Classic High School Sports Movies

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There are many high school sports movies.  Probably one of the most classic one is ‘Remember The Titans.’  Based on a true story the new school coach who is African-American has to deal with a popular white coach.  This is pretty tough for the coach (played by Denzel Washington) given that the football team’s first season as a racially integrated unit. Ultimately the coach tries to win the kids’ respect through discipline and hard work.  The movie teaches that lessons can be learned both in and out of the classroom.

 

Giving Kids a Healthier Start

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sports-teachersThere are many different ways to help our kids learn about health and to encourage them to work on it for themselves. It starts at home but what goes on at school plays a large part as well. Before choosing which school to send your child to, check out things like: what food is served, what exercise they get, what the outdoors is like and what kind of sporting equipment they have.

Of course, if you child is particularly gifted in an area, you should make sure to research what the school has to encourage that as well. For example, if you have a child who is gifted in science, what are the laboratories like? One who wants to perform or who enjoys public speaking, check out the podiums and drama department. One who enjoys to cook, make sure there is a focus on that for both sexes, etc.

Still, it should be a priority for ALL parents – irrespective of the interests of their child – how much of a focus the school has on health, sports, nutrition etc. Is the school well-equipped? Do they train kids well in the sports area (or make it traumatic for them so that they will resent it for years to come)? Are the sports teachers good with kids who are not so confident? What is their track record like?

At the end of the day, as a parent one has to work out their own priorities. However, one should know that instilling the idea of healthy habits – vis-à-vis nutrition and sports/exercise – from an early age, is a real gift a parent can give to their child.

School Sports – The Great Equalizer

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runningSome kids excel academically and some kids have a really hard time in the classroom.  Likewise, with sports. But for those who have a hard time learning math and English, if they are active and enjoy it, playing different sports competitively at school can not only be a real equalizer (vis-à-vis their classroom performance) but also a real confidence booster.

Indeed, at the Washington School Districts sports is used “as a bridge to a better life for Washington State youth. Our goal is to ensure that students impacted by financial hardship and life trauma have the chance to participate in after-school activities that will keep them healthy, active and engaged in school.”

Unfortunately when there are budget cuts, sports are often the first to go.  Instead of maybe not giving each kid a computer table and putting that money into sports opportunities for kids, those who want to engage in physical activity are now actually being charged “Pay to Play” fees of anywhere between $50 and $250.  This is taking the equalizer out of the equation and putting those kids who are academically-challenged but thrive on the sports field, out of the loop.

So perhaps instead of schools putting their money into additional computer-based equipment, they should be focusing on the outdoors and giving everyone the same opportunity to thrive in sports.