Education in Sport
The development of modern sport as a global entity have been
inextricably linked to the concept of education. Modern sport
originated in educational institutes primarily in Britain during the
mid-to-late nineteenth century, and was exported worldwide as an
integral part of that educational system. Within these institutions,
sport was originally seen as a device for building and demonstrating
'character', a rather vague term that is still used as a justification
for its inclusion as an important extracurricular activity in schools
and colleges today. As this review will show, sport in schools have
been credited with teaching values of sportsmanship and fair play to
participants, increasing athletes' educational aspirations, developing
a sense of community and group cohesion among student, helping to
reduce dropout rates, and giving poor and minority youth access to
higher education.
However the educational 'effect' of sport has not been confined to
educational institutes. It has been used to justify participation of
all levels of society from community youth leagues to professional
clubs. To this day, sport maintains a moral component, and individual
participation in it is seen as worthwhile, an uplifting experience.
Even professional athletes carry the moral baggage of sport genesis.
They are supposed to be role models for youth, and their behaviour is
often judged against a standard of morality rarely applied to other
representatives of the entertainment industry such as film stars or
rock musicians. In a symbolic sense sport has become part of what
historian Eric Hobsbawm (1983) has called the 'invented trad...
... middle of paper ...
...sts to interpret this
tradition using a number of theoretical and methological perspectives.
These include empirical approaches designed to test the usually
anecdotal evidence given to support competitive sports programs in
schools and colleges. This research tries to assess what changes occur
as a result of participation in interscholastic athletes. Other
approaches from a Marxist and critical theory perspective have
challenged the underlying assumptions of 'equality' in society and how
sport can help to perpetuate social class race and gender
inequalities, and encourage practices such as dieting, drug taking and
aggression which endanger physical and mental health. In particular,
feminist research has revealed the way sport can reinforce patriarchy
as the natural order of social relationship between male and females.
Gatz, Margaret, Michael A. Messner, and Sandra Rokeach. Paradoxes of youth and sport. Albany: State University of New York, 2002.. 12-13.
Most student-athletes grow up as very innocent lads bedecked with tremendous talents and become very promising in sports. Thus, they become rays of hope for their families, neighborhoods, and schools yet to be determined. Like the lamb in William Blake’s poem The Lamb, they are fed “by the stream & o’er the mead; gave…clothing of delight, softest clothing, wooly, bright…making all the vales rejoice.” (Smith 24) Then they are exposed to the life of hard work in which only the fittest survives. This makes them ready for the different challenges in the sports scene.
When discussing why sports matter and the influence it has had over the course of history, many controversial issues have been whether or not sports have taught us to cultivate discipline. Sheed explains that sports can play an important role in the lives of people by helping them discover who they are and where they want to be. The lesson of sports goes deeper than just practicing or playing a game, they help build characteristics that will prepare you for many obstacles in life. Sheed mentions that sports were created and put into schools to teach discipline, patience, and honesty to male students. He continues to point out that sports are very competitive and that sportsmanship and discipline does not matter anymore, but instead the very need to win. In “Why Sports Matter,” Wilfrid Sheed, contends that “sports did not only outlaw cheating but drilled its participants to detect and despise it in each other”. This was a crucial lesson taught to a nation based on transactions.
To achieve a degree in Athletic Training, there are many tasks and skills to be learned. The Education Council under the National Athletic Training Association put together an education program filled with a set of guidelines of what has to be taught to graduate with a degree in Athletic Training. Before you can learn and understand Athletic Training, you must know the Anatomy and Physiology of the human body. This includes bones, muscles, levels of organization, tissue levels, systems of the body, skeletal structure, articulations, integrative functions, sensory function, blood, and embryology (Martini, 2001). Besides Anatomy and Physiology, the methods of taping is also extremely critical to this career. Before you can understand what each taping techniques are used for, you must also know about sports injuries. Athletic Training is all about the prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and evaluation of athletic injuries. Another skill that must be learned in the Athletic Training Education Program is how to provide immediate emergency care. That includes everything from background information to actually being able to save an athlete’s or any one else’s life. You must be aware of legal considerations, how and when to approach a victim, the human body systems, examining the victim, basic life support, bleeding and shock, identifying wounds, sudden illnesses, injuries, and how to care for them; also you must be aware of cold and heat related injuries, and how to rescue and move victims (Thygerson, 2001). Other information to be learned includes nutrition, health, and professional development. There are several other topics of Athletic Training; however, there are just to many to s...
Jarvie, G. (2012). Sport, Social Division and Social Inequality. Sport Science Review. 20 (1-2), 95–109.
