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From Play Book to Text Book Beth Peitzmeier November 24, 2003 Dr. Schulz
(History, Philosophy and Trends) Being an athlete will carry over to much success in the classroom. Research shows that the student athlete will be healthier mentally and physically, motivated, have a higher self-esteem and be an overall better member of the community than a non student athlete. Burnett shares this story with us: Jamar is a typical young, black male in his community. His mother is dependent upon government assistance, he has no knowledge of his father and he receives virtually no parental guidance or involvement. Most of his friends are high school dropouts who regularly sell or use drugs and have few interests outside of sports. Academically, Jamar is also similar to his peers. He is intellectually capable but completely disinterested in academics, a wealth of unlimited potential. Like most of the children in his neighborhood, he dreams of escaping his hapless environment, unfortunately his grades are unlikely to gain him admittance into college. In fact, the sole reason he attends school is to play basketball. Jamar is an outstanding basketball player who last year led his school to the state playoffs. His role on the team is his only sense of identity and sole source of positive self-esteem. Yesterday, the principal informed Jamar he would not be part of the basketball team because he failed Algebra II. Jamar never returned to school (Burnett 2000). History The history of athletics and academics goes way back to the time of Plato. During his time period, intelligent skills of athletes, cobblers, carpenters and musicians were talents highly looked up too. Though being an athlete was looked up to as a fascinating talent, it didn’t have much importance with academics until the early nineteenth century. Before that athletics were an outside of the school activity (Burnett 2000). After the turn of the century, athletics became more than just a recreational activity. Educators began to realize that athletics could be a very important part of the educational process. The educators started focusing on the education of the "whole child". That prompted them to study if athletic participation had anything to do with academic success. In Burnett’s article he states these theories of John Dewey from his book Democracy in Education "Sometimes, perhaps, play, games and constructive occupations are resorted to only for those reasons, with emphasis upon relief from the boredom and labor of regular school work. There is no reason, however, for using them merely as an agreeable diversion". Dewey also says that when the students are engaged in extracurricular activities that are integrated into the regular school day, they are developing the student as a whole and the gap between life and school is reduced. Being an athlete connects the child with school and makes them feel apart of it. Randall Brown concluded that participating in extracurricular activities gives the student a sense of belonging which leads to a stronger connection to school (Black 2002). In Dewey’s book he goes on to say that education is a part of life and not just preparing for the future. So a child needs the recreation in education as part of the learning process (Burnett 2000). Around the 1920s, athletic groups were growing more popular than ever. They were not such a great thing to the public eye with competitions between schools began. Athletes began to become the thing to do and the public felt that academics were getting thrown to the side. Many viewed athletics as being “evil” in the child’s life. During this time the public started calling the recreational activities "extracurricular activities". The public wanted two separate curriculums in the schools. One curriculum would be only the academic subjects that were thought to be necessary to function effectively in society. Subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography, etc were the main curriculum. The other curriculum that was only to be voluntary was called "extracurricular activities". They reflected what the students' had a special interest in (Rugg, 1936). Schools started changing the curriculums to reflect the new ideas of how extracurricular activities helped the children become better citizens in the community. Parents make decisions everyday about making the right choices for their child. But it was not forgotten that in order to achieve the whole child status that Dewey mentioned, the child was the life and heart of the school. In Burnett’s article Harold Rugg says this over sixty years ago: "In themselves, apart from the subjects of study, extracurricular activities constituted the very life of the juvenile community; they were based upon youth's expressed interests and were given vitality by their being self-propelled. It is extracurricular activities that, even before the day of the theories and experiments of the child-centered schools, began to vitalize the high-school part of the program" ( Burnett 2000). These extracurricular activities help children become more community centered by creating a family-like environment. They build trusting relationships with their coaches, teammates and the community. The children understand that they have to follow rules made by the team and in society. These extracurricular activities also teach the children responsibility through organization. (FYI Newsletter 2001) Ever since the debate over the conflicting curriculums, the public has had many discussions over the value of athletics. Many people feel that athletics are a distraction from