by Robert Pondiscio
January 6th, 2009
Tags: Florida State University, Myron Rolle, Rhodes Scholarship, sports
Posted in Education News | 1 Comment »
Florida State University junior Myron Rolle may soon face the same choice once offered future Supreme Court Justice Byron “Whizzer” White over 70 years ago — play professional football, or accept a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. In a quote that will quicken the heart of teachers everywhere, Rolle, a safety for the Seminoles, says his parents always prized his academic accomplishments over his athletic achievements.
“When I was younger, I’d get straight A’s in school and my parents would get me two pizza pies from my favorite Italian restaurant in New Jersey. If I scored a touchdown or scored 20 points in a basketball game, hit two runs in baseball, they’d give me a pat on the back and say, ‘Good job.’ The reward was different. At that point, I realized how significant it was for me to do well in school and how much it meant to them.”
There’s another prominent college football player who won a Rhodes and is now widely celebrated in ed reform circles: Newark mayor and Stanford alum Cory Booker. Rolle meanwhile, plans to eventually attend med school, become a neurosurgeon, and open a clinic in the Bahamas.
by Robert Pondiscio
July 8th, 2008
Tags: self-esteem, sports
Posted in Education Practice | No Comments »
The United States Tennis Association is expanding its efforts to encourage high school coaches to adopt “no cut” policies. “The idea is that students benefit from participating, even if they aren’t top players, and that they will become lifelong players and fans of the sport, EdWeek reports.
Coaches who take part in the program receive gifts, such as caps and a sports-magazine subscription, as well as professional recognition, such as a letter of commendation to their school principals praising them for maintaining a large team. Perhaps most important, they receive access to features such as a new Web site created this year, which allows them to share information through a coach-to-coach online forum and gives them tips on how to run a no-cut team effectively.
Not being cut and playing, of course, are different matters. Having ridden the pine on a couple of baseball teams as a kid, I’d prefer to have been cut rather than to endure the humiliation of playing only in blowouts.
