It's a cultural problem we have here: Sports are it, the arts are not. Too bad really.
I disagree. I went to a school with mandatory participation in 3 seasons of sports. That's extreme, but team sports ore fundamental to educational development. They teach winning and losing, and above all else, the concept of teamwork.
Furthermore, there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
Just think about it: All those crack-jobs on MTV reality shows tend to be the ones who just don't understand teamwork. I'd rather have people who can work well in a team than people who can't, but know the messages behind Hamlet.
I disagree. I went to a school with mandatory participation in 3 seasons of sports. That's extreme, but team sports ore fundamental to educational development. They teach winning and losing, and above all else, the concept of teamwork.
Furthermore, there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
Just think about it: All those crack-jobs on MTV reality shows tend to be the ones who just don't understand teamwork. I'd rather have people who can work well in a team than people who can't, but know the messages behind Hamlet.
You know I really agree with you that sports can be one of the best things for racial inclusiveness today. I haven't read anything on the subject but it sure seems to make sense! I have read about how it affects other areas. The studies on athletic participation in college show that it has a significant negative correlation in terms of one's grade point average, cognitive and intellectual growth in college, etc. -Presumably the sheer time involved in participation takes away from devoting time to your studies.
That's interesting how you equate participation in athletics with learning and overcoming cultural and racial prejudices. That makes an awfully good argument in favor of affirmative action in higher education to ensure racial diversity- on sports teams.
affirmative action in higher education to ensure racial diversity- on sports teams.
ha ha ha, you're kidding, right? dude, if you can play sports a school will make a way for you to show up. affirmative action has nothing to do with it.
they couldn't care less what race, religion, creed you are. if you can run, throw, shoot, pass, they will get you into their school ASAP.
race is the last thing on a coach's mind when looking for new players.
Drug Legalization -- mostly no, but I'm open to convincing
Bedroom Sex Acts -- between married partner, whatever turns you on; otherwise, definite limits (consenting, over 18, and don't brag)
Drinking Age -- 18 if the kid is reponsible; never otherwise
Homosexual Rights -- none
Trade-- free, assuming property rights and rule of law (ie, I don't see trading with countries that literally employ slave labor, like China)
Taxes -- heh heh, I have my own scheme I don't ever see actually being enacted but here goes: flat tax (10%?) paid to state, which then pays 10% of what it receives to the federal government--all social/welfare issues handled at the state level--and a head tax paid directly to the federal government to cover national defense
Religion -- no state church, but state religion
Education -- well, it's compulsory for my kids (at home); I don't have a strong opinion because I don't understand the desire to undermine one's ability to compete in a free market; I do support vouchers
Family -- biological relations (but not strictly) plus adoption with chain of command with father as head and close relations with extended family
ha ha ha, you're kidding, right? dude, if you can play sports a school will make a way for you to show up. affirmative action has nothing to do with it.
they couldn't care less what race, religion, creed you are. if you can run, throw, shoot, pass, they will get you into their school ASAP.
race is the last thing on a coach's mind when looking for new players.
No, alcimedes, I wasn't "kidding."
I agree with you that "race is the last thing on coach's (sic) mind (sic) when looking for new players." Coaches look for the best talent they can find, attempt to recruit said talent, fill their teams with the best recruited talent, and finally start the most talented of the recruited players. Of course other factors beside talent matter, but let's just say that talent would encompass all performance related factors.
That's what matters to coaches. I do not disagree with you.
What I am not saying is that affirmative action should be a means by which coaches select athletic team members. That's not it at all. I am saying two things. 1) That a more racially diverse class would probably translate into a greater percentage of minority involvement in a number of college activities. That's only common sense. Maybe some will join clubs and organizations. Perhaps others will get involved in athletics. Who knows? But a greater pool of minorities would mean a greater chance to join team or group like activities. You cannot join a something if you are not admitted to a college.