the true mission of the schools. On the other hand, athletic supporters think sports are doing more good in the schools than harm. As the debate went on in the 1950’s, the schools experienced increases the amount of sports and extracurricular activities significantly. Professional and college sports became the center of the media coverage. There was also a tremendous amount of economic growth. Popularity in sports has always been very important to humans but it took off dramatically in the past two decades (Burnett 2000). Sports have not won everyone’s approval in the past two decades though. As sports became more popular with the public, many educators became irritated. Millions of dollars are being spent on facilities instead of spending the money on areas revolving around academics. In Texas for example, a multi-million dollar high school football stadium was built and to top it off the coaches salaries nearly doubled the teachers’ salaries. The National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that only one to three percent of the total budget goes toward extracurricular activities. NFHS says that the funding that goes to the coaches, equipment and transportation is “one of the best bargains around.” (Black 2002) Because many of the public disagree with that statement the legislation had to respond quickly to the angry public. They tried sending the message that athletics must come second to academics. The Texas House of Representatives passed the first part of today's No Pass/No Play law. The No Pass/No Play law states that any student receiving a single failing grade will be removed from their extracurricular activities until the grade is back to the requirement. Other states followed that of Texas by expressing the thought that athletics must come second after academics (Burnett 2000). Legal views Burnett continues to point out that as many educators fought athletics, other educators supported the educational benefits of sports. The educators promoting the participation in athletics argue with support with both legal and statistical reasoning. The legal challenges have essentially asserted violation of the Fifth Amendment stating that a citizen should not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, and the Fourteenth Amendment,stating that all citizens should have the equal protection of the laws (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html). In Burnett’s article, Cooke states that though some of the courts have understood these legally fit arguments, the majority of them have failed to protect the "constitutional" right of children to participate in extracurricular activities. Supporters of limiting policies mistakenly presume the courts have established extracurricular activities as a freedom and not a right. On the other hand, jurists have come to the conclusion that while the children do have the right to participate, this right may be limited to a convincing interest of the state. The courts found that laws such as No Pass/ No Play are logically associated with the state's interest of increasing the academic performance of its children (Cooke, 1992) Relating athletics to academics in everyday life Even though it has failed in many state courts, Finn found some educators turning to statistical analysis to show the benefits of extracurricular activities. The people who support the research think extracurricular activities guide for classrooms lessons. Extracurricular activities give the students a chance to apply academic skills to their everyday lives and a well-rounded education. Their research suggests that participation in extracurricular activities may increase students' sense of engagement or attachment to their school and decrease the likelihood of school failure and dropping out (Finn, 1993). Tara Scanlan, a researcher in sport psychology, found that sports can offer a place of achievement for adolescents. “Learning to achieve” teaches children the life skills such as communication, commitment and collaboration. In order for these children to be successful these life skills need to be reinforced and transferred to the outside world. Scanlan says, “We need to show them that what they have learned on the field applies in other areas of life. Learning how to work with peers and adults and the joy of mastering skills are just a few of the things that can be learned in the environment, if it’s done right.” (American Psychological Association 1996) On the same note, McLaughlin says in his research that, “young people need safe, structured places to learn and links to basic services that if absent can prevent them from learning. They need high –quality instruction and training. But they also need personal attention, strong, respectful relationships with adults and a culture of peer support, clear rules, high expectations and real assessments, and challenging experiences and opportunities for self-direction, participation, and contribution within the organization and the community.” (McLaughlin 2000) A study done by John Mahoney and Robert Cairns has this to say, “Participation in extracurricular activities provides marginal students an opportunity to create a positive and voluntary connection to their school. Conversely, other strategies typically used to address the needs of at-risk students, such as school dropout prevention programs and remedial education, focus on the deficits of students and serve as a catalyst in the formation of deviant groups. The researchers strongly believe that involvement in extracurricular activities may support the at-risk student by maintaining, enhancing and strengthening the student-school