The Case Against High School Sports

students now rank 22nd instead of 19th. And most shocking, they fell from 10th to 20th in reading (Parker,2). If you compare American schools to other renowned top schools world wide such as in Europe and Asia you would see a remarkable difference with the amount of time and money spent on sports. Ripley stated that one football player costs about $1,300 a player. Math, by contrast, cost just $618 a student. And the school district could save $150,000 in one year with cutting school sports and extracurriculars (Ripley,3). Our Johnston School District also has a large price as our state's Athletic Director Gary Ross:

In “The Case Against High School Sports,” Amanda Ripley, a journalist for The Atlantic, states that America is spending more money on high school sports rather than on academic purposes. “High School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics, “ written by Daniel Bowen, a postdoctoral scholar at Rice University, and Colin Hitt, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, discusses the benefits that come out of sports programs to improve the classroom and the school’s social capital. Co-founder of a sports recruiting social network, Kai Sato’s article “The Case For High School Sports,” focuses on how school does not just involve scoring well on a math test but to educate us to be productive in what lies ahead. Ripley’s article discusses how

The impact of preserving sports in high schools has been surrounded by much controversy as people suspect that it is the reason behind the poor academic achievement of students. Opponents to high school sports feel that allowing athletics to be a part of schools sidetracks the focus of the student body, which goes completely against the main purpose of schools. Indeed, this assertion is completely true and based upon plentiful evidence. High school sports undoubtedly come at the expense of student academic achievement since they divert the attention of students away from academics and they come with far too many financial costs, both of which incur negative impacts on the academics within a school. The bottomline is that sports are harming the education of students, so a school must make the decision between composing quality sports teams or providing high level academics; both of these choices simply cannot occur simultaneously.

First of all sports keep our youth out of trouble. “Sports lead to less smoking, drug use, pregnancy, and risky sex”(“Active Kids Do”). Sports lead to less of all these things because most high school sports have a two hour practice 4 - 5 times a week plus a game so, in doing that it gives less time for our youth to be caught up in illegal activities. Also kids will have to feel the rave of the coach if they get in trouble because that usually means they can’t play a game and the whole team is depending on them. All in all sports help kids stay out of trouble.

According to Ripley “80 percent of students passed their classes [after their district canceled sports], compared with 50 percent the previous fall” (11). She goes on to mention that Nathan, a prior quarterback for the same district, said that you couldn’t fall behind on schoolwork because sports weren’t taking up your time (Ripley 11). This information is important because it demonstrates that athletics are causing student failure, which is undoubtedly reprehensible. It is plainly shown that school sports are causing academic failure which will greatly deteriorate student’s futures, and in turn, the world’s

Amanda Ripley, in an article for The Atlantic, “The Case Against High-School Sports” (2013 by The Atlantic Monthly Group), claims that high-school athletics are encroaching upon students’ education, questions the effect that the sports have on academic progress in the United States, and “wonder[s] about the trade-offs we make.” Ripley supports her thesis with multiple points of argument, including international academic ranking statistics that reveal the United States’ inadequacies, relevant stories and history illustrating athletics’ effect on students, and a paragraph in which she implores the reader to “[i]magine, for a moment, if Americans transferred our obsessive intensity about high-school sports...to high school academics.” The author’s

High school sports make student athletes strive for better success in their education. Sure some Schools have a minimum G.P.A requirement of 2.0, and to get that all your classes have to be “C” or better. Well that’s better than letting them have a 1.0 and letting them play. It makes them have something worth studying for, For example my friend Bryan Garcia does not like school or work but he is always looking for ways to make his grades better so that he may play with the John F. Kennedy soccer team. Also not all the states in the United States of America have a G.P.A requirement to play in a sport activity, twelve out of the fifty states in the USA require a G.P.A to play."A High School Athlete 's GPA Vs. Average High School Student 's GPA." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016.”Sports participation is associated with higher GPAs, lower dropout rates and stronger commitments to school compared to the average,non-athlete high school student”. Also they made a study for Kansas in 2008-2009 between athletes and non-athletes,Academic Performance Of Athletes And Non‐Athletes, and Page 41. COMPARING THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES IN KANSAS IN 2008-2009 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.”high school athletes earned higher grades,graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes”. Student athletes have a greater chance of graduating with a 3.0 or more. They are more

Positives of Premont’s decision to suspend sports include a 30% increase in non-failing students, higher attendance at parent-teacher night, and a decline in misbehavior. Premont, as a result of suspending sports, gets to stay open. High School sports have a negative impact on the school district, and are a large expense especially when compared to academics. High school focus on sports harms academic performance and allows athletes, who are the minority, to “control” the school. America is stagnant in the development of academic performance as a result of sports.

Imagine you’re a teenager in a high school who is involved in athletics, and sports are the one thing you love doing the most. Now imagine that one day out of nowhere your sports team was cut, and the one thing that you so deeply loved you are no longer able to do. A lot of people wonder if sports are too much of a priority in schools, and whether or not they should be cut. Students disagree that sports are too much of a priority, and claim athletics make them the person that they are, and that they wouldn’t be the same without sports. School districts should not cut sport programs because they benefit students, they bring in money and publicity to the school, and it gives the students a fit and healthy lifestyle.

Oh great. Another bad day at school. Good thing we have basketball practice, today, to ease my mind. This is how some people think about sports. However, some do not think the same. Therefore, middle schools are deciding on whether to keep sports the same way they have been or scale back some on sports. Principals and superintendents should not scale students back on sports because it helps them prosper in many ways.

Sato’s article states that sports are overly emphasized in American high schools. Of course sports area huge deal in high schools, but they are also very beneficial. People who have been participating in club sports have a greater graduation percentage than kids who do not, according to a 2011 New York Times study. Students who were involved all 4 years in club sports had better school involvement and are more sociable with their peers. As Kevin Kniffen of The New York Times states, “school sports provides a sense of belonging and being part of a team or group. You learn the certain interests of your teammates and

In 2014 over 7.8 million high school students were participating in an school sport. This report was in 2014 , this was three years ago by now the number has probably grown here many think we should band this. High school sport are the heart of the school, is what must high school and middle school student look forward every friday so they can support their school.

It is Friday…game day. The entire school is buzzing with excitement. We all know that feeling (Pathos). Unfortunately, many schools are beginning to consider cutting funding for sports programs. As a student that has played sports my whole life, I know how detrimental this could be, not only to students, but also to education (Ethos). Sports get students involved and bring the community together. Playing sports teaches you many things that you may not learn otherwise. Public schools should fund sports programs.

The article explains that sports dictate when the school day should begin so there is more practice time for teams after school (Ripley 11). A former student from Premont states that “there was all this extra time” and “you never get behind on work” (Ripley 11). This shows that even the students from the high school agreed that with no athletic programs, they had more time to work on assignments. This is a significant change to what schools would be getting if they had school sports.

For years, sports have been a part of American high schools. They have been a source of school pride and give people a connection to their school. They break up the otherwise mundane routine of going to class and doing schoolwork. In recent years there has been a huge push by researchers, educators, politicians, and parents to figures out why America’s schools are constantly falling behind other countries in crucial test subjects. One of the latest reasons to blame for the shortcomings of American students is the incorporation of sports in the American school system. Some are beginning to think that the focus of schools is no longer education and that sports are taking on a greater role within schools. It’s