Should public schools stop funding sports programs?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

From an IRC discussion.

[Paul Kemp]

For reference, the "IRC discussion" was just Snowstalker saying this and then radio silence.

[Goldwater]

I see no good reason for them to stop funding sports programs.

[Joe Biden 2020]

No, sports are usually an outlet for kids to relieve their frustrations from school, get out of the classroom, get some exercise, and have some fun.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

No.  Sports have a lot of beneficial aspects.  They should probably stop funding whoever supplies their lunches.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

In elementary, middle, and high school, yes. But College athletics should be privately funded.

[DemPGH]

Absolutely not. Sports programs do a ton of good. They keep kids out of trouble, they get kids exercise, they teach planning and teamwork, and overall do a lot of good.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

For the record I am not proposing that kids stop playing sports, only that these should be handled by community sports clubs rather than educational facilities. High school sports in particular, in my view, promote a toxic variety of tribalism (look at the reaction around Steubenville) and help to form a social elite both within and outside of the school environment which values said athletics while either disregarding or mocking intellectual pursuits and achievements.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Absolutely not.

[Bigby]

In other words, no.

[Franzl]

I'll just say I do find the way academic institutions (high schools, even universities) are so intensely connected to sporting events to be a tad strange.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

No.  I could see them deemphasizing high school intermural sports by eliminating playoff games (or at least only have them at the conference level) in team sports.  But otherwise, no.  If anything, we need to increase physical activity in our schools.

[Rockefeller GOP]

In other words, no.

This...

[SWE]

Yes.

[New_Conservative]

It's been proven time and time again that kids that play sports often see an increase in their academic performance, it is foolish for public schools to stop funding sports programs.

[free my dawg]

Over the last couple months especially (though it's existed as a problem for some time), I've gained something of a reputation as an overly bitter troll of the far-left variety (as well as general attention whoring). I've cognitively understood that I'm probably not bringing much positive contribution to the forum, though by virtue of having a rather dull life outside Atlas (and more and more in Atlas Tongue) and having been in a chronically poor mood for a while now (though I've felt a bit better lately), I haven't really made an effort to improve myself as a poster.

So I'm sorry to those I've needlessly gone after or tried to get a rise out of, and to the forum in general for being something of a pretentious attention whore. Will I be fine after this? Of course not, and I still have rather radical political views (though that doesn't excuse me being a poor man's opebo about them). But hopefully with some encouragement I can improve myself and reestablish myself as a valued and veteran contributor to the US Election Atlas Forum. Smiley

Though I expect it to be thoroughly parodied and referenced until well after its expiration date like the infamous apology thread, I feel I should announce something. I'd make a big effortpost about this, but I'm rather tired and have work to do so I'll condense it to the important parts:

• Yes, I see how my "sage" is insufferable to some. To a large extent that was the point of it, though I've long passed the point where I'm getting tired of and annoyed by my own forum persona.
• A lowdown on my actual views: Very left-wing, though rather more nuanced than I let on. I mostly dumbed them down in a misguided effort to combat/make fun of the dominant political perspective on this forum (progressive liberalism) which I'm finding more and more annoying.
• I won't be posting (or more likely, maybe posting once every couple days) for a while, though I fully expect to return in full force at some point. Hopefully my affected forum schtick will have mostly died by that point, though given past attempts at "reforming" I shouldn't make any absolute promises. I will most definitely continue to lurk on the forum and if my hiatus lasts long enough will probably be a zombie voter in Atlasia (and since it's barely connected to Atlas I'll probably stay in that game Lumine's doing).

I'm fully back a bit earlier than I sort of expected myself, though the few days mostly off have been a bit refreshing and gave an exercise in self-control. I know I've reneged on my "promises" before but I hope I can finally kill off the worst excesses of Sage and get on better terms with some of my old forum friends who have been understandably put off by my affected Marxist propaganda.

If you've had enough of my "sage", rejoice that I'll be pushing most of it into here. I have literally nothing up so far, but I'm currently drafting my first post on the roots of Russia's swing to the right and another critical of Obama's domestic policy. This will be an exercise in both better articulating my views and trying to avoid my flaw of making sweeping generalizations without bothering to back them up.

I've already decided to (at least for now) focus on international affairs from my political perspective, so what should I tackle? For the record, I've already decided what the topics would be for all of these (protests/inconsistent Western policy in the ME as a whole, civil war/French intervention, peace talks/protests/status of the left in the country, sabre-rattling, and deconstruction of the Nordic Model, respectively). Currently leaning towards Bahrain but could be swayed easily.

[TNF]

Absolutely not.

[Deus Naturae]

For the record I am not proposing that kids stop playing sports, only that these should be handled by community sports clubs rather than educational facilities. High school sports in particular, in my view, promote a toxic variety of tribalism (look at the reaction around Steubenville) and help to form a social elite both within and outside of the school environment which values said athletics while either disregarding or mocking intellectual pursuits and achievements.

If community teams replaced high school teams as the primary youth athletic organizations, a similar culture would grow around them as well.

Also, I doubt the existence of the teams themselves leads to their players being anti-intellectual. Stereotypical "dumb jocks" will exist regardless of whether they play sports at school or not. And, there are plenty of high school athletes (probably the majority in most schools, though maybe not in your experience) who don't fit that stereotype at all.

[Sopranos Republican]

no

You mean your answer isn't: "LOL, schools shouldn't be publicly funded."

Anyway remembering all of the amazing times I had as a varsity hs baseball player, of course not.

[politicus]

Yes.

They at least need to be cut. There are limited resources and sports are not essential to education - it improves performance for some, but so would music, art etc. I think sports programs should  be cut down to size (= on par with musical and artistic education) and not be prioritized the way they are today.

[© tweed]

there's every chance that high school football will be on its way out soon.  one successful personal injury/head trauma suit, or a suit against the helmet manufacturers for product liability, and football at all but the highest levels gets priced out of business.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

For the record I am not proposing that kids stop playing sports, only that these should be handled by community sports clubs rather than educational facilities. High school sports in particular, in my view, promote a toxic variety of tribalism (look at the reaction around Steubenville) and help to form a social elite both within and outside of the school environment which values said athletics while either disregarding or mocking intellectual pursuits and achievements.

I get what you are saying, but the smart kids always form their own cliques... and said smart kids are smart enough to realize that being king of the world in high school (as the athletes can sometimes be) is completely meaningless. 

And as for forming an overall community social elite where certain kids "get away with stuff" because everyone rushes to their side?  Let's face facts. 

If this one allegedly rapes a girl or gets involved in hazing...

...the community rushes to his aid. 

If this one makes even a threat after being verbally abused...

...they will be thrown to the wolves. 

And it has nothing to do with sports.  Unfortunate, but getting rid of sports in schools will not change that.  People are awful and drawn to protect the pretty white regardless of them. 

[NerdyBohemian]

I'm an educator. I say no. It does provide morale, an outlet for some students, and gives the kids something to do.

If the decision came down to fund academics and athletics though, academics comes first. I get beyond frustrated when I read about some suburban Texas school building a mufti-million dollar  football field and then find out they laid off a bunch of teachers.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I'm an educator. I say no. It does provide morale, an outlet for some students, and gives the kids something to do.

If the decision came down to fund academics and athletics though, academics comes first. I get beyond frustrated when I read about some suburban Texas school building a mufti-million dollar  football field and then find out they laid off a bunch of teachers.

There's your answer. 

[AggregateDemand]

Fitness is an integral part of education. PE is insufficient.