connection.” (Mahoney and Cairns 1997) Grades and school attendance It is clear that the academics of athletes benefit from extracurricular activities. Burnett says, “Half the participants had no unexcused absences from school and most never skipped a class, compared to over one-third and two-sixths of non-participants, respectively. Students who participated in extracurricular activities were three times as likely to achieve a 3.0 grade point average and were more likely to aspire to higher education.” (Burnett 2000) The U.S. Department of Education also found that students who participated in extracurricular activities were three times more likely to have a grade point average of 3.0 than the non participants. The participants were twice as likely to perform in the top one-forth on the composite math and reading assessments compared to the non participants (US Department of Education). A current Child Trends study of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (Zaff, Moore, Papillo and Williams 2001) found that adolescents in extracurricular activities between 8th and 12th grade were 2.5 times more likely to go to college, 2 times more likely to get involved in volunteering, and almost 2 time more likely to participate in the elections in their 20’s. Another study done by the U.S. Department of Education found that participants in extracurricular activities had a better attendance than non participants. Half of the participants had no unexcused absences and half had never skipped a class compared to the non participants who one-third of them had unexcused absences and two-fifths of them skipped class. McNeal found that by participating in athletics the chance of the child dropping out is 40% less likely to happen (McNeal 1995). If fact, researchers have found that athletes get better grades when they are in season than in the off-season. Siliker and Quirk (1997) watched a men and women’s soccer teams grades during the season and in the off-season. They found that during the season the women’s soccer team had an average GPA of 87.7 and after the season it dropped to an 87.5. The men team had an average GPA of 84.7 during the season and an 83.8 in the off-season. This data shows that athletes do not drop but improve academically during the season, contrary to the belief that athletics takes away time for learning. Along with the above data, Black found that the seniors she studied that were involved in extracurricular activities also had better grades and better attendance. Black says, “The students on the traveling tennis team or in the color guard say they have to be super-organized about schoolwork. Being organized means setting aside a specific time to do their homework and study for tests. And they show up for school every day. The students who’ve joined several activities hardly ever miss a day.” (Black 2002) Even schools that are big athletic powerhouses have evidence that athletics and academics go hand in hand. When looking at the annual Brookings Institution report, Gering found that a lot of the top-rank athletic teams actually perform higher on state exams than other schools with less successful athletic programs (Gering 2002). The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (2000) found being in extracurricular activities benefit by: -Decreasing juvenile crime -Decreasing the likelihood that teens will be victims of violent crimes -Decreasing teen participation in risky behaviors, such as drug, alcohol, and tobacco use -Leading teens to develop new skills and interest -Improving teens’ grades and academic achievement -Encouraging teens to reach higher in planning their futures and -Increasing teens’ self-confidence and social skills According to these statistics, extracurricular participation is positively associated with the success in some of the most significant academic indicators with which No Pass/No Play supporters are desperately concerned (Burnett 2000). Educators have long acknowledged that children learn best when they are interested. Today forty-five percent of American youth, or twenty million children ages 6-18 participate in organized sports in non-school-sponsored events alone. A little over five million high school students participate in organized sports through the school setting (Chambers 1991). Extracurricular activities are the driving force behind many children's interest in attending school and their feelings of being a community member. These elements are essential to conducting a productive learning environment (Burnett 2000). Gill, Gross, and Huddleston (1983) and Gould, Feltz, and Weiss (1985) did a survey on over 15,000 children. They found the following to be the top 7 motivating factors for children to participate in sports activities: fun, skill development, excitement and personal challenge, achievement and status, fitness, energy or tension release and friendship (Chambers 1991). These are factors that are going to benefit these children though out life. Athletics provide more direct educational benefits to students than just being part of a community. Athletes learn the importance of commitment to learning. Athletes realize how importance and helpful it is to set goals. Like I mentioned before, athletes become actively in the learning process, instead of just listening to the lecture and repetition of information often experienced in the classroom (Burnett 2000) The National Federation of State High School Associations supports extracurricular activities because it support the academic mission of school and teaches students “lifelong lessons as important as those taught in the classroom.” (Black 