Sport Is The Greatest School Of Vanity
It is two o’clock on Saturday the 22 February 2000. It is the day of the annual Hilton VS Michael House rugby game. In the stands, five hundred schoolboys eagerly await the arrival of the fifteen so-called “Gods” dressed in the black and white to come racing onto the field. As the “Titans” take the field all five Hundred of them jump up and praise them in one euphoric roar. The out come of the game is eight to five in Hiltons favor.
They all run on and form a circle around the fifteen victorious “Gladiators” and as they sing O’ boys the spirit and not to mention the ego’s are raised to an all time high.
It is three o’clock on Saturday the 12 November. It is the Natal Witness inter-schools chess championship and Hilton College has made it to the finals. The best players from either side are competing for one of the most prestigious chess titles in South Africa. In the stands, nobody, as usual. The pressure is getting to both of the boys, but in the end Hilton pulls through with a tight win. The boys get into the bus and go back to school.
Monday morning comes and the whole school is “bowing” down to the almighty fifteen who by this stage are over flowing with arrogance and contemptuous pride. The praise that they receive is almost overwhelming.
Monday morning comes and no one even says good morning to the members of the chess team. The praise that they receive for their good effort is non-existent.
This is the case in many schools all over the world where students are praised for their performance on the sports fields and not in the classroom. The question one has to ask him or her is what are students actually sent to school for is it to succeed on the sports field or is it to achieve in the classroom. Many say that it should be a careful and equal balance between the two, yet very often it leans too much in favor of sport. This is when schools start getting the attitude that sport comes first and work comes second.
Average students that are good at sport are given scholarships instead of the knowledge hungry hard workers who want to succeed in life not sport.
When the Romans went to the gladiator fights, they wanted to watch a very exciting and entertaining contest. So, the Romans purposefully set up the gladiator fights to be unfair by making the matchups unbalanced. The gladiator’s living conditions affected the fight. Yet, with all the morals and myths that the Roman government promoted as what was expected of the roman citizens, the brutal battles that were in the coliseum wouldn’t be tolerated, but they were. The unpredictable outcome of these matches were what made these so entertaining.
The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the bloody war between the states in favor of the north. The battle over states rights, mainly the right to keep slaves, had finally peaked in July of 1863. Lincoln knew that he had to say something to inspire hi...
The battle of Gettysburg occurred over three hot summer days, July 1 to July 3, 1863, around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It began as a meeting engagement, but by its end involved approximately 170,000 Americans. The battle is considered to be the turning point in the American Civil War and is one of the most studied battles in American history. The events that took place at Gettysburg had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the Civil War and the fate of the United States.
As the main performers of the most popular entertainment in a war plagued world, gladiators are often perceived to live a very tragic, wasted life- one that is filled with risks and danger at every turn. But even so, it is an opportunity for the people to rise above social barriers and ultimately became superstars. Few emerged glorious, and those who do must face a cruel path in their everyday life. Follow along on the journey of the success and failures of Ancient Roman gladiators, as we trace the beginning of the gruesome sport, the gladiator’s daily life, hardship, as well as the stories of the l...
Athletic scholarships are a great way to receive a free education and many people believe that school is the only thing it should pay for. There are many reasons as to why individuals argue this. One consequence of passing a law relating to student-athletes receiving money may be possibly corrupting the NCAA system. Because the argument is based on how much the sport makes for the school, gambling and shaving points may occur more frequently in intercollegiate athletics. Shaving points is a method people use to pay off players if they miss shots on purpose in order to lose. Already a huge problem, this suggests athletes might have easier access to money and would affect their play. Another reason that athletes should not get paid is because they aren’t professionals yet. If they want to be paid, students need to enter themselves into a draft and make it their job. ...
We were defeated. The game hadn’t even begun but I could see the look of defeat in my teammate’s eyes. Noticing it as well, Coach Johnson huddled us up. “Guys, we can do this,” he said. “What’s the one thing we have that they don’t?” Looking around at each other, we were dumbfounded. The Henderson High Eagles had everything. They had the most experienced coaches, the biggest and fastest players, and the most passionate fans, what were they missing? “Heart,” said coach. With that, Coach Johnson pushed us out to the coin toss to start the game. What coach just said was pointless in my mind. I mean, he’s been here for eight years and has never had a winning season. He’s just an old guy with a passion ...
