Jefferson Review

"Your Liberty is Our Interest"

Home /  Archives / Links / Quotes / Book Reviews / Advertise /Contact us / Subscribe / Calendar

A Solution To The Public-Private Sports Crisis

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

The state of Kentucky is facing a severe athletic crisis that must be solved – the private schools have been whupping up on the public schools!  Private schools keep winning state championships, and the public schools are really upset about it.  They are mad as hornets, and they aren’t going to take it anymore!  So, they have voted to take their balls and go home – to set up two separate leagues for post-season play – one for public schools and one for private schools.  That way, they know for sure they will win a state championship, even if it does not mean very much, since they will not have beaten the best of the private schools in order to earn it.  In addition to depriving their students of the opportunity to improve by testing themselves against tough competition, they are teaching them that they just aren’t good enough to compete and that they can’t measure up.  I have a better idea.

The public schools say the private schools have an unfair advantage and win too many championships because they can recruit players from all over the state.  Instead of punishing the public school students by depriving them of real competition and teaching them all the wrong lessons, why not give public schools the same advantages the private schools have?  Why not allow public school students to attend any public high school in the state?  Then there would be no unfair advantage for the private schools, and the public school students would have the opportunity to compete on a “level playing field”. 

Students need to learn that success comes from honing their natural talents with hard work, discipline, and teamwork.  They can learn that lesson in sports as well as in academic endeavors.  If they can find a high school in the state that will recognize and help them develop their natural talents, whether in sports or academics or both, why not allow them to attend that school and become the best they can be? 

Instead of teaching students to be afraid of a challenge, the public schools should teach them to take the challenge head-on and win. They should teach their students the same habits of hard work, self-discipline, and teamwork that the private schools teach – and thereby give them a better opportunity to be successful not only in sports but in the rest of their lives as well.     

Of course, giving public school students a choice will create a bit of competition among the public schools, requiring them to offer something in order to attract students rather than just relying on their monopoly position.  I hope the public schools aren’t afraid of a little healthy competition and will welcome this challenge to improve the lives of all their students. 

Weather (Louisville) / Mapquest /  White Pages / Business Search / CNN / Dictionary / E-card / MSN