Somerset NAACP on Participation in Sports
February 27, 2009 by Cato
Filed under Education, Maryland, Somerset Politics, Wicomico Politics, Worcester Politics
Kudos to the Somerset County branch of the NAACP for demanding that students be required to keep a 2.0 average in order to participate in sports. These folks obviously have their priorities in order.
Unfortunately for the Wicomico and Worcester Boards of Education this raises a serious question. Why do they seemingly place a higher priority on sports participation than academic achievement?
Wicomico only requires students to maintain a 1.6 GPA. Worcester? 1.75 As we approach budget time, the two boards should be asked some hard questions. Bad teachers can’t be fired. Money is wasted on often meaningless bureaucratic programs. But … we need to make sure that kids who can’t get at least a C in all of their classes should be able to play football or basketball.
I’m dying to hear a response to this one.
Although the primary function of school is to provide an education, there are some students who do stay in school BECAUSE of sports. Some students struggle with certain classes and although they may maintain a C average in most classes, one class can ruin their GPA which would make them ineligible to play sports. As a parent (and a certified teacher) I would rather have a child with a slightly lower GPA that actually graduates from school – if that child only goes to school to play sports. Every child is different and every child has a different motivation for staying in school.