BMI Report Card

[lemurian]

I don't disagree that the above skills are important, I just think that the context in which they are learned and practiced makes the difference. I am completely opposed to the idea that sports should be part of a school curriculum, unless they are played and practiced during Summer break. There are so many imbeciles running around that I feel like "school" should be stripped to the bare essentials.

As an alternative to sports, I think it would be neat if students' morning began with a boot camp style routine of running and jumping and climbing and what have you, followed by a high-protein breakfast

 

[little teaser]

i think sports are great not only does it teach them what shimmer mention, it also encourages the ones who want to play to maintain a good grade level thats required to participate

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer I wholly disagree. Teamwork is a skill learned by sports. Tactical thinking is a skill learned by playing sports. Dedication. Strategy. Learning to work with different people in different situations. Academic competition is important and encouraged, for sure, but by no means should sports and their benefits be dismissed.

Why is teamwork only learned in sports? There are plenty of puzzles and problem solving activities that can be done in a classroom setting. That can promote working as a team. Just because it's in a classroom, doesn't mean you HAVE to be sitting by yourself at a desk. There were plenty of classroom activities my teachers had that involved groups of students doing different things at the same time, to complete the whole. Which imho is much better anyways, as most activities adults will be involved in later in life, are not going to be done on a grassy field.

Not to mention, there are JUST as many sports that are individual, and have NO teamwork in them at all.

Tactical thinking - Can you clarify. I was thinking it meant strategy, but you had that down below. I really dont see how tactics has anything to do with school. As tactics, is used during WAR, the deployment of troops, military strategy used in combat etc. Yes this might be useful to learn in boot camp, but not in schools.

Dedication? I've seen JUST as many people quit in fustration because there NOT good at sports. How is dedication only learned on a field? You can be dedicated to a classroom team as well. You could have a group research project that is done over the course of a Quarter. Involving TEAMWORK as well as making sure everyone is DEDICATED in order to get the job done.

Strategy - Strategy isn't just about, How are you going to beat the other person. Strategy is also about how are you going to get a job done. Who is going to do what, who is coordinating X,Y, Z. Who is checking in on Person A, and if Person B doesn't check in on Person A, make sure Person C is checking in. Who is in charge of taking all the information from Person A, B, C and D, and making it organized and manageable. Etc. Yes combined a goal is reached, Getting an A, or winning a competition, whatever.

Learning to work with diff people? I think I covered that.

Sports are not needed to teach children these basics. If anything they EXCLUDE children based on their pysical capabilities. Typicalls all the best kids are put together to form Varsity, then JV, Frosh-Soph, etc. Wheras in a classroom setting, struggling kids can be paired with those who are doing much better in the class, and the student can help each other through TEAMWORK to accomplish their goals. Instead of sports where the only thing important is WINNING, so the coaches put all the best people on one team.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lemurian As an alternative to sports, I think it would be neat if students' morning began with a boot camp style routine of running and jumping and climbing and what have you, followed by a high-protein breakfast

that wouldn't bother me a bit.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by little teaser i think sports are great not only does it teach them what shimmer mention, it also encourages the ones who want to play to maintain a good grade level thats required to participate

Good grade levels? It's not like you need strait A's to play on the team. you just dont need to be failing. Hardly good grades.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae Why is teamwork only learned in sports? There are plenty of puzzles and problem solving activities that can be done in a classroom setting. That can promote working as a team. Just because it's in a classroom, doesn't mean you HAVE to be sitting by yourself at a desk. There were plenty of classroom activities my teachers had that involved groups of students doing different things at the same time, to complete the whole. Which imho is much better anyways, as most activities adults will be involved in later in life, are not going to be done on a grassy field. Not to mention, there are JUST as many sports that are individual, and have NO teamwork in them at all. Tactical thinking - Can you clarify. I was thinking it meant strategy, but you had that down below. I really dont see how tactics has anything to do with school. As tactics, is used during WAR, the deployment of troops, military strategy used in combat etc. Yes this might be useful to learn in boot camp, but not in schools. Dedication? I've seen JUST as many people quit in fustration because there NOT good at sports. How is dedication only learned on a field? You can be dedicated to a classroom team as well. You could have a group research project that is done over the course of a Quarter. Involving TEAMWORK as well as making sure everyone is DEDICATED in order to get the job done. Strategy - Strategy isn't just about, How are you going to beat the other person. Strategy is also about how are you going to get a job done. Who is going to do what, who is coordinating X,Y, Z. Who is checking in on Person A, and if Person B doesn't check in on Person A, make sure Person C is checking in. Who is in charge of taking all the information from Person A, B, C and D, and making it organized and manageable. Etc. Yes combined a goal is reached, Getting an A, or winning a competition, whatever. Learning to work with diff people? I think I covered that. Sports are not needed to teach children these basics. If anything they EXCLUDE children based on their pysical capabilities. Typicalls all the best kids are put together to form Varsity, then JV, Frosh-Soph, etc. Wheras in a classroom setting, struggling kids can be paired with those who are doing much better in the class, and the student can help each other through TEAMWORK to accomplish their goals. Instead of sports where the only thing important is WINNING, so the coaches put all the best people on one team.

there are a lot of different arenas to teach students these things.
Relying on only classroom work and excluding physical activity is just as wrong as relying only on physical activity and excluding classroom work.

