Earlier this year, a past student of my alma mater (Presentation College) wrote a couple of articles in the local newspaper chastising the College and the Past Students Association for spending too much money on football - his articles were actually in response to a request for support going out to all past students from the Past Students Association. His argument was essentially that there seemed to be too much emphasis (and use of resources) on the football programme... at the expense of other potentially valuable educational activities.
Well there are many things that I want to say about this, but I'll limit my response to two items. The first is that the main purpose of the college (and schools in general) is about preparing young people for life - and although academic knowledge is of obvious value, it only represents a limited dimension of development. Sport (and music and the creative arts) remain a powerful medium for the development of many dimensions of life, primarily because of the authentic environment that each presents - an environment that can easily facilitate the entire spectrum of real life - both positive and negative - including cooperative behaviours associated with team work; discipline and perseverance; problem solving and strategic/tactical thinking; development of healthy lifestyles; etc. (Many of these experiences are not easily facilitated in the traditional academic classes). So the real issue is why aren't we providing more resources/opportunities for (more) students to participate in meaningful, well-organized sport (and music and creative arts) programmes.
The second point is in regard to the perceived disparity in the allocation of resources within the school system. The main reason that the PSA has to beg for funds for the football programme is because the bulk of funding allocated to schools (directly and indirectly) supports academic programming - these costs include facilities for teaching, salaries for academic teachers who make up more than 90% of the staff, etc. Academic programmes also take up the bulk of space (classrooms/labs) and time... and then after sitting through a day of academic programming, students are often sent off for after-school 'extra lessons'... with yet more funding (and time) being spent on academic programming (in this case mainly at the expense of parents). So, if there is indeed any imbalance, it surely weighs heavily in favour of traditional academic programmes.
So let's be clear - well organized sport programmes provide authentic, meaningful and valuable learning experiences for young people... and although there is significant research that supports this, we continue to focus on traditional academic education... at the expense of meaningful, authentic and valuable life-long learning experiences through sport. The Presentation College Past Students Association is doing its part to provide these experiences - hopefully others will recognize the value of their efforts and join the campaign so that more young people may benefit.
+ve vibes,
Mark
Thank you very much for clarifying this +ve. For too long, the disparity between Sport and wholistic developement has been perpetuated and, dear i say, imposed, on the wider society. Research as posited by the early Psychoanalytic theorists, and, later by Humanists such as Rogers and Behaviorists such as Bandura et al, suggest that, for there to be proper functioning in the wider society, human beings need to develop thoroughly (stages of developement) to avoid mal-adjusted socialisation.
ReplyDeleteWholistic developement results in greater levels of self-efficacy and adherence to societal norms and mores, as well as, incresed self-awareness, leading to greater productivity and performance in all endeavours.
The fact of the matter remains the stigmatisation of a few by many. The college has always been a beacon on the hill for men (and women) along all strata within the societal matrix. It continues to be so, in spite of the ignorance of the oligarhcy in our society, who, continue to place restrictions on the developement of young people in a manner commensurate with the global rate of developement.
Sport in general must be made focal to the re-establishment of, not only school, but national pride.
Moreover, lest we forget, the christmas truce of 1914 should be remembered by all (academicians and sportsmen alike) for it was @ this point (it can be said) that the idea of the beautiful game truly developed.
to learn more about the role of sport in human developement see the foll.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
job
Thanks for the comments Joel. As a matter of clarification, I believe that it is critical that we recognize that although sport (and music and creative arts) are valuable media for development, they are not the ONLY media. If we take the position that sport must be made the focal point, we may be as guilty as the academic purists who believe that math and science are the be all and end all of education. We must avoid this tribal allegiance to our respective areas of expertise/interest. My main point then is that we must examine ALL of the valuable media for the total development of people and in that context, sport surely finds a relevant place. As it presently exists, there is a significant disparity in the commitment of technocrats and decision makers to embrace these valuable (though less traditional) means of development... resulting in an imbalance in the education systems and a potential deficit in the development opportunities provided.
ReplyDelete+ve vibes,
Mark