven't tried to make easier". We could insert any other sport in that quote. If you would like the exact wording shoot me an email at frank-ryan@cox.net and I will get it for you.

Thank you for your input, if I were only as inteligent as you people I could carry on a better debate. If you don't mind I will use some of your words of wisdom. I spend much time following my sons when they wrestle and play football, and my sons spend much time working to become better atheletes. I truely believe niether are wastes of valuable time. My reletive thinks the time would be better spent studying. My sons make honorable mention most of the time and do study as much as most, but have very little time for vidio games or TV and that is the way I like it. I am a simple person, the only post-highschool education comes from the school of hard knocks. I still try to farm for a living, sometimes its not easy but its a good way to keep my kids busy and out of trouble. My sister now has a doctorate degree in both sociology and phycology, and is still holding out for a job within her pay scale, I think she wants 6 figures, and I think if her check engine light comes on in her car she would'nt know to open the hood or trunk, or call 911. My favorite form of entertainment is watching my sons. Yes parts of the year we work 16 hour days, but I still would'nt trade my job for most. I guess I'm just too stubborn to change my views.
Frank by the way do you mean to tell me Hillary or Obama can't read or write?
Thanks again for your imput, keep it coming.

quote:

.
Frank by the way do you mean to tell me Hillary or Obama can't read or write?
Thanks again for your imput, keep it coming.

I think they can probably read and write but they will probably have to call your sister if the Check Engine light comes on.

I grew up on a farm and wouldn't trade that background for anything. Several years ago Dr. Stephen Covey spoke at any company's annual meeting. He's the guy who wrote the book, "7 Habits of Highly Successful People". He asked how many people in the audience had gone to college. Most of the people raised their hands. Then he asked if any one had every put off studying until the last day and then stayed up night cramming. Most of the honest ones raised their hands again. Then he asked how many people had ever lived or worked on a farm. Not as many hands went up but there were still a fair number. He asked if we had ever put off planting in the spring and cultivating in the summer, then the day before harvest should have started cram real hard to get it all done in a day. After we stopped laughing he commented that he thinks we have so many unhappy people in this country because they try to mess with the laws of nature and not take things as the come and do things at the proper time.

At that time I had a great assistant who had grown up on a purebred Angus ranch in South Dakota. After the speech several of the younger guys asked me if I had grown up on a farm. When I told them I had they said, "And Peggy did too, didn't she".

Shoot me an email at frank-ryan@cox.net and I will tell you a funny farming/wrestling story that isn't appropriate for this forum.

Is It Better To Be a Jock Or A Nerd...?

- Michael Jordan having "retired," with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

- If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.

- If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.

- If he decides to have a 5 minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.

- He makes $7,415/hr more than minimum wage.

- He'll make $3,710 while watching each episode of Friends.

- If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.

- If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second.

- He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.

- Assuming he puts the federal maximum of 15% of his income into a tax-deferred account (401k), his contributions will hit the federal cap of $9500 at 8:30am on January 1st.

- If you were given a penny for every 10 dollars he made, you 'd be living comfortably at $65,000 a year.

- He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100-meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.

- While the common person is spending about $20 for a meal in his trendy Chicago restaurant, he'll pull in about $5600.

- This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. past presidents for all of their terms combined.

- Amazing isn't it? However...

- If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 450 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has today.

Game over. Nerd wins.

Thanks, Pit Bull Jim, you almost make we wish I hadn't become such a nerd.

However... let it be known - Bill Gates was suspected of being on productivity enhancements!

Jocks and nerds swap places in their peer power structure on the day of their high school graduation. The trick for adult former jocks is to make enough money as a nerd to allow the freedom to return to partcipate in the world of jocks, their real passion. Tough act that.

Academics & Athletics go hand in hand. If you go to the Nebraska Department of Education website you will find an abundance of information to support your case.

quote:

Is It Better To Be a Jock Or A Nerd...?

Well you can be both!

Fort Calhoun recently won the Capital Conference Quiz Bowl Tournament.

The team: 5 wrestlers. And in case you think they were not the best wrestlers - three of them were state medalists this year.

Cowcatcher,
There are countless studies that support your argument. I don't know of too many colleges that frown upon young people who are able to participate in extracurricular activities and still able to function at a high academic level. I feel sorry for your relative--this person obviously has missed out on a lot in life.