2002) Athletes must take the information they get and directly apply it to everyday situations. Then they must receive feedback from their teachers, coaches and peers and make the best of the information in real-life circumstances. The educational benefits of this process are obvious (Burnett 2000). Health A survey by Harrison revealed that student-athletes are healthier than the non-athletes. Participants in any type of extracurricular activity were significantly more likely than non participants to exercise and consume nutritious foods. More likely to be actively running instead of playing video games and watching tv. In turn preventing the problem of obesity that we see in so many of our children in today’s society (Kondro 2003). They were also less likely to smoke cigarettes or marijuana, binge drink or partake in sexual intercourse. Out of all the students surveyed, the athletes had the highest rate of exercise and milk intake. The athletes also offer a significant benefit mentally. They have fewer cases of depression and tension. Therefore they will have a better sense of self-esteem and body image leading to a higher confidence level (Harrison 2003). Pyle, McQuivey, Brassington and Steiner found in their study that competitive athletes reported better functioning across 3 critical domains. Competitive athletes differ from non competitive athletes in that they report fewer mental health problems, eating and dietary problems, and total risks. These results continue to show that participating in athletics at an elite level serves as a protective factor most notably for eating disordered behavior in girls. On the other hand competitive sports did tend to accumulate a lot of athletes with sports injuries than the non competitive students (Pyle, McQuivey, Brassington and Steiner2003). A study done by Green and Burke found that athletes also tend to give up drinking alcohol for a number of reasons during the season. Reasons for giving up drinking were: the athlete is concerned about the effects on health, athlete does not like alcohol, alcohol I against athlete’s beliefs, alcohol use hurts athletic performance, athlete has no desire to experience the effects of alcohol, alcohol use is against coach’s rules, and the athlete is afraid of getting caught (Green and Burke 1995). In his study he also found that 71.3% of athletes who consume alcohol on a normal basis in the off season tend to completely stop during the season (Green and Burke 1995). The amount of alcohol decreases dramatically for student athletes in season. A study by Smith found that “44% of the violent crimes committed by youth occur between the daytime house of 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.” These are the hours when youth should be in school (Smith 2001). So if students get involved in the extracurricular activities than they will have a reason for being in school. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that athletes were less likely to engage in risky sexual activity, get arrested and carry and use weapons (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 1999). Teamwork Another benefit of athletics is the character-building element of team sports. Current educators struggle over how to instill morals and character in our children without forcing them to participate in extracurricular activities. It is right at their finger tips if students would just try to get involved. Participating in extracurricular activities helps develop basic values such as self-confidence, self-respect, self-esteem and competitive spirit (Burnett 2000). Larson also found data in his study to back what Burnett says. He found that athletics get a sense of teamwork because they learn to work together as a group. Both learning to give and receive feedback, become leaders and accept responsibility while learning communication skills. Beside teamwork, athletes also provide a great amount of peer relationships. The athletes learn ways to meet new peers and their different backgrounds (FYI Newsletter 2001). They get a chance to meet new people and form some great friendships that may last a lifetime. Who participates? Some people wonder if the size of the school matters when looking at who participates in the extracurricular activities. Do the small schools offer the same amount of activities as the larger schools? Are students encouraged or forced to participate? These are questions that Coladarci and Cobb studied. They looked at the factors that prompted kids to participate in extracurricular activities. They studied 6,000 students total. Half of the students were from small schools and the other half from larger schools. The researchers found that the larger schools offered more extracurricular activities which only make sense because they have more students with different talents to participate in the activities. The smaller schools had more students participate though. Research from Coladarci and Cobb’s study found that smaller schools participants had a greater amount of commitment to the extracurricular activity that they were involved in. The larger schools reported that some students only show up to sit on the sidelines. This data shows that small school participants are more actively involved and spend more energy on their extracurricular activity (Coladarci and Cobb 1996). Race and Gender Barriers It is because of athletics many racial and gender barriers in this county have broken down. Some of the first places whites accepted blacks as their equals and praised the abilities of blacks on the playing fields. Some of the athletes like Jackie Robinson (first African American