Teachers face many dilemmas each and every day: how best to deliver lessons, how to deal with unruly children, how to ensure that their exams actually test what they taught are just a few. It is unfortunate, however, that one dilemma many teachers face is how to handle the pressure often placed on them to 'help' or even pass some star athletes despite their effort and grades.
Related Articles
- Teaching the Star Athletes
- College Advice Books - Student Athlete Guide to Getting Recruited
- Two Important Belaying Rules — Pay Attention & Don’t Let Go
- Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter-Writing by by Lewis Carroll (page two...
- Put the Rules in Writing - Reader Stories: Your Behavior Tools and Tricks
Related Searches star athletes
Explore Secondary Education
Must Reads
Most Popular
©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.
A part of The New York Times Company.
Comments
Great article! I think that it’s important for people to know both sides of this struggle!
Not much of a dilemma at all. The requirement to become a star athlete is to be a star student, or at least a minimally passing student based on criteria. If young Joe or Jan wants to be a star athlete, they will do what is necessary to pass, as long as they know what is required of them. I have no porblem with giving extra help, opportunies to prove they ahev finally learned the work, or applying alternative teaching skills. But I will not be a party to calling someone who can’t read his/her diploma a graduate. Is it unfair to an athlete to not pass him, if by passing him, you are unfair to the student who can’t or doesn’t play sports and will not get that football scholarship? We all have our limits and our special talents. I wanted to eb a veterinarian but could not cut it, so I did something else that I could do. We adjust our lives in accordance with what we can do. You cannot have half a student, one that only plays ball. The most grievous form of child abuse is to allow them to grow up either ignorant, thinking they don’t have to meet the rules, or both. I have had many students who are good athletes, and just had difficulty with the academics. Some of them did the work and made the grades. We have just gone through a local scandal about athletes who thought the rules did not apply to them, and it will cost some their athletic career, possibly their degrees, and maybe the jobs of some who thought they could flaunt the rules. Hold them repsonsible and they will live up to the requirements. It all boils down to one word, “integrity.” Either you have it or you don’t. You not only teach your subject but you teach integrity in everything you do. If you don’t, you don’t need to teach.