"You do not lead by hitting people over the head--that's assault, not leadership."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

I believe this study was done by a former wrestler:

Nice 4Huskers!...but shouldn't you attach the butter side to the underside of the cat to get that effect?...or did you attach bread with butter side up to back of the cat? You know if I didn't micro-analyze this, I'm sure Rocker or N.W.I. or Scrambler, or someone else would.

quote:

Originally posted by Radio Man:
Nice 4Huskers!...but shouldn't you attach the butter side to the underside of the cat to get that effect?...or did you attach bread with butter side up to back of the cat? You know if I didn't micro-analyze this, I'm sure Rocker or N.W.I. or Scrambler, or someone else would.

Some things are just unexplainable to the uneducated. (not pointing any fingers of course)

I feel the main reason a kid is successful depends on their parents involvement in their life. I'm not talking about just living in the same house or have weekend visits. I'm talking being there at the times that they are needed no matter the time of day. A successful kid has to know how to fail and learn from it that is where kids that are involved in any activity help. The truly successful kids are the ones whoose parents make them accountable for their actions and decisions. There are still too many kids that allow to quit things because it is alot easy for the parents as well. I'm a parent of a young softball player and I make her workout during the winter because she made a commitment to the team, and if you make a commitment then you should do everything you can to be the best you can for that team. On the academic side she is a high ability learner (HAL) or gifted if you call it that, but she is diligent about that because she has been told to do things to the best of her ability and she does. Now is she like everyother kid, yes if she didn't get a little push every now and then she would take some time off, but not in her school work and that is because of the work ethic she got from athletics and a pushy father. Take a look at any successful program and you will see a tremendous amount of parent support. Now stop by a school after the day is done and look at how many kids are just sitting there because their parents leave them there, because those kids can wait till mom and dad get off work if they want a ride home. Kids don't walk home anymore, one reason is the society that we live in and the other is parents don't make them. Walking 10 or 12 blocks is out of the question for those kids, but how many kids that have things to do after school find a way to get home because they need to get things done. The kids that their parents talk to them get involved in their lives, make them do chores even if they have an activity till 8:00 at night, those are the kids that are successful. You can put that with any sport, band, theater department or anything that requires kids to make a commitment and have parents that make the honor that commitment. I know I went off a little here but the formula for success is a fairly easy one, work hard and stick with it no matter the challage and you will be successful, you can apply that to kids and adults, but in the end it will always come back to being involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Radio Man:
Nice 4Huskers!...but shouldn't you attach the butter side to the underside of the cat to get that effect?...or did you attach bread with butter side up to back of the cat? You know if I didn't micro-analyze this, I'm sure Rocker or N.W.I. or Scrambler, or someone else would.

I've always said that the best cat is a dead one. This is based on personal experiences I've had with cats, most notably in dealing with their toilet-training (or lack thereof)...

I think it also needs to be said that parental involvement is a big factor, and parents can have a positive or negative influence in the athletics/academics discussion.

There are some parents out there who are so gung ho into their kids' athletic pursuits that they forget the academic side of things. I sometimes think there is too much emphasis placed on the off-season stuff, and I know that it's the off-season things that help make kids into the champions of tomorrow, but sometimes those things come at the expense of the REALLY important things in life.

There are numerous instances of parents who pushed their kids so hard in the sport of choice, and once these kids' day in the sun in the sport was over, there is nothing to fall back on. That's why making sure the academics side of things are brought into focus, because -- as all of us who have been involved in athletics can attest -- you're not going to be an athlete forever. And that's where the trouble can begin, when the days of chasing glory and competing and winning comes to an end.

Parents who keep everything in balance -- academics, athletics and life in general -- generally wind up with the most well-rounded kids who become outstanding, quality adults. When too much emphasis is placed on athletics is when the trouble begins.

I believe that some kids need an incentive to stay in school, and athletics are it. If you don't get good grades you can't participate in sports. I think kids that have been in sports make better adults. Farm kids have a lot of chores and responsibilities from little on. When other kids are swimming and having fun all summer long, our kids are sweating their butts off laying out irrigation pipe, cleaning pivot nozzles, digging ditches, and farming in general. Our son just turned 16 in November, and is already buying his 2nd vehicle. He has to work to pay for it. Almost every night after school and Saturdays, since wrestling has been over, our son along with a couple of his friends have been picking up pipe, gut, and getting pivots ready for irrigation. The football coach gets upset because our son can't go lift weights everyday in the summer. He goes in as much as he can but there are days he just can't. We know our son is doing his own conditioning everyday, not for just an hour but 12 to 14 hours a day. Giving kids responsibilities when they are young makes them think before they do something they shouldn't when they get older. Besides that, hopefully they are too tired to get into trouble. HaHa Our two older boys decided to farm instead of going to college. We have one more chance, hopefully the third one will go to college, but this farming thing is pretty powerful. Hopefully he will make the right choice for him.