Again, with the Tax Cuts?

Last night my two teenagers and I went to our town’s Board of Education meeting. Our town is yet again, threatening to cut school sports, music in our middle school and the gifted program.

Personally, I would rather be anywhere than a town meeting where they banter back and forth and get nothing done, but the entire town was planning to attend and I was not going to be the only one to miss it. So, the kids and I jumped in the car and drove to our middle school. Once there, we were herded like cattle passed the room where the meeting was taking place to a separate room down the hall where we would be able to sit and watch the meeting on a closed circuit T.V. Really? I could have stayed home and done that. Regardless, we were there now and turning to run at this point would be like running with the bulls at Pamplona, dangerous. There were 4 classrooms packed with anxious parents and students and limited seating in each…more people stood in the hallways.

We listened as countless parents and students begged the Town Council to support the Board of Education’s budget, as it was proposed to them and NOT to make the cuts that the Council claimed were necessary. Parents who stood at the podium announced the importance of sports, saying that they are such a big part of the kids' lives; that they are the reason some kids do well in school, and stay out of trouble; they are one of the reasons they stand out in the application process for colleges, that they teach life long skills and lastly, other than the obvious, education, they are the reason they moved to our town.

I know times are tough, particularly in our schools. We don't have the money, beleaguered education officials say, “For every student who wants to play games after class.” So, school sports have to go. And yet if you reflect for a moment, you may remember your own school days where you too saw this kind of financial austerity as shortsighted. It’s like cutting back on English classes because most kids already speak that language.

Many of us remember some competitive activity that became a vital force in our childhood. It gave us a self-awareness and self-confidence that changed us forever. And don't forget the story we heard from the lips of our very own Barack Obama and how had he not discovered basketball, he would not have become the leader he is today.

I have read research studies that show that although math had the biggest impact of any skill on adult earnings, playing sports and having a leadership role in high school also were significant factors. Maybe that has nothing to do with gutting it out on the wrestling mat or taking the ball down the field for the winning goal in lacrosse. Maybe athletic talent produces leadership skills even if you never go out for school sports. But research indicates otherwise.

If cutting out sports means jeordizing ours kids leadership, teamwork and discipline skills, aren't we creating a false economy? Helping teenagers discover that with grit, teamwork and determination they can be successful, is not an aspect of schooling that I want to sacrifice, even if it saves a few tax dollars.