5 ms·

Very uncommon opinion (I'm the only one I know to hold it): we should not spend one dime more for sport, especially in education. Kid have a minimal need for ph

by gbog 10y ago

Very uncommon opinion (I'm the only one I know to hold it): we should not spend one dime more for sport, especially in education. Kid have a minimal need for physical activities which can be easily fulfilled with some gymnastic, but we are in an age where having muscle is pretty useless. Sport is a recent concept invented by the British idle cast, as a way to spend time and money. The world do not have this luxury right now. We need to spend money on education. By the way, an analysis of the two longest civilisations (Jewish and Chinese) show that both have been obsessed with education, and both did never have a particularly strong focus on "sports". Maybe in one century it descendants will count how much of our resources we spent in nothing and will laugh (and cry).

fatalogic 10y ago
On the other hand sports bring in insane amounts of money, publicity and status to colleges, especially state schools where without them they probably couldn't compete with private schools. http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/ncaa-20-college-football-programs-raking-in-the-money.html/ http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/ncaa-20-college-footb... Also given the rising obesity rates and health concerns related to obesity I would say physical fitness is very important in today's society. Education spending should be improved but education isn't all about studying from books. We need mixture of arts, physical education and formal education.
- analog31 10y ago
  Unfortunately, I suspect that professional college sports and the physical fitness of real students, are different things. For most students, like the rest of us, college sports is a form of passive entertainment. I went to a smaller college that did not have professional teams, and I suspect that students were healthier than at the Big 10 university near my house. The sports were pretty much open to all students. The captain of my college's football team was a physics major. That tells you something about the quality of the football team, the physics program, or both. ;-)
- hash-set 10y ago
  All that considered, I would still rather see higher education and big-time farm-league sports (football & basketball) divorced. Big time sports are nothing but a drag on the mission of education--you basically have semi-pro athletes who never graduate acting like princes and engaging in all kinds of anti-social activities that get overlooked. It's a huge mess and it needs to be cleaned up.

by gbog 10y ago

fatalogic 10y ago

On the other hand sports bring in insane amounts of money, publicity and status to colleges, especially state schools where without them they probably couldn't compete with private schools. http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/ncaa-20-college-football-programs-raking-in-the-money.html/ http://www.cheatsheet.com/money-career/ncaa-20-college-footb... Also given the rising obesity rates and health concerns related to obesity I would say physical fitness is very important in today's society. Education spending should be improved but education isn't all about studying from books. We need mixture of arts, physical education and formal education.

analog31 10y ago
Unfortunately, I suspect that professional college sports and the physical fitness of real students, are different things. For most students, like the rest of us, college sports is a form of passive entertainment. I went to a smaller college that did not have professional teams, and I suspect that students were healthier than at the Big 10 university near my house. The sports were pretty much open to all students. The captain of my college's football team was a physics major. That tells you something about the quality of the football team, the physics program, or both. ;-)
hash-set 10y ago
All that considered, I would still rather see higher education and big-time farm-league sports (football & basketball) divorced. Big time sports are nothing but a drag on the mission of education--you basically have semi-pro athletes who never graduate acting like princes and engaging in all kinds of anti-social activities that get overlooked. It's a huge mess and it needs to be cleaned up.