Over the years, I have been writing about misconceptions regarding the schooling process. The purpose of these posts is to explain why I disagree with various comments that I have heard people make about schooling. These are meant as personal thoughts rather than conclusive proof, and I will admit that I'm not always the best at explaining my thoughts. Regardless, I have decided that I should be willing to share these posts when I encounter someone online who makes an argument that I have already discussed.
Many schools have policies requiring students to maintain a certain GPA if they want to play sports. The general idea behind this is that they want to use interest in sports to motivate students in the subjects considered to be more academic. There are several problems with tying sports eligibility to grades.
As I have stated repeatedly, there are several reasons that children can struggle in school. Among them is teachers failing to accommodate or even hindering individual needs. In such a situation, the primary source of problems is with the teacher, not the student. If a teacher proves detrimental to a child's education, it makes no sense to punish the child.
Another concern is that playing sports can have legitimate value. We keep hearing about an obesity crisis. Children should be encouraged to play sports. A child should not be prohibited from becoming a better person purely on the basis of something completely unrelated.
Privacy is another concern, and this is something that a lot of people overlook. Some schools might handle this differently than others. The worst case is if they openly discuss why certain people are not allowed to play. In these situations, teammates and classmates will likely know that a student's GPA is below the required level. Even if teachers and coaches try to respect privacy, some students will end up in a situation where they have to explain themselves. For example, if someone who is unaware of a slipping GPA leaves for a class and has to return, there will generally be questions raised about the circumstances. Some classmates could even guess the reason. Students should be allowed some degree of privacy for GPA's, but required minimums can undermine the right to privacy.
These issues do not only apply to sports. Similar problems can emerge when eligibility for other activities is tied to grades. This can include band, choir, chess, debate, student government, and more. These things should be available to all students, including those whose strengths fall outside of obtaining good grades.
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