...the same cheering that was seen when soldiers were going to the front was seen when the war had ended. This in turn touched on Samuel Beckett’s Endgame as the play is set in an apocalyptic (or so we are made to believe) post-war setting where nature has lost and the pursuit of individualism seems useless as there is nothing left to do but to die. This second half of the Civilization II semester was surely stronger than the first half, since the history timeline covered changes that drastically affected mankind. As John Mason, a popular and anointed minister for churches once said, “You were born an original, don’t die a copy” (3. John Mason). This can be applied to the Romantics and Existentialist and it is true for without you, there is no difference. Every little thing you do may have a larger impact than you would expect on the surroundings and world around you.
Lastly, Google does not hold formal meetings; they hold lunchtime brainstorming conversations, which ensure individual contribution. During such meetings, everyone is treated equal, and there are no leaders (Google.com, 2010). This reduces power distances between the management and the employees. Employees have the freedom to take risks, which help to build their creativity and innovation. They utilize the Maslow’s hierarchy theory of needs. This makes sure employees feel a sense of team which reduces any form of competition.
It took me quite some time to realize that working in the classroom and playing a sport are basically one in the same. Of course, there are no sprints or suicides involved while working on my homework, but many of the traits needed to be successful in the classroom and on the field are the same. The qualities that make me a leading scholar-athlete I learned from both playing on the field and learning in the classroom: hard work, determination, and competitiveness. Having a hardworking and determined mindset is something that can often make up for lack of raw talent. At a school with naturally intelligent students, it is sometimes hard to keep up with their level in my AP and honors classes. I know I deserve to be in these classes, but I didn’t
There is a commonly held assumption that any program that aims to keep children away from drugs is a program full of merit, unfortunately, this is not the case with D.A.R.E. West and O’Neal’s 2004 meta-data analysis of the effectiveness of D.A.R.E. program, which was spurred by an increase of reported drug and alcohol abuse amongst high school students, concluded that the D.A.R.E. program made little to no impact of abuse levels. Any positive reported impact was miniscule and solved for by the error margin of the study. Specifically, of the 11 studies included in West and O’Neal’s analysis, one found the program to have a negative effect, four found it to be completely void of effect, and the other six found an almost indistinguishable positive effect (West and O’Neal 04). An analysis by the Surgeon General found that there was no difference in drug use between those students who had participated i...
On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave one of the famous speeches after the Battle of the Gettysburg which was the turning point of the war. The Gettysburg Address became famous because his speech aroused the equality as stated in the Declaration of Independence. It also restated the Civil War away from a war for the union, but a war for equal rights of all people, democracy. He made this speech during the war to make sure that people were taking actions of the war and to honor the fallen soldiers who had died in this war. Abraham Lincoln argues that the Civil War is still worth fighting because a lot of soldiers died for the ideal of the democracy and for unity of the nation.
In this modern business world that utilizes multitudes of technologies from powerful computers to hand held smart phones, one company has managed to secure it position. Google is now a household name in many parts of the world. The success that Google has enjoyed the past decade was not the result of pure luck. Rather it was a well organized business endeavor that incorporated sound business principles planning, organizing, leading, and controlling and timely quality products. In a number of ways Google is a benchmark company in regards to Technology, Innovation, Globalization, Diversity and Ethics. Google is a great modal of a modern technology company producing the software tools and toy that the world desires.
...to the school. But yet are not getting anything to take the place of missed school work. The schools are reaping the benefits of their work. For instance, details will be brought out about events like March Madness and other televised tournaments or games bring to the table but why the athletes don't see any of it. Student-Athletes are still responsible for maintaining academically and athletically. That is an full time job and an scholarship only covers part of that and does not compare the hard work and dedication that goes into both of these. They are getting unpaid for their talents and services. They contribute so much to the school but are not compensated with anything worthwhile.
The Google Culture Google's corporate culture is based on a number of principles that lay in the foundation of the company's success. First of all, members of the Google workplace are seen as equals. Of course for organizational purposes there are managers and those they manage, but this doesn't create any kind of barriers as communication flows swiftly back and forth and...
I watched from the bench as one of my teammates chucked up a deep three pointer. Clunk! The ball bounced hard off the back of the rim and fell directly into the large hands of a Central Catholic player; a perfect way to sum up our night. My teammates in the game halfheartedly jogged back down the floor to attempt to get a stop against the steamrolling Central Catholic offense. The now large Central Catholic student section awaiting the varsity game began to cheer noisily as their team sprinted down the floor. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, a Central Catholic player came hard off of a screen, finding an open three-point shot from the corner; a spot he was far too used to seeing in the game. The ball soared through the air, landing in the hoop with a swish. The crowd immediately erupted with cheer. I looked up at the scoreboard and my heart sunk at the sight of the home team’s score: 100. The buzzer soon followed, signalling the end of the game and the two teams marched off the floor, one grinning with pride and the other slouched over in defeat. The announcer spoke enthusiastically over the roaring crowd,