Over the last two decades the growth of youth sports has reflected the popularity of professional sports in our society. To a foreign observer of the American culture we appear to be a sport's obsessed society. Sporting events and news are available to us twenty-four hours a day on television and radio; sports are an enormous industry. In 1995 it was determined that the sporting industry generated 85 billion dollars worth of business. It is now estimated that by the year 2005 the sporting industry will be worth more than 150 billion dollars, making one of the top ten industries in the U.S. (Murphy 32).
The outstanding popularity of the sports industry has had a profound affect on youth sport's organizations. Recent surveys place the number of children participating in various team sports at around 20 million. However, critics estimate that as many as 73 percent quit sports by age thirteen. The majority of children drop out by middle school age because sports are no longer fun for them. There are several contributing factors to this phenomenon, parents and coaches putting excessive pressure on children, over competitiveness, anxiety, and simple loss of interest.
Children join sports at a young age, and it is usually the parent who decides what sport the child will play. Parents are often very involved in their child's sport. The parents buy the team trophies, uniforms, and equipment and shuttle their child to and from games and practices. Most children enjoy this time they spend with their family and friends. There is little emphasis placed on competition and children all have an equal chance to participate. They are able to "play" with their friends outside the school environment and simply have fun, which in turn keeps children interested and involved in their sport.
As children get older they ascend to a higher level in their sport, for instance, from T- ball, to little league. During this time pressure to succeed starts to rise. Parents and coaches often become more involved with the game than with their children, attention starts to focus to the more "talented" players on the team, and competition and "who wins" takes precedence over having fun. In his book The Cheers and the Tears, sport's psychologist Shane Murphy Ph.D., claims that "One way in which many traditional youth sport programs fail to meet the needs of children is by introducing too much competition too early.
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Print.
Gatz, Margaret, Michael A. Messner, and Sandra Rokeach. Paradoxes of youth and sport. Albany: State University of New York, 2002.. 12-13.
Leslie Marmon Silko uses the idea of being speckled and/or spotless in her book Ceremony. To try to be spotless is the Laguna people trying to become a part of white society, hence, becoming separated from the Earth and from the roots, tradition, beliefs, rituals and customs of the Native American way. It is letting in white society with the belief that it can somehow improve you. It is destructive change that takes a person away from the Earth. It is change that specifies and names possessions and makes you question your own beliefs.
It is well known that Native American cultures have been rich in oral traditions. Storytelling is but one aspect of that. Yet amongst the Native American poets covered in class there seem to be differing views of storytelling. Sherman Alexie looks at storytelling in "How To Write the Great American Novel" as that which has been stereotyped and mainstreamed into the dominant culture, while Joy Harjo seems to view storytelling in "Deer Dancer" as vital to the survival of culture. This essay will examine the storytelling aspects of both works.
There seems to be considerable conversation of what Native American literature should be and what some critics believe it is. This may be partly due to the many different Native American languages and tribes (Draper et al. 1993).
In the United States today the age for a kid to start playing competitive sports continues to get lower and lower. Parents in America have started to get their children involved in sports at a much earlier age than they used to, hoping that their child will be the next superstar. Parents are placing too much emphasis on winning and being the best, instead of teaching their children how to have fun. Parents in the U.S. are also placing too much pressure on their kids to be the best. Parents in America are becoming much too involved in youth sports and are starting to get out of control, sometimes even resorting to violence and vulgarity.
Insight on many Native American fiction writers and their works, specifically used for the work on Ceremony, and his views on racial, and internal conflict in the novel.
Gunn Allen, Paula. "The Feminine Landscape of Leslie Marmon Silko's Ceremony" Critical Perspectives on Native American Fiction. ed. Richard F. Fleck, ed. Washington D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1993.
These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss the major themes of the book and why the author wrote it, it will describe Native American society, its values and its beliefs and how they changed and it will show how Native Americans views other non-Natives.
According to statistics gathered by youth sports organizations, “Up to 50 million kids play youth sports in America, and 73 percent who begin playing a sport quit before they turn 13” (Binns). The children could have quit because they did not like the disappointment of losing, or because they are exhausted from their parents pushing them too hard. But parents have their reasons for pushing their children into sports. “Studies show that kids who play sports are less likely to become obese, abuse drugs or alcohol or to perform poorly in school” (McCormick). If children are not active, then they will most likely become overweight, and if they have nothing to do in their pastime, they may turn to drugs and alcohol, which usually leads to a decrease of grades in school. A parent putting his/her child in sports gives the child something to do and keeps them fit. Parents also put their child in a sport hoping that he/she will get success out of it “Eager to nurture the next A-Rod or Michelle Kwan, parents enroll their 5- or 6-year-olds in a competitive sports league or program” (Stenson). While not all parents are pushing for future Olympians, the fight for a sports college scholarship is competitive and parents may feel that their child will have a better chance of gaining one if he/she starts competitive sports early. Parents push their children to succeed, and children--not wanting to disappoint their parents--push themselves, sometimes harder than they should. If done right, pushing a child into sports can have a positive effect on the child’s interaction with other children while teaching them commitment and healthy competition. However, focusing on winning and earning a scholarship versus having fun may backfire, because the cons...
Sports can help many at- risk youths. In order to participate in sports you need to be committed and willing to work hard. You also have to learn to respect others and accept that winning isn’t the only measure of success. Losing can build character as well. When youth participate in a sports they enjoy, they are less likely to engage in behaviors that are harmful or dangerous to themselves and others. It is for these reasons schools should strive to maintain athletic programs for their students.
When a child lacks the natural born talent of athleticism, they can be destroyed emotionally and physically. The 2005 Youth Sports Report Card rated parental behavior and involvement as “unacceptable and needing improvement”(Citizenship Through Sports Alliance,2005). Community sports have “lost their child-centered focus” and has become “too specialized and over interested in parents”(Citizenship Through Sports Alliance,2005). Failing parental expectations, the child will lose any enjoyment felt previously in participation. Their desire to play is diminished, confidence decreases and anxiety overwhelms their innocent minds. Something that was created to add enjoyment and positively influence their life becomes a nightmare that they are unable to cope with. They become humiliated due to inadequately fulfilling their peer 's expectations as well as their
David Wyatt writes, "Nowhere in Frost is the tension between surprise and anticipation, wayward experience and the form into which it is cast or forecast, more acute than in 'The Road Not Taken'" (129). As the poem is read, one cannot help but be pulled into the questions of which road will be chosen, how they differ, and what will become of the traveler. Perhaps some hope to find guidance for their own journeys by seeking answers in Frost's work. According to Michael Meyer, "The speaker's reflections about his choice are as central to an understanding of the poem as the choice itself." (97) Frost himself admits, "it's a tricky poem, very tricky." (Pack 10)