to play major league baseball), Althea Gibson (first black woman to participate in the US nationals), Jesse Owens (first black track and field stars) and Willie O'Ree (first black to play for the NHL) (sikids.com 2003). They helped open the door to pro sports for other black athletes. Getting though these racial barriers was just a small step towards equal rights in our country (Burnett 2000). Videon found that blacks tended to have less participation in sports overall. She also found that there is a 64 to 41 percent ratio of black boys to girls’ participation. This means that black females are the less likely to play sports (Videon 2002). The racial effect has been a division of the races which athletics had previously connected together (Burnett 2000). Along side the racial bias was the gender bias. The enactment of Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972 was enforced to provide women equal opportunities to participate in athletics. Title IX has helped eliminate gender bias everywhere in our schools. Since Title IX was passed, high school girl’s sports participation has increased from 294,015 in 1971 to 2,784,154 in 2001 (National Federation of State high School Associations 2002). These women who participate have said that they take part in athletics because they are fun and they gain a lot of true friendships. (Chambers 1991) Even though the participation in sports by girls has had such a rapid increase, the girls are still lingering behind the boys (Videon 2002). Therefore, the Videon found that boys gain greater benefits from playing sports than girls do. A lot of who the student athlete is depends on the community’s enthusiasm, media coverage, facilities, and funding for recreational activities (Videon 2002). Social status In addition to the gender and race research, Videon also found the environment to have a big impact on the children. What social economic status are these children that are becoming great student athletes from? More children participate in sports if they live in the urban areas than if they live in the suburban areas. Research by Videon shows that the urban areas offer more opportunities for their children to participate in sports than the suburban areas do. Gehring also found that the schools who dominate in athletics are predominantly white, non Hispanic populations in wealthy neighborhoods. Contrary to what Videon found, Gehring says that urban schools score no better or worse than suburban schools (Gehring 2002). Some of the athletes in the lower economic statuses do not participate because of several barriers. These barriers include family or work responsibilities, the cost of equipment, and the amount of transportation needs for practices and games (Kleese and D’Onofrio 1994).
Family involvement Many athletes who participate in extracurricular activities have a strong family background. The parents are there to support them. Smith points out some valuable contributions that athletes make for families. Parents tend to be more available for their children to listen and talk to. They talk about the extracurricular activities and spend time at the school activities watching their child participate. Parents are also there to aid there children in school (Smith 2001). After all we know that if the child does not have the grades then they are not able to participate. Gets parents involved in the school.
For students who struggle with their academics but want to participate in sports, there is a program starting to spread rapidly in the United States. The program was started in Northern California by Joel and Susan Kirsch that promotes academics with athletics. This program is called PASS which stands for Promoting Achievement in Schools through Sports. PASS helps athletes attain greater academic success and at the same time improve their performance on the field. PASS is exciting because it helps a significant numbers of athletes who have to pick up their grades, but also because teachers may learn how to adapt successful ways of learning in the extracurricular activities and in the classroom (Griffin 1991). The program in based in California, but is growing rapidly through out the United States. The results have been very positive for the schools. The students in the program have improved their grades and are attending school more. Parents of these children have noticed greater confidence, personal initiative, and self-discipline in their children. The athletic director at one of the schools said that athletes that have been ineligible to play previously have improved to be able to play on a more consistent base (Griffin 1991). The program has three major elements. First the program facilitators stress the importance of the students’ concepts of themselves and their personal philosophy of life. The students focus on what kind of people they are and what is meaningful in their lives. The facilitators base this element around the view of the athlete that stresses excellence and self-transformation in mind, body and spirit (Griffin 1991). The second element is the Fundamentals of Athletic Mastery (FAMs). These fundamentals are concentration, balance, relaxation, power, rhythm, flexibility, attitude, and instinct. These abilities will improve the students’ performance in school and athletically. The program actually goes through everyone on of these fundamentals with the student. Students become more confident in themselves (Griffen 1991). The third element is using what the students have previously learned to design an Academic and Athletic Project for them personally. Each students and the facilitator sit down and figure