The Importance of Education for Athletes - Coursework Example

Running Head: Athletes and Education Athletes and Education [Institute’s Athletes and Education Education plays an important and vital role in the intellectual, physical, as well as, psychological development of an individual, and therefore, the highest priority has been given to the education aspect of human lives since antiquity. However, in this modern age, a number of humans have changed their priorities by preferring their desires to the most important requirement, education. In other words, a number of individuals leave their education early without even completing college or acquiring a degree, in order to try their luck in some of the attractive and popular sectors like film, television, and sports. Since few decades, a rapid growth is observed in the number of students leaving college to become an athlete, which has resulted in a number of issues and debates in favor, as well as, in opposition of the issue. In specific, this paper will discuss the two aspects of such issue, and will analyze the importance of education for athletes in comparison to their playing professional sports after leaving college. A number of studies have been carried out to analyze the issue, which will be considered in this paper. According to some experts, it is noted that a huge amount of money is now being invested in sport events, which tend the athletes to leave their college and participate in such events, which require a long journey consisting of several road trips, practices, and other features related to sports. (Stevens, 2000) Such cash flow of money is one of the major causes of athletes leaving their education and preferring going for professional sporting rather than pursuing their higher education. In the United States, more than 20,000 athletes leave their college early, and do not complete their education, which is an alarming figure. Moreover, only three percent of athletes are able to attain a prominent place in professional sports, while rests of them play side roles, which results in deterioration of their future. In this regard, it is very imperative that athletes should remain in college and acquire their higher studies, in order to secure their future before trying their luck in professional sports. In order to ensure the degree completion of such athletes, several steps have been taken by the government, as well as, private educational organizations. In specific, it is noted that a number of colleges are offering degree in physical education, sports, gymnastics, and other sporting features, which will allow the athletes to pursue a career in the sports sector, even after their failure as a professional athlete. On the other hand, special allowances are given to athletes, so that they can create a balance between their practicing hours and study hours; however, such provision of such special allowances has created a debate over the issue of discrimination. A number of critics have indicated that it is an act of discrimination to favor players by allowing them to skip their classes for practicing sports. (Frank, 2003) According to them, dedicated students confront prejudice and injustice due to such allowances, as it results in an imbalance in the classes. In other words, notion of attaining a degree by athletes has confronted a number of issues due to different aspects of arguments related to it. Besides all such debates, education has always been preferred by all the experts, in spite of the abovementioned arguments regarding the attitude of college administration with athletes. In the year 2000, a study was carried out to analyze the consequences related to the athletes that remained in college and attained a degree, and they were compared with athletes that left education early for acquiring a prominent position in the professional sports. It was observed that only twenty-three athletes were able to attain an outstanding position out of three hundred athletes that were interviewed during the study. (Woods, 2007) All the three hundred athletes had left their education earlier to play in the professional sporting events; however, luck did not favor all of them. In the result, seventy-nine athletes decided to resume their college education, in order to get a decent job in the market, as they did not any white-collar job due to unavailability of a degree. Rests of the athletes were still trying to earn money through playing professional sports; however, they were confronting a number of economical and psychological issues due to non-completion of their education. According to them, they were quite embarrassed due to lack of pedagogical knowledge, as compared with their classmates and friends who preferred completing their college education. (Woods, 2007) Moreover, some of the athletes were confronting economical constrains due to their seasonal income during the sporting seasons, which was also limited in terms of their financial needs. On the other hand, athletes that were successful in professional sports were also facing a number of issues due to not acquiring a degree. Communication was one of the common issues that were confronted by such athletes, as even after successful sporting career, they were unable to communicate effectively with their educated colleagues, management, as well as, fans. Moreover, they were unable to become a part of television shows that was also an easy way of getting huge money for professional athletes. (Frank, 2003) Except the financial issues, successful athletes confront quite similar difficulties, as compared with unsuccessful and uneducated athletes. According to experts, it is very important that every individual should attain a degree, no matter how capable he is in his field. A degree allows the individuals to protect their future, which would be a critical role in lives of their family members. In this regard, families of unqualified athletes were also interviewed, in order to assess the consequences of leaving college earlier for already mentioned purpose. During the interview, it was observed that families were happy, as well as, unhappy with the situation of their athletic family members. Thirty-seven percent