Pushing Kids to the Limit
Children today seem to be involved in many activities outside of school. A number of children may play soccer, swim, play an instrument, and help out around the house while at the same time trying to succeed academically. In many cases, the vast number of sports played by these children is due to the parent’s encouragement, or enforcement. Some parents may enforce after school activities in order to keep their children away from the “evils of society”: drugs, alcohol, and simply loitering and causing trouble. Unfortunately, at times, the pressure from the parents can have negative effects on the children academically and/or socially. Some reasons that parents push their kids so much, could be the small possibility of a college scholarship or money for the child in the future, keeping their children off the street, or the chance that the parents are living vicariously through their child’s sports glory.
Title IX is a law that requires high schools and colleges to give the same amount of money to both girls and boys sports in an attempt to make the genders equal. However, instead of simply equalizing the two sides, this law provides more scholarships for women because they are still competing in fewer sports than men. This will usually peak the parent’s interest, making them believe that there are plenty of scholarships out there for their daughters. Unfortunately this is not exactly true. As Lester Munson, an associate editor at Sports Illustrated, explains it (in an article by Brendan Tierney), “This is the theory that many parents have that if they start their child young enough, and work him or her hard enough, that he or she will get a college scholarship or become a professional athle...
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...fast. Yes, get children involved in sports and activities. In the long run it will pay off, but please, keep it all in perspective.
Works Cited
- Shields, David Light. “Another View: The reality of Olympic dreams for children.”
2002.
Great inequalities in the educational system between the sexes have occurred for many years and still occur today. Efforts have been made to rectify this disparity, but the one that has made the most difference is Title IX. Passed in 1972, Title IX attempted to correct the gender discrimination in educational systems receiving public funding. The greatest correction it made was in the area of athletics, but social justice of Title IX applies to many other areas as well. Title IX has an effect on women who are not athletes in many ways, including quality of education, receptivity to education, empowerment and creation of ideals.
Title IX is a federal law that states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Summing that up, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education. Title IX has banned sex discrimination in schools since 1972. Title IX is best known for parceling obstacles in sports for women and girls, it also ameliorates for girls to pursue math and science, requires fair treatment for pregnant and parenting students, and protects students from bullying and sexual harassment, among other things. Title IX applies to all educational institutions. Both public and private,
Title IX is a law that was made by the NCAA in 1972, that states that there can be no discrimination or exclusion of a gender through athletics or education. (Mankiller). Which means that men's sports cannot be favored over women's sports. Many people are very cognizant of this law. For example, if a school has $100,000, the school must spend the money equally between the athletics of each gender, even if there are more men's sports teams. They must get the same treatment. That may sound great, but Title IX has impacted men's athletics significantly. Although Title IX has been a valuable way to establish gender equality, the NCAA loses money, puts men out of scholarships, abolishes smaller men’s sports teams, and it should be
While no one can dispute the positive effects of the Title IX, there are those dissenting voices who still to this day feel that is unfair that the major revenue generating sports such as Men’s Football and Basketball pay the way for the non revenue sports such as the Women’s Athletics programs. The same could be said though for such non revenue men’s sports as well. Sports such as men’s golf, lacrosse, soccer, etc.
Twenty-five years have passed, but the celebration is no victory party. For all the progress women have made, they are still far behind the men on the playing field. A vast number of colleges and universities are still not in compliance with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination at any educational institution that receives Federal funds. Title IX applies to all educational programs, although it has become the standard-bearer for women's athletics.
Anderson, D. J., & Cheslock, J. J. (2004). Institutional Strategies To Achieve Gender Equity In Intercollegiate Athletics: Does Title IX Harm Male Athletes?. American Economic Review, 94(2), 307-311.
Title IX was a social justice landmark for women in the United States. Women who directly benefited from Title IX were athletes, as it gave them opportunities to participate in sports in schools, receive the same amount of funding as the male sports programs, and for the first time gave women the opportunities to earn scholarships for sports. Indirectly, Title IX had an impact on all women in the United States, because it entitled them equal opportunity to education and created a provision against sexual discrimination. Title IX changed the expectations of women by giving them the opportunity to choose and compete, athletically, scholastically, professionally, politically, economically and socially.
Title IX governs the overall equity of treatment and opportunity in athletics while giving schools the flexibility to choose sports based on student body interest, geographic influence, budget restraints, and gender ratio. In other words, it is not a matter of women being able to participate in wrestling or that exactly the same amount of money spent per women's and men's basketball player. Instead, the focus is on the necessity for women to have equal opportunities as men on a whole, not on an individual basis.
