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  • LOTD

    Filed at 7:43 pm under by dcobranchi

    Too bad.

    Senate Bill 37 to allow home-schoolers to participate in public-school sports is silly and a waste of political resources. Home-school parents typically want to isolate their child from the public or think that public-school education is below par. Why would they then turn around and want their children to participate in public-school sports and with the public-school children?
    The outsider has no loyalty to that school and no real reason to play. The outsider has never earned the right to play by being part of the student body. If I were a public-school student I would seriously resent an outsider playing on my school’s team.
    If parents wants their kid to play high school football, then they should send them to that public school. Otherwise, too bad.

    Phil Culver
    Layton [Utah]

    10 Responses to “LOTD”


    Comment by
    COD
    February 18th, 2008
    at 8:13 pm

    Of course, the real problem is the govt school monopoly on team sports for teenagers. Why the hell is playing football tied to what school you do or don’t attend?


    Comment by
    Lisa Giebitz
    February 18th, 2008
    at 9:48 pm

    Those families are still paying money that goes to the school district, which (in my humble opinion) gives them the right to use those resources if they so desire.

    If that dude’s so adamant that homeschoolers not use the resources, maybe they should just keep their money too.


    Comment by
    speedwell
    February 19th, 2008
    at 7:16 am

    You’re welcome to call me dirty names if you want, but I agree. If you’re homeschooling because you resent the way kids treat each other and the staff treats the kids–if you want your kids to learn honorable positive participation instead of backstabbing petty politics–if you want your kids to associate with others who share their values and yours–heck, if you just want to remove yourself from dependence on government school handouts and from government school laws and zero-tolerance policies… then what business do you have sending your kids to the government schools for anything at all?


    Comment by
    StarGirl
    February 20th, 2008
    at 9:27 am

    Speedwell – the problem is that it is usually the only game in town. Homeschooled and schooled kids have played football in local leagues since they were 4 or 5 years old, but when they hit middle school or high school, all of a sudden the local leagues dry up because all the schooled kids play at their school. So these kids have played together for years, and now the only way the hsed kids can continue to play is if they play on a school’s team. It’s particularly hard for hsed kids who are *good*, as a pick-up league with local homeschoolers just won’t cut it, and athletic scholarships could mean real money for college.

    OTOH, if you’re just starting out, you can at least try to steer your kids to dance, swimming, fencing, ice skating, tennis, skiing and other sports which operate mainly outside the school system.


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    February 20th, 2008
    at 12:20 pm

    I agree with Stargirl’s unschooled sports list and that’s what our unschooled kids did too — dance, tennis, thinking of fencing — but I cringed to see them in one list like that, realizing how these all are traditionally expensive and traditionally “elite” individual sports, not what most public school kids will ever get to do. Probably many hs families would not be able to justify the expense either.

    I blogged something about snow skiiing and college admission last year that had the same annoying effect on me, sort of a squirming cognitive dissonance with my progressive public responsibility values. Not saying I have an answer to this discomfort but as a homeschool advocate who tries to show we’re socially responsbile and not isolationist or elitist, I guess I’d rather we not list these sports out without thinking about how “let them eat cake” it looks. . . so I thank Stargirl for letting me see it with new eyes!


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    February 20th, 2008
    at 12:21 pm

    And let’s not forget HORSES! 😉


    Comment by
    Nance Confer
    February 20th, 2008
    at 4:27 pm

    So, speedwell, if I’m not hsing for your reasons, it’s OK? Seems kind of harsh for the kids whose parents are in your pew. But at least mine get to play and you won’t mind. Great!

    Nance

    P.S. Really, though, neither child has shown any interest in team sports — just the elite ones we can barely afford — like the Tae Kwon Do tournament we are not attending this weekend because of finances.


    Comment by
    COD
    February 20th, 2008
    at 4:34 pm

    I did not steer my kids towards individual sports because of homeschooling. I thought they should try both team and individual sports. My daughter settled on the equestrian arts at age 6 and never had any interest in anything else. My son still plays baseball along with the fencing. However we are lucky to live in a county that has organized summer baseball through age 18.


    Comment by
    JJ Ross
    February 20th, 2008
    at 6:09 pm

    As a lifelong UF Gator, naturally I would never say Tim Tebow shouldn’t have been able to play football at the school that was the best fit for his particular talents and interests! (nor that as a homeschooler he should have just taken up tennis instead. . .)


    Comment by
    speedwell
    February 21st, 2008
    at 7:56 pm

    Nance, you don’t need to ask me for my sanction on your homeschooling methods. If you and your kids are happy, that’s the only sanction you need. 🙂

    StarGirl, I see your point. Not everyone lives in a big city like me and I forget that.