Eric Sundwall

I wrote a piece a little over a year ago urging public schools to consider banning football. The idea was not that the sport was too big of a risk for students and districts alike, but rather that expenditure for it is unfair to those who cannot perform under those expectations. What if Johnny isn't good enough to make the team or Jane isn't pretty/athletic enough to cheer ? The parents of these children still are forced to pay for the extra circular activities of the more special or talented. Most will respond that debate, music or chess clubs are available to those who cannot perform under these circumstances. Some could do both and not succumb to classic stereotypes and beliefs which make the quarterback BMOC. The prissy cheer leading and sports types of the fifties and sixties still has deep resonance in our modern culture.

My point is simple. If I am forced by the government to educate other's children, do I have to support the 'jock' or vanity culture ? English and math maybe fine for all students, but not every kid can be on the 'team'. Nor can every child play the violin or piano. Scholastic sports used to be the province of 'clubs'. Volunteers and donations sustained these activities a hundred years ago. Why am I urging children to be yelled at and cajoled to conform and perform with the slim chance that they could become one of the college or professional elite who derive status or income based on their ability to perform for the facile masses too lazy or unskilled to play themselves ?

The idea that cheerleaders must now also support both genders is as absurd as the initial concept to begin with. Taking part as a group and identifying with school spirit and the like causes resentment and alienation amongst others. While most parents accept these barriers and restrictions, untold thousands are left out of the process and are forced to watch jock and fashion cultures rule the day. Aside from the obvious knee-jerk libertarian reaction to tax spending and the like, a basic issue of overall fairness has been completely blindsided by a culture obsessed with winning at simple athletic pursuits rather then a blend of what the Greeks called Arete. Healthy and strong engineers, doctors and just regular people should be the by-product of our educational process regardless of how its funded. Irrational lawmaking and equally silly decisions trap us in a fold that can only be a source of concern for the rest of the civilized world.