of families were satisfied with the current situation of their athletic uneducated family member, as they preferred interest and desire of athletes to the education. (Griffey, 2007) However, they also felt a sense of disappointment, as their family members did not complete their education, and so, family members were afraid of their future, as athletes will not be able to earn through playing sports all their life. In this regard, non-completion of college education affected the athletes, as well as, their family members economically, as well as, psychologically. In this regard, it is quite a fact that athletes that leave college early for playing professional sports are very much poor in terms of confronting real issues of life that can be resolved through intellectual knowledge and a qualification to enter in the job market. According to a recent study, only four percent of athletes achieve a professional sports career; however, rests of the college stars are ill equipped for living their lives. In this regard, such accepted notion has resulted in a number of conventions organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which is playing a vital role in ensuring completion of education and degree by such athletes. Moreover, it is decided unanimously by a number of educators that a field different from the chosen sporting field should be the subject of education chosen by the athletes, which will allow the athletes to pursue a different career, if they are not lucky to be in the abovementioned four percent of successful professional athletes. Furthermore, it is decided by educators that basketball and baseball seasons should be shorter, as compared with current seasons that do not allow athletes to concentrate on their education. (Penney, 2005) In addition, it is now mandatory for schools and colleges to publicize the rate of graduation of athletes, as well as, the other students, so that needed steps can be taken to ensure completion of degree by the athletes. All such decisions are commendable; however, it is observed that such resolutions have not been implemented by colleges in an adequate manner, and athletes graduate from colleges without acquiring a considerable amount of knowledge required for attaining a different career, than the athletic one. In the United States, a number of schools and colleges allow their student athletes to take courses such as bowling, baseball, painting, billiards, etc. for acquiring their degree in physical education. Such allowance is quite a ridiculous one, as a degree with such courses will not provide any opportunity to such athletes in pursuing a professional career in their lives. Some of the extreme examples include student athletes acquiring their degree in physical education involving quite similar courses, which results in an illiterate degree holder who is unable to understand his rave reviews in the newspapers. (Griffey, 2007) It is observed that a number of athletes go back to college to pursue a degree in some other field, which is commendable; however, it is very essential that colleges should ensure that athletes are getting a degree that will build a professional career, rather than a degree to keep in the portfolio. Unfortunate attitude of colleges and deteriorating results of athletes discussed above have resulted in the other aspect of argument, which favors athletes that leave their college education to play professional sports. According to some experts, practice has a greater value than the theoretical learning, and therefore, they prefer the practical learning and training of athletes, which is possible after they leave their college earlier without completing their higher education. (Penney, 2005) According to them, an athlete should concentrate only on his/her sporting field, and education results in distraction, which is not good and supportive for a professional sporting career. Such a point of view is acquiring a dominant position due to the abovementioned attitude of colleges that results in a non-functional degree. Another major factor of such point of view is the huge investments in sporting events that are considered enough to support the family, as well as, the athletes for a long period. In other words, professional sporting careers have become a business rather than a pure sporting sector that is now controlled by big investors, rather than educators and trainers. In this regard, a student athlete has greater number of chances to become a successful professional athlete, if he/she discontinues college education and concentrate on practices and trainings, as well as, look good to attract corporate sponsors for earning huge money in the career. (Penney, 2005) Current education system has contributed adversely in such argument, as college institutions have become a platform for organizing basketball, football, and baseball events half a year. (Stevens, 2000) Moreover, courses like bowling, billiards, etc. in the next half have discouraged athletes to acquire a degree, which will be wasting their time, as well as, money, and would not be supportive in getting a professional career in some other field. Conclusively, the paper has discussed different aspects of notion that argues on the continuation of higher education by student athletes, in order to achieve a successful place in the professional sports. The paper has addressed two sides of argument, and it is fact that a vital role is played by education, and athletes should remain in college to acquire a degree; however, essential steps should be taken by colleges to ensure attainment of a valuable degree, rather than a degree for keeping in the portfolio. It is hoped that the paper will be beneficial in better understanding of the topic. References Anna Marie Frank. (2003). Education and Sports. ABC-CLIO Press. David C. Griffey. (2007). Designing Effective Instructional Tasks for Physical Education and Sports. Human Kinetics. Dawn Penney. (2005). Sport Education in Physical Education. Routledge. Robert E. Stevens. (2000). Stress in College Athletics. Haworth Press. Ron Woods. (2007). Social Issues in Sport. Human Kinetics. Total Words: 1862 Words Checked by Copyscape.com & Turnitin.com Read More