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Focus on Athletics Distracts from Education

The Displaced Plainsman casts disdain Madison High School principal Sharon Knowlton's effort to rationalize her luxury gym plan:

...schools should focus on academic content. It's irresponsible for a high school principal to suggest that a gym is as important as a science lab or library. That's not to say that a gym is unimportant, but it doesn't rank as high as a library or computer lab [LK, "I Try to Be Agreeable about the Purpose of Education, Sort Of," The Displaced Plainsman, 2011.09.27].

Alas, my Yankton neighbor (side note: I appreciate the pleasant effect blogs have in helping guys in Spearfish in Yankton to feel like neighbors) warns that if we did take the radical step of reforming schools to focus entirely on activities with direct academic benefits, the jockocracy would still sop up attention and resources with club sports:

The club sports that spring up will dominate students' priorities because they are "fun." Parents will probably put a higher priority on club athletic events than they do on current extra curriculars because they are paying for them. Further, if club sports become the norm, schools will probably lose funding because clubs will want money to build gyms and practice facilities. In the court of public opinion, bread and circuses beat math and literature every time [LK, 2011.09.27].

But far be it from me to let reality and pragmatism stop me from jamming the culture (and there may be a relationship between the traditional definition and commercial targets of culture jamming and the noisy branding of children as athletes bearing team logos, drawing consumers to ad-laden gymnasia, and aping the antics of the sports-entertainment industry).

LK's link to a Mount Blogmore discussion of our education system also reminds me of international comparisons: when you look at all the things other countries have done to build world-class education systems, you don't find any of them saying, "Let's spend more money on P.E. and gyms!"