Could you elaborate on that? IMO either a kid can read and comprehend/process what they are reading or they can't.
And while I think athletics/physical activity are part of being a well rounded student, the odds of someone getting an athletic scholarship and becoming a college or professional athlete are slim - whereas anyone who attains a certain GPA can get a scholarship in Florida.
And the "life lessons" taught by sports are the same lessons taught by other competitive extracurriculars.
I find it appalling that you are justifying this by saying kids go to school for the sports. Kids go to school because our society has decided they have to be educated for the good of our country. If it was all puppies and lollipops, we wouldn't have truant officers and attendance requirements.
Certainly did not mean to appal anyone. I was just commenting that a number of kids are only motivated to come to school, study, make good grades, etc., so they can participate in sports and other extra-curricular activities. And, I certainly do not want to imply that other extra-curricular activities don't teach life lessons or character. They do and we should support them. Remember too, that in Florida a kid can legally drop out after their 16th birthday. I am not endorsing that reality, it is what we deal with however.
Again, there are opportunities for scholarships in athletics for players and other folks even if they don't necessarily play. Frankly, I think we shortchange kids in music programs. We have not always supported them in a manner to prepare those kids to attain scholarships for the performing arts. I believe that is slowly changing and I hope our budget difficulties do not interfere with that change.
I love sports. But, I understand that they are there to help, never supplant good education. And, I truly believe that all extracurricular activities, when done right, contribute to a child's education.
As for the reading curriculum. It has changed. The FCAT tests reading for limited content. By that I mean, a passage is presented to the test taker, and he is asked to regurgitate back to the exam certain specific concepts in the passage. The passages themselves tend to be what you and I would consider "technical" type writing. Thus, we teach kids to read that way. Read a passage, pick out a certain specific concept and repeat that concept back to the examiner. Reading for overall themes, critical thinking about what the passage is about, are not ever discussed. The person is taught to read, but, not really taught to understand what they are reading and the overall meaning of the words. Its like learning to read in a vacuum. I hope I explained it okay. When kids get to college, especially those who have not taken advanced placement and honors classes, they struggle sometimes with understanding how to read and interpret a passage. I know, its weird, but again, the reality we are dealing with these days.