Value of Sports in the Schools

Some of the commonly accepted pros to participation in sports include the following: the value of teamwork, the strengthening of character through competition, the opportunity of obtaining scholarships, and the teaching of ethics. On the other hand, it is also commonly held that an undue emphasis on competition at any cost can be detrimental to an individual. In addition, some athletes sacrifice a good education for a chance at the big time, which very seldom actually materializes.

First, a look at the "Seven Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education," developed in 1972 by the National Education Association, will show that these principles can all be positively associated with sports. The seven principles are, in order, (1.) Health; (2.) Command of Fundamental Processes; (3.) Worthy Home Membership; (4.) Vocation; (5.) Citizenship; (6.) Worthy Use of Leisure; and (7.) Ethical Character.

Participation in sports at all levels is healthy (thus the first principle: Health), particularly if one defines health as the NEA Bicentennial Panelists--a state of well being related to three aspects: mental, physical, and emotional health. Schools have an

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ke the point that winning is in itself a value system. It was Vince Lombardi who said, "Winning is not everything. It is the only thing. He also said, "I will demand a commitment to excellence and to victory, and that is what life is all about." George Allen said that "Winning is living," and "Every time you win, you're reborn; when you lose, you die a little." Don Shula said that "No one ever learns anything by losing." Americans want winners, whether winning in school or in business or in politics or in sports. In sports, we demand winners. Because of this, coaches do all they can to socialize their athletes with the value of winning. They reinforce winners with praise, honor, and status. Negatively, they ridicule losers or quitters. The following quotation from a source on sports sociology illustrates what is both good and bad about the American preoccupation with winning: As an example of a technique used to instill in athletes the desire to excel, one coach of a pony-league football team (fourth, fifth, and sixth graders) in Lawrence, Kansas, had his young boys yell, "I'm a girl" before they could let their legs touch the ground during a leg-lift exercise. This fear of humiliation kept many boys doing the exerc
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Approximate Word count = 1562
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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