This is far too pessimistic about team sports. The “brutalize themselves” really only applies to football, and I think it’s safe to say the vast majority of kids who play that (or any other sport) understand their chances at going pro (or even getting a scholarship) are slim.
There are also unambiguous benefits: learning how to handle defeat, learning to work with others in a stressful environment, finding fun ways of staying active, learning about nutrition and how to take care of your body in general.
Am I the only one who remembers this from grade school?
We were always pushed to try to get the presidential fitness award all throughout grade school.
My grade school was out in the sticks of the midwest only a few miles from an air force base so maybe they leaned more heavily on the prepping us for military service.
The pledge of allegiance was never missed a single day.
I also remember being ‘selected’ to raise the flag in the morning which was supposed to be some huge honor.
It was the biggest goddamned flag you could imagine and had a very particular way to fold/unfold lest you let it touch the ground. And if you did let it touch the ground they had to burn it and it would cost the school a ton of money and you’d be in deep shit. I didn’t unfold it right so when the other kid tried to raise it, it dragged on the ground first.
We both panicked and hurriedly raised it praying that no one saw it. We never got in trouble and the flag wasn’t burned but I spent a whole year just waiting for the axe to drop.
Oh nah, I vividly remember that stupid ass fitness program. I think at the time, I was living no more than 50mi from the Pentagon, so it very well may have been something that was emphasized and underlined more and more the closer one got to an installation.
Bet this cracker ain’t got nothing for the cultish way Amerikan schools force the pledge of allegiance in the mornings.
Or how about team sports? Is this supposed to be different from some coach in Indiana getting kids in a line and having them do the same drill?
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This is far too pessimistic about team sports. The “brutalize themselves” really only applies to football, and I think it’s safe to say the vast majority of kids who play that (or any other sport) understand their chances at going pro (or even getting a scholarship) are slim.
There are also unambiguous benefits: learning how to handle defeat, learning to work with others in a stressful environment, finding fun ways of staying active, learning about nutrition and how to take care of your body in general.
but also: https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/presidents-council/programs-awards/presidential-youth-fitness-program
Am I the only one who remembers this from grade school?
We were always pushed to try to get the presidential fitness award all throughout grade school.
My grade school was out in the sticks of the midwest only a few miles from an air force base so maybe they leaned more heavily on the prepping us for military service.
The pledge of allegiance was never missed a single day.
I also remember being ‘selected’ to raise the flag in the morning which was supposed to be some huge honor. It was the biggest goddamned flag you could imagine and had a very particular way to fold/unfold lest you let it touch the ground. And if you did let it touch the ground they had to burn it and it would cost the school a ton of money and you’d be in deep shit. I didn’t unfold it right so when the other kid tried to raise it, it dragged on the ground first.
We both panicked and hurriedly raised it praying that no one saw it. We never got in trouble and the flag wasn’t burned but I spent a whole year just waiting for the axe to drop.
Oh nah, I vividly remember that stupid ass fitness program. I think at the time, I was living no more than 50mi from the Pentagon, so it very well may have been something that was emphasized and underlined more and more the closer one got to an installation.