Your Contribution is Welcome

A Former Student Whom I respect very Much Writes

I definitely check the blog every few days. I think that the best way to improve it is to constantly talk about memories that you had from students or even teachers while teaching, but not really talk too much about them. Rather, mention quickly what happened and then talk about the point or moral of the story. I'm saying this because I enjoyed this last one about the Vignette. In general, the best way to improve the blog and incite responses would be to mention controversial yet mature topics relating to the readers of the blog, like the post about male priests and female nuns. 

I'll write something now as a reply to the Vignette/A poster from my classroom post and you can feel free to post the whole thing or any small parts.

I have to disagree with you that athletic programs should not cater to the elite few and detriment the rest. I say this because everybody has skills and talents and everybody should have the right to showcase their talents. Athletes train to become better at the sports they participate in and every game or practice is a chance to showcase how much they have improved. In life, everybody has to have a goal. It's just human nature to be competitive and to want to be better than the next person. So, in athletics, it should only be the elite few who showcase how good they are. Nobody would pay or use their time to see poor performances. There is a place and a time where everybody can participate but when you reach a high enough level, the number of participants has to be restricted to increase quality. 

Sports are just the tip of the iceberg though. Sports are nothing different than any form of art, whether it be painting, drawing, music or dancing. When you go to watch or see any form of art, you want it to be beautiful. 

In general, any form of entertainment should be restricted to the elites because for most, entertainment is a release from their everyday lives. 

Now with regards to the criticism you gave the student, I 100000% agree with you and I'm sure that looking back, that student would too. You were giving constructive criticism to her and I would encourage that. The best way to learn is to learn from your mistakes but sometimes you can't see your mistakes. For anybody who wants to get better, especially in sports, constructive criticism is key to improving as an athlete and the best athletes were not born the best athletes. They persevered and worked hard but in the end, they succeeded because they were willing to listen to those around them who actually cared about them. That willingness to listen only comes with maturity and unfortunately, the current education system promotes immaturity and that's sad to see.     The current education system needs to completely overhauled, not only the curriculum, but also to change the attitude of the principals and teachers because it would be ridiculous to expect students to be mature if those teaching them aren't. Fortunately, we had you among a few others who wanted what was in the best interest of us and did that rather than being safe, following the curriculum to the period and doing what would make the students like them.

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Great! I am sure you have much more to say on this and other topics. I wholeheartedly welcome you and your ideas.

It is indeed an honour to welcome you to the blog. I hope you continue and contribute more. I respect your ideas and I hope it opens up more debate to make things – Physical education and athletic programs better and more inclusive.

From high school benches, I was certain that you will be a successful academic and eventually will make athletics to serve your physical well being. I am much honoured to include your lines and thoughts in the blog.

Thank you.