out what the student wants to improve on and what goals they are going to have to make to see these improvements. Once one member of PASS succeeds in his goals, all the members can feel a sense of success because they are part of a team (Griffen 1991). The PASS program has become so successful because it is an alternative to the traditional tutor and rules centered approach that more schools use to try to get students motivated to succeed in both athletics and academics. PASS instead focuses on creating personal responsibility initiative and effectiveness in athletes. The program also encourages the students that have previously been turned away from athletics because of academics to use their athletic abilities to improve their academics. Academics and Athletics work together as equals. Some students learn better learning kinesthetically. These students are directly doing the activity so they are using their learning style to succeed. The PASS program leaves the students with this quote, “If you choose to work hard to develop yourself and become more productive, we will support you, and we know how to do that. We believe you can succeed if you give your best” (Griffen 1991) In conclusion, research shows that being an athletic will carry over to much success in the classroom. The student athlete has many advantages to being healthier mentally and physically, motivated, have a higher self-esteem and be an overall better member of the community. Unlike Jamar, many students are saved academically by being involved in athletics and programs such as PASS. The students, who have the will, will succeed and become better people both athletically and academically. Work cited American Psychological Association. (1996) retrieved November 22, 2003 from http://helping.apa.org/family/prepare.html. Black, Susan. (2002). The Well-Rounded Student. American School Board Journal. Volume 189, No. 6. Burnett, Michael A. (2000). One strike and you’re out. An analysis of no pass/ no play policies. High School Journal. Volume 84, Issue2 p1. Chambers, Sam T. (1991). Factors Affecting Elementary School Students’ Participation in Sports The Elementary School Journal, Volume 91, Issue5. Coladarci, Theodore and Casey Cobb. (1996) Extracurricular Participation, School Achievement and Self-Esteem Among High School Students. Journal of Researching Rural Education. p92 Dewey, J. (1915). Democracy and Education. New York.: Columbia University Finn, C. E., Jr. (1993). We must take charge: Our schools and our future. New York: The Free Press. Gehring, John. (2002) Sports and Academics can go hand in hand, Brookings Study Finds” Education Week, Volume 22, Issue 2, p7. Griffin, Robert. (1991). Helping athletes excel in the classroom and on the field. Clearing house, Volume 65, Issue 1, p23. Green, Elizabeth K. and Burke, Kevin L. (1995) Psychological factors associated with alcohol use by high school athletes. Journal of Sport Behavior, Volume 18, Issue 3, p195. Harrison, Patricia A. (2003). Differences in Behavior, Psychological Factors, and Environmental Factors Associated with Participation in School Sports and Other Activities in Adolescence. Journal of School Health. Volume 73, Issue 3, p113. Kleese, Edward J. and D’Onofrio, Jan A. (1994). Student Activities for Students at Risk. National Association of Secondary School Principals. Kondro, Wayne. (2003) Unorganized sports best for preventing childhood obesity. Lancet, Volume 362, Issue 9384, p627. Legal Information Institute; http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html Marsalis, Wynton. (1996) Wynton’s 12 ways to Practice, from Music to Schoolwork Education Digest. Volume 62, Issue 1 p38. Mahoney, J. and Cairns R. (1997). Do extracurricular activities protect against early school dropout? Developmental Psychology, Volume33 p241 McLaughlin, M. (2000) Community Counts: How Youth Organizations Matter for Development. Washington, DC: Public Education Network McNeal, R. (1995). Extracurricular activities and High School dropouts. Sociology of Education. Volume 68 p62. National Federation of State High School Associations (2002). 2000-2001 Athletics Participation Summary, retrieved from http://nfhs.org/particpation/sportspart01.htm Office of Juvenile Justice and Deliquency Prevention (1999). Juvenile Offenders and Victims. A National Report. p34 Pyle, R., McQuivey, R., Brassington, G., and Steiner, H. (2003). High School Student Athletes: Association Between Intensity of Participation and Health Factors. Clinical Pediatrics. Volume 42, p697. Rugg, H. (1936). American Life and the School Curriculum. Boston: The Athanaeum Press. sikids.com (2003) Black History Month retrieved on November 24, 2003. Smith, Elizabeth (2001). Connecting Can Keep Youth Out of the “System”. Ohio State University Extension retrieved on November 22, 2003 from http://ohioline.osu.edu/flm01/FS06.html Videon, Tami M. (2002). Who plays and who benefits: gender, interscholastic athletics, and academic outcomes. Sociological Perspectivies, Volume 45, Number 4, p 415 Where are young people really learning? (2001). FYI Newsletter August 2001 FAQs, retrieved November 22, 2003 from http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/fyi/auf2001faqs.htm Zaff, J.F, Moore, K.A., Papillo, A.R. and Williams, S. (2001) Implications of extracurricular activity participation during adolescence on positive outcomes. retrieved November 22, 2003 from http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/fyi/au2001faqs.htm
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Contact Beth Peitzmeier at bpeitzmeier@hotmail.com Monday, 01. March 2004 Copyright © 2004 |
