From the prospective beyond the local school and the "unity" sports provide, it seems not to extend to the very next town or the next community, they are, after all, the "enemy". Perpetuating these sports and this sort of competition brings little to unity in the larger sense. In Germany, the school system has little to do with sports, schools are for knowledge and socialization, if you want to join a sport, you join a club and pay for it. Some of our most basic educational needs are being sacrificed simply to find people who can coach first and teach second. Career opportunities and acceptance into college programs with scholarships are few and far between, often settling on small schools that extend that scholarship for a limited time and transfers of credits can be challenging. So suggesting this is an opportunity for poor kids is rather meaningless to get an education beyond high school. Wouldn't it be betteer to get a better education at the high school level and equip people better with an understanding of the things that need to be taught that do bring unity and understanding to us all, civics, history (real history, not propaganda) and basic living skills. These are the sorts of basic educational classes that are filled with coaches first and educators second. Probably the reason most don't find these classes give them what they need, which make them unimportant and obviously "un-neccessary".
I think you're so right, re: other schools and towns being the "enemy." I hate that mentality... My boys play hockey and I can get so caught up in it--then I see these kids leaving the ice rink after the game and our opponents look like such little boys. I'm reminded time and again that they're just children and we're putting such insane pressure on them to perform... And yes, I know schools who hire coaches and then use them as teachers. Not a great practice--and our kids are suffering for it.
I spent two years in Vietnam. Training starts with reducing whomever is your "enemy" to something less than human. They become "gooks" "zipperheads" etc. no longer human. With the expanded sports programs for women, they too are being treated to this business of the enemy can simply be the town next door, same as the males are being treated to. This indoctrination. It isn't a big stretch to see how womans sports programs increased dramatically as the numbers of males available in the population for military service started dropping and then suddenly women were included in the "combat arms". It simply can be just this incidious! What once was a simple game has reduced down to what Vince Lombardy told us, "If it isn't important, then why do the keep score?" It isn't simply a game anymore, it is for keeps, and that means your kids are being indoctrinated into a whole different set of parameters that could easily make them look forward to being the cannon fodder the military needs to exisit.
I understand that feeling, even me, a non-parent. That feeling of community and purpose. I think that's why I keep volunteering for various things even though I'm terribly busy. I'm a couple of decades away from high school and yet when SE Polk wins a game I still celebrate. Then I cheer even louder when the Cyclones win. Even better, I love when a SEP player joins the Cyclones! Oh man, I could go on and on, but I think it is my way of continuing on with sports even though I'm not an athlete any more. In body, anyway.
From the prospective beyond the local school and the "unity" sports provide, it seems not to extend to the very next town or the next community, they are, after all, the "enemy". Perpetuating these sports and this sort of competition brings little to unity in the larger sense. In Germany, the school system has little to do with sports, schools are for knowledge and socialization, if you want to join a sport, you join a club and pay for it. Some of our most basic educational needs are being sacrificed simply to find people who can coach first and teach second. Career opportunities and acceptance into college programs with scholarships are few and far between, often settling on small schools that extend that scholarship for a limited time and transfers of credits can be challenging. So suggesting this is an opportunity for poor kids is rather meaningless to get an education beyond high school. Wouldn't it be betteer to get a better education at the high school level and equip people better with an understanding of the things that need to be taught that do bring unity and understanding to us all, civics, history (real history, not propaganda) and basic living skills. These are the sorts of basic educational classes that are filled with coaches first and educators second. Probably the reason most don't find these classes give them what they need, which make them unimportant and obviously "un-neccessary".
I think you're so right, re: other schools and towns being the "enemy." I hate that mentality... My boys play hockey and I can get so caught up in it--then I see these kids leaving the ice rink after the game and our opponents look like such little boys. I'm reminded time and again that they're just children and we're putting such insane pressure on them to perform... And yes, I know schools who hire coaches and then use them as teachers. Not a great practice--and our kids are suffering for it.
I spent two years in Vietnam. Training starts with reducing whomever is your "enemy" to something less than human. They become "gooks" "zipperheads" etc. no longer human. With the expanded sports programs for women, they too are being treated to this business of the enemy can simply be the town next door, same as the males are being treated to. This indoctrination. It isn't a big stretch to see how womans sports programs increased dramatically as the numbers of males available in the population for military service started dropping and then suddenly women were included in the "combat arms". It simply can be just this incidious! What once was a simple game has reduced down to what Vince Lombardy told us, "If it isn't important, then why do the keep score?" It isn't simply a game anymore, it is for keeps, and that means your kids are being indoctrinated into a whole different set of parameters that could easily make them look forward to being the cannon fodder the military needs to exisit.
I understand that feeling, even me, a non-parent. That feeling of community and purpose. I think that's why I keep volunteering for various things even though I'm terribly busy. I'm a couple of decades away from high school and yet when SE Polk wins a game I still celebrate. Then I cheer even louder when the Cyclones win. Even better, I love when a SEP player joins the Cyclones! Oh man, I could go on and on, but I think it is my way of continuing on with sports even though I'm not an athlete any more. In body, anyway.
I do love cheering for our teams! Such as sense of camaraderie and community.
I enjoyed this column very much.