Fusion.

So, about a week ago an editorial came out in the paper attacking our head football coach. The story ended up being about the fictitious author and the lapse in judgment by the editor, but the piece itself was pretty scathing--typical athletics over academics type accusations.

A week or so before that our school held a "black female forum" in which community and school members addressed issues with that particular demographic. A subsequent email was sent out to the staff explaining the forum from our newly hired African American AP. In that email she called for teachers to spend time one on one with these black females because it is a "cultural fact that minorities respond better to one on one" attention rather than being called out in front of a group.

Well, I take issue with that contention, because I don't think it is a "cultural fact" at all, I think it is a human fact. Any student--any person--would respond better to one on one correction rather than its alternative. But, that's not really an argument that I can take on or win--interesting free speech/lack thereof implications perhaps--but perhaps it's not worth it anyway...

There is a cultural divide. And I wonder what role I--or we--play in perpetuating that gap. After all, athletics do play a huge role in the realities of black students. We have a system in place that encourages and rewards migration from school to school in order to play on a winning team. Winning team = exposure = next level perhaps. But at what price?

Don't misunderstand. I love competition and athletics. I believe in sport. Strongly. But as the marketing behemoth that sports has become I'm not sure the price is worth it.

Am I totally off base? The argument generally is that these kids, if it weren't for football etc, would not be where they are. They learn life skills and such on the field. And they are sure to learn more there than in the classroom. That's the standard explanation. But I'm not so sure I'm buying that anymore.

The reality is that the lure of athletic success is a mirage for 99.9% of people--I mean as a career. Academic preparedness is what is crucial, right?

I suppose I'll leave my thoughts here for now...
dt