The Case Against High School Sports Essay Example

success led other states to cut back on their athletic programs, although some of them were only temporary. To me, the most interesting argument was that high school sports are bad for those students who do not play a sport.

Ripley cites a study on the University of Oregon revealing that when the Ducks’ football team did well, the students on campus received poorer grades. (Ripley 78) Students are also being affected by the so-called “teachers” teaching them. In the United States, most high school principles hire their staff with sports in mind, “you hire a teacher, and sometimes lower the standards because you need a coach” (Ripley 78).

Although the boys and girls who play high school sports learn life lessons and obtain good exercise, those benefits do not apply to students who do not play sports. The majority of students are influenced by sports by having to go to school earlier, to allow for daylight hours for football practice, and have the school’s money be spent on sport equipment instead of books. As a well-known writer for Time Magazine and the Atlantic Monthly, Amanda Ripley has produced a variety of writings about education and related topics.

One particular piece of hers, “The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way,” correlates to the given article by going into more detail of how other countries’ education systems compares to the Unites States and how other countries became that way (“Book Review”). Results show that on the international math test, countries such as South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong had the highest test scores while the United States ranked

thirty-first. One of Ripley’s significant arguments states that the big difference between the U. S and South Korea is the priority of sports over academics.

“The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way” pinpoints abroad school’s success as the way they select their teachers; “if we erected barriers to education careers as high as those for lawyering, we would be better off” (“Book Review”). In the United States, education schools are relatively easy to be accepted into and to receive a degree from. The top ranked countries typically do not offer sports in school and instead focus their time on academics.

The idea of no sports at school helps students concentrate on their future rather than the upcoming football game. In South Korea, students attend school two months longer and are given more vigorous assignments than students in the United States. Because the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) evaluates critical thinking in math, science, and reading, other leading nations focus their teaching to critical thinking, whereas the United States’ information is more limited (“Book Review”).

The argument of sports over academics causes people to dispute with their own rebuttals. In some areas, the dominant counterargument is that sports keep students off the streets by pulling them into school, keeping them out of trouble, and going off to college. Studies have shown that while this is a valid argument and can be proven, the percent of students it actually applies to is minor. According to the National Letter of Intent, “about two percent of high school athletics are awarded athletic scholarships to compete in college” (“Athletic Scholarships”).

Even

with an athletic scholarship, most scholarships do not cover four years of college, “at minimum an athletic scholarship must be one academic year agreement” (“Athletic Scholarships”). Realistically this means that academic, not athletics, achievement is the most reliable path for success. Unlike other countries, the education being provided in the United States is free, yet this is not an opportunity most American students take advantage of. Using sports to lure kids into receiving an education seems unreliable because most other countries surpass the United States in academics as a result of their limited offer of sports in school.

Although playing sports does have its benefits, the education system in the United States must reconsider its priorities for the veritable success of children’s future. Before the middle class consisted of the “high-wage, middle skilled job,” whereas now “the only high-waged jobs are increasing high-skilled jobs” (Friedman). For the United States to compete in today’s economy, academics must be taken more seriously; otherwise, the American youth will continue to fall further down the line.

As the world continues to grow and develop, so does the education system. The latest PISA results show that “the most successful students are those who feel real ownership of their education” (Friedman). Sports can be a stimulus to help students in academics, but to allow sports to take priority over academics is unwise. Students, and especially athletes, should take their passion for the game into the classroom, and focus on their future. While being an athlete may work for some, having a solid foundation as an alternative is never a mistake.