public school system rant

[Texas-Tech]

Sports isn't gonna get the kids an education, prepare them for life in the real world, which I don't believe schools are doing anyway. There has to be some priority to all this, and with the drop out rates where they are and the failure rate I think they can do without some of the sports.

[gruntly]

Down there it's football. Up here it's hockey. But I see there is not a lot of sympathy towards the sports here.

I think it has something to do with team versus individualism. We, as trades people, are very used to doing things on our own, not frenzying up and foaming at the mouth like many sports nuts.

Hey, I like a rollicking good game of ice-shinny as well, but not to the point our kids come to depend on others to make all the decisions for them.

[Kaleun494]

I don't mind sports in schools on the contrary I think athletics are important, but not to the point where you cut arts, trades, shop classes, and other programs to maintain it. My old HS had so much interesting stuff before sports gobbled all of their funding, now all we have is basic core classes and a couple of boring electives according to a friend who still attends it.

[Balystic]

[edit] Sorry. Posted in wrong thread!

[Pnelting]

I went to watch my daughter dance at half time a few weeks back and was blown away by the amount of money spent on the football game. The scoreboard has a video screen and was able to show instant replays. There were two camera men with HD video cameras and at least three photographers with lenses you would expect to see at the pro games. I'm pretty sure they had artificial turf as well. I'd love to know what the annual football budget is.

It makes me wonder if other programs are suffering at the expense of football.