Page 2 - 90-94 Meteor

2 EDITORIALS:
THE METEOR
ISSUE 1, 1990
Required Athletics: Positive or Negative?
At Virginia Episcopal School, all students are re- quired to participate in an ex- tracurricular activity. While non-athletic sports are offered, the number of credits earned in these activities are limited; there are no such limitations on athletic activities . This fact seems unfair because it creates a serious disadvantage to students who are not very good in sports. F o r this reason, I believe that non-athletic ac- tivities should be given equal status to athletics.
There are a few reasons why the athletic requirements are unfair . One of these reasons is that many students are not, never were, and never will be good athletes-no matter how much practice they get. While on teams, they sometimes get embarrassed by their lack of skill and ability. There is no
purpose in causing people un- due humiliation.
I t is also difficult for these people to be accepted onto a team. When someone doesn't make a certain team, and no team will take him, the athletic department-which is actually a misnomer since the athletic department claims to sponsor and coordinate non- athletic activities- begins to harass the person for not being on a team. The athletic depart- ment blames him for not being involved in the school ; the on- ly problem is that no team will take him. It's a no win situation.
I completely understand the reasons the school has for re- quiring involvement in athletic activities. First, the school needs students to join teams because there would be small teams if the members weren't
required to play. If the school dissolved its " must play" policy, no doubt the teams' sizes would be decimated; however, the quality of the teams would increase because the people on the teams are the ones who are really ardent and determined to win and play.
Another point the school has is that, by being on a team, whether good in sports or not, a person learns the essential and good values of determina- tion, dedication, and sport- smanship. Certainly this is true-for those who play and participate. On the limited number of teams I have been on, I have rarely played. I can say from firsthand experience that sitting on the bench watching your friends play in-
stills none of the values. The only values learned on the bench are patience, and resig-
nation.
The learning of these latter values is strongly reinforced by certain coaches-who shall
who is good, and who is not?" My answer to this question is
that coaches already decide who's good enough and who's not good enough to play sports. They make this decision every single time they cut someone from the team.
I truly believe that those like me would benefit more from extracurricular activities than from sitting on a bench, waiting hours for a few seconds of playing time. This waiting is the only reward for often working harder in prac- tice than the ones who are allowed to play. The values which the athletic department attempts to teach would be much better taught to non- athletes in a non-athletic situa- tion where that group is, at least, part of the action.
placement or credit for a "5". Also, college admissions of- fices can-and do-use grades in A.P. classes to distinguish among candidates. More com- petitive schools in particular request that candidates take A.P . courses, thus demon- strating the individual can- didate's interest and com- petence in academic and in- tellectual matters. But this practice, so reasonable and ra- tional at first appearance, can work against the student. We all have first-hand knowledge of average students over- whelmed by an A.P . cur- riculum, or above average stu- dents taking more A.P .
courses than they should take.
AP- worth the effort?
by Doug Smith
The advance placement pro-
gram, designed, administered, and graded by Educational Testing Service - the same organization that brings you the PSATs, SATS, SSATs, GREs, LSATs (you get the idea) - is a mixed blessing. There is no question of the ad- vantages of the program. It can-does-create significant opportunities and savings for the talented student. Tom Berry , the valedictorian of the class of '89, entered Wake Forest with thirty nine hours of college credit, based on scores of four or five in American and European History, English, Latin,
chemistry, and calculus. He is, in effect, already a sopho- more ; had he not received a full scholarship, he would have saved his family over $14,000. Paul Kehrer, who graduated in 1973, did save his family an equivalent amount. At the very least, students who earn " passing" grades can either advance their graduation rate or earn exemption from in- troductory courses, and thus take higher level courses at an earlier date. Certainly grades of "B" or higher can make a student more attractive to col- lege admission offices. Another graduate of the class of '89 told me last June that he/ she took A.P . European to
help his/ her admission to Vir- ginia. It probably helped, as this student-with a combined SAT of 1050-earned admis- sion to Virginia, where the entering class has a combined SAT average of 1220. An A.P . class is good preparation for the curriculum at a "com- petitive" college, and there is no question that the May ex- aminations are graded rigorously and fairly. The grading process is well organized and administered; all students have an equal chance of success.
Yet, in other ways, the ad- vanced placement program functions in a manner incon- sistent with sound educational
practice. First, a student's
competence is based upon a
single test, which, in turn, re-
flects a prescribed cur-
riculum . The curriculum
emanates from Princeton,
rather than reflecting the in-
terest, knowledge, and com-
petence of the teacher, or the
history, traditions, and com-
position of the high school.
In short, an A.P . curriculum
is, in some ways, "artificial,"
and it creates some pressure
to "teach to the test." It does
not always promote "learning
for learning's sake." Second,
different colleges accept dif-
ferent grades. A.P. tests are
graded from "1" (lowest) to
"5" (highest). Harvard and
Yale grant placement and In these cases, the A.P.
KIDS WHO "USE" WILL ALSO "LOSE"
credit for both "4's" and "5's", whileChapelHillusuallygives placement and credit for any grade of "3" or higher. But William and Mary only grants
courses can actually lower a student's average, and thus hurt him or her in the admis- sions process. College admis-
(Continued on Page 8)
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remain
coaches
treating
clined players as nonentities both on and off the field. For- tunately, this attitude is shared by only a select few coaches.
I also understand the school's position that students will take the " easy way out" by participating in non- athletic activities. To solve this, perhaps those who are good athletes should have a limited number of non-athletic credits, and those who are not good athletes should be allow- ed to be exempt from sports. The school would probably respond: "But who will decide
nameless. These have the habit of non-athletically in-