As Splinemodel says that I think makes sense, "there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
2) That affirmative action in college admissions along with athletic recruitment helps minorities- disadvantaged or not- get into college. Would some gain admission on the basis of athletic scholarship alone? Certainly. Would others matriculate only with the combination of athletic scholarship and affirmative action? You can bet on it. And there's nothing better than team sports to learn the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudice.
So affirmative action does help guarantee matriculation for coaches' 'talented' minority recruits as well as provide a larger base of minorities from which some may 'walk on' to athetlic programs.
I think that by college time, personality development is about over. I'm more about pushing sports to youths. As for athletics in college, the reason why athletes are dumb is because (1) recruiting (2) time cost. Anyway, IM and club sports in college do the job fine, if you're just seeking an activity and you're not NCAA material.
(Only before the foetus' brain has begun to develop, before this, it is not (in my mind) a person and therefore abortion at this point is no worse than the morning after pill)
Drug Legalization
(legalise cannabis (similarly to alcohol) but toughen the laws on selling it, so people who want it have to grow it themselves)
Bedroom Sex Acts
(As long as both people concent to it and don't subject others to what they do, why should the government have any part in people's sex lives, minimum age, probably 15)
Drinking Age
(should vary, like here in the uk, for example you can drink cider with a meal at 15 but not at a bar until 18 )
Homosexual Rights
(Exactly the same as hetrosexual, some people are straight, some people are gay, people need to learn to respect other's sexualities, and they should be free to make their own decisions without fear of prejudice)
Trade
(Fair, the people who grow coffee/chocolate, often work because it's the only way they can survive, it's ridiculous that the people who are simply organizing the packaging and shipping of these products get payed so much more when they don't need it nearly as much, why should we cater to these people's greed)
Taxes
(More tax for people who make millions/billions of $s a year, we should have some say in what the money we give is used for, for example people may be more willing to pay if the government spent our money on reviving our pathetically dying health or transport services, or paying the firefighters what they deserve, rather than building an £8,000,000,000 aircraft carrier and loading it with state-of-the-art killing machines)
Religion
(People should be free to believe whatever they think, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of those around them, although I wish people would be less narrow-minded and bigoted about their beliefs, this is a difficult topic to summarize though)
Education
(I hate this crappy communist schooling system we have here in the UK. Basically, everyone must learn the same skills in great detail, regardless of what they see as their vocation, until year 10. And even then, there are compulsory subjects, and it is pre-decided that, for example, english is the most important subject you will ever learn, but not just the language and grammar. Why? do I need to know how to annotate and analyze the narrative of a story-line unless I'm going to be a writer or journalist? (which I'm not) Education should probably be compulsory, but maybe the 13 years we spend being taught things would be more productive if they actually related to our futures in some way)
Family
(Your family is whoever you decide to call your family, even if it's not by law, although I don't see how people can deny that their relatives are family, in the "I have no son" kind of way)
Euthanasia
(Yes, to anyone, with two doctors opinions, if they have spent a certain amount of time in a hospice, after this they should be able to make a sensible decision as to whether their life is worth living or not)
Capital Punishment
(No, never, although some people probably don't deserve to live, no one knows for sure what life is, where it comes from or what happens after death, so I don't think we should be able to decide when to take it away from others)
assisted suicide: i agree with br on this, that people have a right to life and to end it when they choose. if a person should come to the stage where they no longer wish to live, and have seriously and deeply thought-out the decision, then i think they have the right to end their life, or to have someone else commit the final act in their stead.
capital punishment: is completely and totally wrong. the government should not have this kind of control over its citizens. every effort should be made to rehabilitate criminals and get them back into society (if possible). jail should only be a place where rehab happens.
Comments
Originally posted by SDW2001
SPJ:
It's a cultural problem we have here: Sports are it, the arts are not. Too bad really.
I disagree. I went to a school with mandatory participation in 3 seasons of sports. That's extreme, but team sports ore fundamental to educational development. They teach winning and losing, and above all else, the concept of teamwork.