If you think realistically that the struggling kids are paired with those much better in the class so they can work together to reach a goal, you're sadly mistaken. More often than not, the academically better student winds up carrying the one who is struggling.

There is no perfect solution.

 

[Raerae]

FYI, i'm not saying remove sports, I still think they should be availible to those students who want to compete in them. And as a 7th period class just like they are in most schools I believe.

 

[little teaser]

lol, at least theres no flunky on the team..

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer If you think realistically that the struggling kids are paired with those much better in the class so they can work together to reach a goal, you're sadly mistaken. More often than not, the academically better student winds up carrying the one who is struggling. There is no perfect solution.

Thats the teachers fault though, for not making sure that each student is contributing properly. Just like a coach needs to be involved to make sure everyone gets their chance.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I did PLENTY of group assignments as a single person project because I coulnd't trust the people I was working with to do a good enough job to trust them with my grade. But I also think that by grading the paper not only on the whole, but also the sum of the parts, teachers can help to include everyone. Or by also including different elements into the project, verbal, visual, etc. So thats it's not just 10 pages of type written paper.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by little teaser lol, at least theres no flunky on the team..

Nah, they would be failing, they just squeak by with a D from the teachers, because the school doesn't want to flunk their star player and lose their chance at a School Football Title.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae Good grade levels? It's not like you need strait A's to play on the team. you just dont need to be failing. Hardly good grades.

well fine.



because we want all children to have good self esteem and be happy with themselves lets take away all vestige of competition and achievement.

Let's not have grades because if Johnny gets better grades than Lucy, Lucy is going to feel bad about herself. We can't apply standards of mastery to anything because if Johnny figures it out and Lucy doesn't, Lucy might not feel like she's anything less than capable.

We can't have any winners in the world, because that means someone else must be a loser, and golly knows that if by coming in behind someone it's going to make the second place qualifier feel bad, we shouldn't encourage or do it.

And, in doing so, we effectively handicap the very children we're attempting to raise.

By taking away achievement, we take away the very foundation of what defines us as people.
Human beings are naturally competitive. We WANT to be good at something, or at the very least not to suck at it.

How many threads have we had here on Specktra about kids, and how they've got an inflated sense of self entitlement, and how they can't handle disappointment, and how they are just lazy brats who can't handle the real world?

And we wonder why.

 

[Shimmer]

Academia is JUST as important as athletics, there is no doubt at all...I'm not saying it's not.


But there are ALWAYS going to be people who are just naturally good at things, that things come easier for. That's just life. :/

 

[Raerae]

Lets also share our salaries with everyone we work with too, so you can feel superior to the girl who does the exact same job you do for 1/2 the hourly wage.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer Academia is JUST as important as athletics, there is no doubt at all...I'm not saying it's not. But there are ALWAYS going to be people who are just naturally good at things, that things come easier for. That's just life. :/

I never said get rid of competition =p

 

[lemurian]

I dunno, I don't disagree with what you're saying, Shimmer, but I do think that doing well and acheiving something in an academic sense is worlds more important than in an athletic sense. Universities and future employers aren't going to give a hoot about whether or not someone can play basketball, but they are going to care if they can read and write and manage simple math. I'm not saying sports are bad, I'm just saying that I don't think they belong in school. However, I do think that physical activity is good for both the body AND mind, and that it could be incorprated into the school day like I described above

 

[Raerae]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070204/...ltBHNlYwM3MTY-

Even MORE reason why this doesn't seem like such a bad idea...

 

[Beauty Mark]

Is there going to be a punishment if parents don't take better care of their kids' health?

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark Is there going to be a punishment if parents don't take better care of their kids' health?

I doubt it. All the BMI-Reportcard is, is a warning to parents. It's basically a wake up call to their parents that something i wrong. And includes information about who you can bring your kid to get some information and steps to help you child eat healthier.

Perhaps its a wakeup call in that many parents are just ignorant?

 

[Shimmer]

I can see it being used in custody battles in the future though.

"He has her full time and her BMI card says she's significantly overweight...and he won't do anythingabout it! SHE SHOULD LIVE WITH ME!!"

 

[Raerae]

Seems like a good reason to me =p