NPR: "School sports surely mean more in the United States than in any other country. For small-town America, sports teams even become a significant part of a community's identity.
And now that so many American school districts –– even whole states –– are facing reductions in school funding, more and more, it is athletics that are being cut back. Sometimes now, public school sports survive only by the grace of private donations, from parents and fans.
Of course, it's not just sports that are prime prospects for elimination, but also art and music. After all, sports, art and music, the S-A-M of school –– what I call the SAM activities –– are known as extracurriculars, emphasis on the 'extra.' They're the logical expenses to slash before you take down the educational basics: reading, writing, arithmetic.
2 comments:
This is a shame, and it demonstrates what a fix our education system is in. Art and music have been traditional cannon fodder, but the fact that athletics, once untouchable, are now being cut back, just shows that our priorities are all screwed up. I learned just as much in school from athletics, art, and music as I did in the classroom, and to deny that these activities foster incredible opportunities for growth and learning is to be incredibly naive. I wish we could prioritize better.
this is sad and really shows what a bad predicament our economy and our nation is in, but it also shows how poorly we sort our values . after some states are continuing tax rebates for arts and entertainment(which believe me i am glad they are) they cut education instead. education and i mean all education is the last thing that you should cut. in most countries who are blessed enough to have the wealth and support of public education it is considered and godsend so maybe our cutting of education is really showing how much we take our education in this country for granted.
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