Furthermore, there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
Just think about it: All those crack-jobs on MTV reality shows tend to be the ones who just don't understand teamwork. I'd rather have people who can work well in a team than people who can't, but know the messages behind Hamlet.
Originally posted by Splinemodel
I disagree. I went to a school with mandatory participation in 3 seasons of sports. That's extreme, but team sports ore fundamental to educational development. They teach winning and losing, and above all else, the concept of teamwork.
Furthermore, there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
Just think about it: All those crack-jobs on MTV reality shows tend to be the ones who just don't understand teamwork. I'd rather have people who can work well in a team than people who can't, but know the messages behind Hamlet.
You know I really agree with you that sports can be one of the best things for racial inclusiveness today. I haven't read anything on the subject but it sure seems to make sense! I have read about how it affects other areas. The studies on athletic participation in college show that it has a significant negative correlation in terms of one's grade point average, cognitive and intellectual growth in college, etc. -Presumably the sheer time involved in participation takes away from devoting time to your studies.
That's interesting how you equate participation in athletics with learning and overcoming cultural and racial prejudices. That makes an awfully good argument in favor of affirmative action in higher education to ensure racial diversity- on sports teams.
affirmative action in higher education to ensure racial diversity- on sports teams.
ha ha ha, you're kidding, right? dude, if you can play sports a school will make a way for you to show up. affirmative action has nothing to do with it.
they couldn't care less what race, religion, creed you are. if you can run, throw, shoot, pass, they will get you into their school ASAP.
race is the last thing on a coach's mind when looking for new players.
Drug Legalization -- mostly no, but I'm open to convincing
Bedroom Sex Acts -- between married partner, whatever turns you on; otherwise, definite limits (consenting, over 18, and don't brag)
Drinking Age -- 18 if the kid is reponsible; never otherwise
Homosexual Rights -- none
Trade-- free, assuming property rights and rule of law (ie, I don't see trading with countries that literally employ slave labor, like China)
Taxes -- heh heh, I have my own scheme I don't ever see actually being enacted but here goes: flat tax (10%?) paid to state, which then pays 10% of what it receives to the federal government--all social/welfare issues handled at the state level--and a head tax paid directly to the federal government to cover national defense
Religion -- no state church, but state religion
Education -- well, it's compulsory for my kids (at home); I don't have a strong opinion because I don't understand the desire to undermine one's ability to compete in a free market; I do support vouchers
Family -- biological relations (but not strictly) plus adoption with chain of command with father as head and close relations with extended family
assisted suicide: against -- you have a "right" to die? My sister fought for three years against oral cancer, what about her "right" to live?
capital punishment: for -- in fact, I am AGAINST prisons, should be a three tier system: restitution, "probation," or death
public breastfeeding: I don't understand the fuss.
Originally posted by alcimedes
ha ha ha, you're kidding, right? dude, if you can play sports a school will make a way for you to show up. affirmative action has nothing to do with it.
they couldn't care less what race, religion, creed you are. if you can run, throw, shoot, pass, they will get you into their school ASAP.
race is the last thing on a coach's mind when looking for new players.
No, alcimedes, I wasn't "kidding."
I agree with you that "race is the last thing on coach's (sic) mind (sic) when looking for new players." Coaches look for the best talent they can find, attempt to recruit said talent, fill their teams with the best recruited talent, and finally start the most talented of the recruited players. Of course other factors beside talent matter, but let's just say that talent would encompass all performance related factors.
That's what matters to coaches. I do not disagree with you.
What I am not saying is that affirmative action should be a means by which coaches select athletic team members. That's not it at all. I am saying two things. 1) That a more racially diverse class would probably translate into a greater percentage of minority involvement in a number of college activities. That's only common sense. Maybe some will join clubs and organizations. Perhaps others will get involved in athletics. Who knows? But a greater pool of minorities would mean a greater chance to join team or group like activities. You cannot join a something if you are not admitted to a college.