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
Sports play an important role in American culture, with the top four most popular being football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. These professional athletes make millions of dollars through their annual salaries and endorsements. Many wonder how they got to where they are today and was it worth it. There are mixed messages about participating in sports as a child and how it affects their development. Some believe that sports will help their child develop better communication skills, self-confidence and build character, while others believe that young athletes will develop aggression traits such as bullying, competitiveness, and aggressiveness. Although some believe that sports participation as a child will lead to aggressive children, there is ample evidence through research that sports benefits a child’s cognitive, social, and, physical development.
Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports. These sports often govern society's way of life. People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends. Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends." Parents use sports as a teaching tool for their children. Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and sports have also helped many students with their grades. Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games. Adults have been affected by sports in their bank accounts. Tax increases for funding a new stadium, golf course and even school programs have hurt the middle class Americans. Sports have taken control of small communities and soon will take control of society
Coalter et al. (1994) illustrated that those who stayed in education after the minimal school leaving age had higher rates of sports participation than the school leavers. This statement inspired the author of this review to research, and essentially ascertain what implications and constraints occur in an adolescent and adult environment when considering participating in sport.
Every weekend hundreds of thousands of sports fans pack the stadiums of their favorite team and ruthlessly engage in fandom. Some fans tailgate before the game and casually support their team by sporting a jersey and team colors, while others may dress up in absurd outfits, like one Raiders fan who has dressed up in a gorilla suit for the last 16 years. From wicked costumes and body paint, to inappropriate jeers at opposing fans, Eric Simmons was determined to reach a conclusion as to why humans are so entrenched by sports. Simmons does not try to push the world in a certain direction, rather, he utilizes real-life examples, rhetorical questions, and studies and statistics to inform the reader on why fans have developed an intense love for
Sports in America have many different levels of competition, each with a particular purpose that correlates to their philosophical position. However, I believe that the overall philosophical trend of the sports construction in America is one of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is an extension of the theory of natural selection made famous by Charles Darwin. The idea is that the fittest individuals are the ones that are be capable of leaving the most amount of offspring, in turn having an impact on the future direction of the particular species. This is where the mantra of “only the strongest survive” originates from. While it is true that at the younger competition levels this philosophical idea does not hold well to sports, however, consider the following analogy: A large pool of athletes in the younger age groups are like the starting population size of a species. However, as the age groups rise, like to high school, college, and maybe to professional leagues, the pool of athletes becomes vastly depleted. This is very similar to individuals in a species dying out to various causes, the idea is that only the strongest survive. Athletes competing at the professional level are so competitive that sometimes they will seek to circumvent the rules of the sport in order to survive and thrive. That is why the philosophical construct of sport in America is that of Social Darwinism. Professional athletes are at the top of the food chain and are under fierce competition and scrutiny from their fellow athletes, and the ever watchful eye of the media. The result is athletes tend to treat their sport more as a game of survival and compete ruthlessly in order to be the best instead of playing for a pure love of the game.
In conclusion, it is explicit that sports is a positive influence on athletes, spectators and the world as a whole as it teaches imperative life lessons as well as allows its participants to experience enjoyment, fulfilment and gratification. As mentioned previously sports enables its players to bring out the best in others and create unity amongst groups as team work is so essential. This highlights the views I have in conjunction with the views of Joe Humphrey.
As of 2007, a total of 15.6 million undergraduate college students attended school in search of a higher level of education ("How Many?"). In spring of 2013, only 14,473,884 students attended an American college or university, constituting a decrease of 1,126,116 students compared to 2007 ("College Enrollment "). One reason for the decrease is that some students do not have any plan for after high school, however most student-athletes do. It is often said that education should come before anything else, an example being athletics. So when an argument rises on whether or not student- athletes in college should be exempted from class attendance policies to participate in sport related activities such as practices, meetings, and games the immediate answer by many would be no. However, student-athletes should be exempted from class attendance policies because some student- athletes attend college primarily for their sport and students should be able to invest more time and effort in the true reason of their collegiate career.
Sports, a very popular past time today, have been around since ancient times. Greek Olympic Games featured events from chariot races, javelin throws, to wrestling. In addition, a game similar to soccer was played in China by the second century BC. In England, a violent rugby type game was even played to settle feuds between villages. With the development of the industrial revolution and the creation of the first public schools, sports decreased in violence and were played more recreationally and constructively. Basketball was invented to help the youth in New England spend their energy in the winter months. Since the early 1900’s sports have been a key experience in the United States (“History of Sports”). I have played sports for many years, and the experience has helped me grow significantly as an individual.
When it comes to teaching, there are many different ways and types of methods you can use to teach your students. One of the most common ways of teaching is by using Sport Education. This type of teaching style is best used for elementary students. According to Daryl Siedentop, a professor from Ohio State University believes that class should teach kids about skills, teamwork, and the importance behind each sport or activity. Sport Education recreates the meaning behind gym class.