According to Athletic Scholarships, only 32,000 women competed in intercollegiate athletics prior to Title IX and today over 150,000 women compete in intercollegiate competitions. Due to such an increase in the number of female athletes at each school, an increase of funds is crucial to the success of the programs. If schools are required to have an equal number of male and female athletes they must also ensure that the profits of the athletic program are given to each team. With that being said it is almost guaranteed that men 's programs will be cut because the school does not have enough money to support them in addition to the new women 's teams. A prime example of the cutting of men’s programs is in the sport of gymnastics. In 1980, there were nearly 80 men 's NCAA gymnastic teams. Today, fewer than 20 programs remain. (Lukas, Title IX’s Dark Legacy). The NCAA made the following statement in regards to the affect Title IX has on men’s sports, “Title IX does not require reductions in opportunities for male student-athletes. One of the purposes is to create the same opportunity and quality of treatment for both female and male student-athletes. Eliminating men sports programs is not the intent of Title IX. The intent of Title IX is to bring treatment of the disadvantaged gender up to the level of the advantaged group.” While this
Title IX was put in place to help women. This act was supposed to stop situations such as unfair media attention, but has it helped? According to the article Media Coverage of Women's Sport: A New Look at an Old Problem, “There is evidence that these injustices are not diminishing over time, as Duncan and Messner (2000), in their longitudinal analysis, found the amount and type of coverage of women's sport in broadcast media has not changed since 1989” (Cunningham 44). The problem of inequality within media has been a problem for years and there haven’t been improvements. It has been said over the years that the amount of media coverage may vary depending on what female sport it is. Cunningham says, “Several authors have found that women participating in "sex appropriate" sports (e.g., gymnastics, figure skating) receive better coverage, in terms of length and number features, than do female athletes in "sex-inappropriate" sports (e.g., body building, wrestling)” (Cunningham 44). This statement isn’t fair, because there shouldn’t be two different categories for women’s sports. All sports are appropriate or they wouldn’t be allowed. Those so called “sex-appropriate” sports still aren’t gaining the amount of coverage that male sports are gaining. Therefore the excuse of inequality within female sports, because of the sport being “sex-inappropriate” isn’t a good argument. There are arguments as to why women don’t get as much coverage. According to the article Visual and Verbal Gender Cues in the Televised Coverage Of the 2010 Winter Olympics, “The production techniques used for men’s sports far outweighs those for women’s sports in several key areas, including editing, camera use and type of shot. Specifically, men’s sports were e...
Participating in a sport at an early age can be essential to the overall growth process during a child’s upbringing. Whether the participation is through some sort of organized league or just getting together amongst friends and playing, the lessons learned from this can help teach these kids and provide a positive message to them as they develop. There is a certain point, however, when organized sports can hinder progress, which is when adults get too involved and forget about the underlying reason to why they are helping. While adult involvement is necessary, adult involvement can sometimes send the wrong message to children when they try to make participation become more than just about fun and learning. According to Coakley (2009), “organized sports are worth the effort put forth by adults, as long as they do what is in the best interest of their children and put that thought ahead of their own agenda” (Coakley, p. 151). This is a valid argument because once adults put themselves in front of the children and their values, it needs to be re-evaluated as to why they first got involved in the beginning. Partaking in organized sport and activity from a young age can be beneficial to the overall development of children, as long as decisions actions are made in the best interest of the children and not stemming from ulterior motives of adults.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” (“Title IX and Sex Discrimination”) Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities which receive Federal financial assistance. This had a significant impact on women’s sports on all levels. “These programs and activities may include, but are not limited to: admissions, recruitment, financial aid, academic programs, student treatment and services, counseling and guidance, discipline, classroom assignment, grading, vocational education, recreation, physical education, athletics, housing and employment.” (“Title IX and Sex Discrimination”) If any person wants to file a complaint of an alleged discrimination, they must go to the Office for Civil Right within 180 days of the incident.
More specifically, children are also increasingly pressured--again, usually by parents and coaches--to specialize in one sport and to play it year-round, often on several different teams (Perry). Now, if sports specialization is such a great idea, then why are kids being “pressured”? As stated before, sports specialization can result in severe injury or even retirement from sports all together. Evidently, parents would not want to risk their athlete’s entire athletic career just because of an overuse injury. Knowing this, a diversity in sports activities is the solution to the problem. Additionally, a specialization in sports can lead to the young athlete not experiencing a sport that he or she may truly enjoy in their life. If a parent already makes a child decide on a sport to play, how will the child know if that is the sport they truly want to participate in? As the child ages, they could realize that the sport they play now is not one that they love anymore, so they could just quit. Deciding at such a young age is not only a hasty decision, but also a terrible one. Finally, this specialization can also create social problems. If a child is already so competitively involved in a sport, then their social lives and relationships with friends are at risk. The clear choice here is to let the child live a normal life by allowing them to make friends and play, rather than taking over their lives with competitive
Rowley, S. (1986). The role of the parent in youth sports. In G.R. Gleeson (Ed.), The Growing Child in Competitive Sport, (pp. 92-99). London: Hoddon and Stoughton.
Teens need to have activities after school. When they do not they get into mischief. Once teens get involved with activities such as sports they do not have the time to run around and create problems. As teens learn to perform better in their sport or activity, the feeling of their success or accomplishment my drive them to continue practicing and to get better. As they excel they have a less tendency to stay out of trouble. Sports do not keep children out of trouble completely, but they do help! When students play a sport they cannot get in trouble, or else they cannot play! Most teens when they learn this will try their best to stay out of trouble. Sports teach trust and leadership, and keep child...