As Splinemodel says that I think makes sense, "there is nothing I've ever seen better than team sports when it comes to learning the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudices. Nothing you learn in the classroom about the "awfulness" of said biases has near the affect of learning to depend on a team.
2) That affirmative action in college admissions along with athletic recruitment helps minorities- disadvantaged or not- get into college. Would some gain admission on the basis of athletic scholarship alone? Certainly. Would others matriculate only with the combination of athletic scholarship and affirmative action? You can bet on it. And there's nothing better than team sports to learn the foolishness of racial and cultural prejudice.
So affirmative action does help guarantee matriculation for coaches' 'talented' minority recruits as well as provide a larger base of minorities from which some may 'walk on' to athetlic programs.
That's all.
Drug Legalization: Weed? I suppose.
Bedroom Sex Acts: Anything goes, but incest. Incest punishable by lynching mob.
Drinking Age: 18, only if you get caught driving drunk and you are .5 or more over the legal limit, you have to give up a healthy kidney for the needy
Homosexual Rights: Marry whoever.
Taxes: Flat tax
Religion: Government stays the hell out.
Abortion
(Only before the foetus' brain has begun to develop, before this, it is not (in my mind) a person and therefore abortion at this point is no worse than the morning after pill)
Drug Legalization
(legalise cannabis (similarly to alcohol) but toughen the laws on selling it, so people who want it have to grow it themselves)
Bedroom Sex Acts
(As long as both people concent to it and don't subject others to what they do, why should the government have any part in people's sex lives, minimum age, probably 15)
Drinking Age
(should vary, like here in the uk, for example you can drink cider with a meal at 15 but not at a bar until 18 )
Homosexual Rights
(Exactly the same as hetrosexual, some people are straight, some people are gay, people need to learn to respect other's sexualities, and they should be free to make their own decisions without fear of prejudice)
Trade
(Fair, the people who grow coffee/chocolate, often work because it's the only way they can survive, it's ridiculous that the people who are simply organizing the packaging and shipping of these products get payed so much more when they don't need it nearly as much, why should we cater to these people's greed)
Taxes
(More tax for people who make millions/billions of $s a year, we should have some say in what the money we give is used for, for example people may be more willing to pay if the government spent our money on reviving our pathetically dying health or transport services, or paying the firefighters what they deserve, rather than building an £8,000,000,000 aircraft carrier and loading it with state-of-the-art killing machines)
Religion
(People should be free to believe whatever they think, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of those around them, although I wish people would be less narrow-minded and bigoted about their beliefs, this is a difficult topic to summarize though)
Education
(I hate this crappy communist schooling system we have here in the UK. Basically, everyone must learn the same skills in great detail, regardless of what they see as their vocation, until year 10. And even then, there are compulsory subjects, and it is pre-decided that, for example, english is the most important subject you will ever learn, but not just the language and grammar. Why? do I need to know how to annotate and analyze the narrative of a story-line unless I'm going to be a writer or journalist? (which I'm not) Education should probably be compulsory, but maybe the 13 years we spend being taught things would be more productive if they actually related to our futures in some way)
Family
(Your family is whoever you decide to call your family, even if it's not by law, although I don't see how people can deny that their relatives are family, in the "I have no son" kind of way)
Euthanasia
(Yes, to anyone, with two doctors opinions, if they have spent a certain amount of time in a hospice, after this they should be able to make a sensible decision as to whether their life is worth living or not)
Capital Punishment
(No, never, although some people probably don't deserve to live, no one knows for sure what life is, where it comes from or what happens after death, so I don't think we should be able to decide when to take it away from others)
Andrew
assisted suicide: i agree with br on this, that people have a right to life and to end it when they choose. if a person should come to the stage where they no longer wish to live, and have seriously and deeply thought-out the decision, then i think they have the right to end their life, or to have someone else commit the final act in their stead.
capital punishment: is completely and totally wrong. the government should not have this kind of control over its citizens. every effort should be made to rehabilitate criminals and get them back into society (if possible). jail should only be a place where rehab happens.
...hmm is there anything else i missed...