Both
“ The Case Against High-School Sports” and “How Big-Time Sports Ate College
Life” discuss school athletics and their effects on academics. In the first
article, the author focuses on a study that took place in Texas. Football is a
big deal in the entire state of Texas, especially in small high schools such as
Premont. Recently, the school decided it was necessary to cut all high school
athletics because grades were so poor. The initial reaction of parents and
students was pure outrage. Sports were their lives and it was what they focused
on. The study, however, produced many benefits. Grades began to climb and
sports gradually came back. Football was still suspended.
In both articles, many comparisons
between the United States and other countries around the world such as Japan
and South Korea were made. The authors frequently touched on how little sports
were glorified by the rest of the world. The United States spends so much money
on organized school sports and not much on academics. Other countries don’t
even have school sports because they don’t see a reason to have them. In
addition, many students who have moved to the United States notice how
important athletics are to Americans. They don’t understand why it is glorified
so much at a school, where grades should be the priority.
Finally, the last article focuses on
collegiate sports. The author focuses on the bad effects of sports in college.
Recently students have made their college decisions based on sports. They want
to go to division one schools because of basketball and football games they can
attend. Students from Duke will camp outside the stadium days before just to
receive tickets to the game. They are scene lined up with textbooks study for
exams instead of being in the library or their dorm rooms. Studies show grades
drop when teams are winning because students are too focused on how the team is
doing. They become more interested in the game when they are winning. In
addition, colleges are selling their school with sports. During college visits,
admissions will talk about sports and show prospective students what it would
be like to be a fan on game day. They try to share the experience with them to
get them excited about school and hopefully make their decision with sports in
mind. Colleges spend so much money on sports and not enough on academics when
it should be the other way around.
Both articles are very similar yet
they each take a different approach. The first makes the argument a positive
outcome. The author shares a real life study on a high school and reports the
effective results obtained. They showed taking away sports was beneficial to
the students and their grades. Maybe sports aren’t that important. The students
in Texas survived without them so maybe the rest of the country can. The second
article focuses on the negatives without giving a solution. The author just
lists off all the negatives of collegiate sports. She incorporates many facts
and quotes from professors and deans, which helps her case. She appeals to many
adults who are affiliated with colleges but not many students. Everything the
author says that students do sound very appealing to college kids. The first author could appeal to students. She
writes about a real life scenario when the students shared their experience and
successes, which sounds appealing to students. She shows sports aren’t
necessary and are even hindering to students’ grades. I believe she did a much
better job with her arguments than the second author. Arguments are more
appealing when the main point is a positive one. She gave a good example that
was successful. The second author focused on the negatives, which is not
appealing to the opposing side. That approach does not resonate with the
audience. People like positive, and positive changes peoples’ minds.
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