Teachable Moments

7 thoughts on “Teachable Moments”

1. At a major NCAA program (such as Texas, Ohio State or Alabama), you could argue such investment results in a profit for the program and the school as a whole. But high school athletics don’t pull in the type of cash that keeps anything other than the team afloat – btw, in Oklahoma, a recent check of High School sports budgets found that while about 1 out of 8 football teams turned a profit, over 9 in 10 basketball programs did…food for thought.

   For the record, I work in a charter school in OKC with only two varsity sports – soccer and cross-country. Neither make money, but we are used to running things on a shoestring – we don’t even have a bus, but instead caravan to games. Our practice field is an abandoned lot between a church and an AutoZone. We still make playoffs and win games – Imagine what we could do with a $70 million dollar facility.

2. Dear Drew,

   My best friend (of over 30 years) was born and raised in Texas. He once made a remark about football in Texas that has always stayed with me. It sounds like a joke but he was in earnest.

   He was talking about the popularity and intensity of high school football. He talking about it in terms that made the NFL look like a “diaper derby” (for those who don’t know what I’m talking about that’s another term for baby races where babies crawl from one parent at the starting line to another at the finish line).

   Finally I jokingly said,”Sounds like football there is more important than life down there.”

   Without batting an eye or any hint of sarcasm he deadpanned,”Its more important than even that.”

   All the best

   Louis

3. Good Morning from Omaha,

   I saw a news report about that stadium on the news the other day. It is beautiful, holds 18K people and has a weight room about 50 yards long. Its just another sign of things being out of whack. It seems that as long as it doesn’t take money away from the class room they think it is fine.

   I got upset when every school up this way decided they had to have turf and not grass for football. I guess grass is not good enough anymore.

   They built a new stadium for baseball up here for the College World Series. oh and Creighton plays their 20 home games there also so in total this gem sets empty almost 300 days per year. we were told that taxes would not go up to pay for this attraction but the stadium sitting empty doesn’t help. If you build it they will come, or so they said but that they has yet to appear.

   strive for excellence, nothing but your best.

   Gene

4. This is one of those don’t even get me started subjects. Arts, sports, history, reading, writing, arithmetic, subjective and analytical thinking, all important for development. It seems to me, in my conspirative thinking, that there is some messing with our public schools going on as in dumbing down America. I guess if a city in Texas wants less thinking and more football, that’s their choice, but where is the future coming from? See, don’t get me started.

5. ah yes, another monument to our misplaced priorities.

6. Texas school funding system is messed up. Schools are funded by local property taxes, there is only so much that can be spent on education and then there is a separate budget for things like the stadium. Funds from one district are not supposed to be used in other districts unless some state politician decides to come up with a devious plan to redirect district money, see robin hood laws in Texas for the reference.

   But before everyone gets all huffy about this only being for football, maybe you should do a little research. This town has a marching band and drill team of 850 students. The bond that built this stadium also included a $23 million dollar 1500 seat performing arts center. The stadium also has facilities for the golf team, and wrestling, and students operate most of the stadium, from cameras to the scoreboard. It is a great teaching opportunity. During a football game there are probably close to 1000 kids that go to the school involved in the production of the game. Considering that’s about 20% of the student body, I think that’s pretty good.

7. Thanks for pointing that out rdo, it is correct. The stadium was part of two bonds for a total of $338 million passed in fall 08 and spring 09. The other $278 million went towards new elementary schools, a new band hall for that huge band, new TV studio for the journalism students, a culinary arts center with restaurant, and much more. So although it is fair to debate the wisdom of spending that much on the stadium don’t even assume that there is no priority on academics at our school. Oh, and the school district added 162 new teachers this school year….