Anyway, on to the subject of today's post in which I am soliciting opinions on a subject I have ranted about for years. It is a concept I am so passionate about that my staff gave me a Build-a-Bear for Christmas one year which represented my views on the subject. More about that later.
Here is the point on which I am very interested in hearing your views(as usual
, it concerns behavior patterns learned in high school):Why is it accepted, even encouraged, to brag about success in sports by proudly displaying ones achievements on jackets and sweatshirts (e.g. NJ State Champs, NY Eastern Division Finalists, varsity letters), and devoting entire walls to trophies and plaques but no one publicly flaunts academic and scholastic achievements? And if they do, they are roundly chastised. As a perfect case in point I offer those bumper stickers proclaiming "I have an honor student at such and such middle school" (it is never a high school). As soon as they started showing up, the jocks' parents (I assume) countered with bumper stickers that said "My student can beat up your honor student". Now that's mean.
Parents of academically successful children brag to their friends of course, but never in a publicly displayed fashion like with achievements in sports. I never was given a high school jacket emblazoned with the scholastic clubs I was a member of and I believe the same is true today. Athletic ability, intellectual ability. Some have one or the other, some have both, and some have neither. They are both equally important in a high school kids life. So why is it acceptable to publicly crow about athletics but not academics?
As for the lettered jacket I never got in high school? My wonderful staff gave me a Build-a-Bear wearing a jacket with embroidery that said Mathletes, Key Club, Debating Team, Merit Scholarship Finalist, etc. Of course they get paid to listen to me all day long. Bless them and feel for them.
Cindy says that high school is a popularity contest based on physical appearance, with a positive correlation between attractiveness and athletic ability and a negative correlation between attractiveness and math skills. This is probably true.
ReplyDeleteBut once you enter the real world, that clearly changes... the jocks and prom queens of then are the auto mechanics and obese moms of now, and they feel threatened and small by talk of things they were never good at.
Rich, be honest -- how do you feel when a parent is carrying on, in detail, about their child's athletic accomplishments? Your post gives away your answer. I think that parent would feel equal discomfort were you to discuss in detail the math problem that won you the Nassau County Math Challenge in 1976 (or something).
And at top high schools, it is absolutely acceptable to brag about academic accomplishments, as all the students are vying to get into Harvard and Yale. I'll bet the kids getting into Harvard from Stuyvesant HS are held in similar regard to the football players at many Texas schools. (point of fact: Stuyvesant is 70% Asian)
I guess my answer is that it's a lack of understanding and acceptance. People are different. As you said, both can play equally important roles in a child's life. I think if the Tea Party felt like the "intellectual elite" was making an effort to understand their values and concerns, they wouldn't be so opposed to having smart people in office. However, the reality is that we look down on them as much as they see us as out-of-touch snobs, and it's getting us nowhere.