Does Your Child Have Athletic Potential?

Too often the greatest American Tragedy is not the lack of support by the parents of those youngsters who possess athletic potential; rather it is the parent’s failure to demand the same mentality in the classroom as the student demonstrates in athletic competition. What is interesting, at least to me, is that we actually see the potential athletic ability at an early age in our children. Moreover, the child actually will tell anyone who will listen that they plan on playing at the professional level. There is nothing wrong with this goal of becoming a professional athlete, what is wrong is our failure in preparing these youth with the academic structure that could make their goal a reality. In most states, a student athlete must maintain a 2.0 grade-point-average in order to compete in a particular sport. Let us be clear, it is not the hardest thing in the world to excel at the minimum academic levels. However, if your child is taking what is infamously called non college preparatory course and is not challenged with the rigors of advanced, honors or advanced placement classes (AP); then you are gambling away a potential scholarship.
I understand that sports can be a great tool to learn life lessons, possibility earn a college scholarship and the possibility of securing those connections that serve a person well later in life. I understand that athletics are an important part of our school systems and various youth organizations, yet athletics must take a back-seat to a student excelling academically. Yes parents, coaches and administrators provide support for athletes to assist these athletes to do better in the classroom. Perhaps, we must ask ourselves this question: Given the resources that include study halls, tutorials, and SAT/ACT test preparations and countless of mentors, why are so many student athletes doing no more than what is required? In most cases it is nothing more than expectations. Our children spend 2 hours at athletic practice and 2 minutes at academic practice. It is reasonable to assume that if someone practice anything for 2 hours, without telephones, television or interruptions, they will become good at it. Inspect what you expect of your child academically, a failure by the parents to follow this simple rule generally results into a lost opportunity for your child. Of course I know that there are many student athletes who perform much better than the minimum academic requirement. People it is becoming increasingly clear that our society has too many student athletes, especially our black youth, who actually believe that sports will be their way to college rather than academics. It is a mentality that is fostered by those who actually love this athlete, but for some reason, performing in the game trumps performing in the classroom. Imagine the pressure and ridicule that a parent face when the decision is made to remove the student from the team because of poor academic performance. The student pleads their case; swear to God that they will do better if their parents' gives them one more chance. Other parents will speak to the parent about the team! The question is simple, what is more important my child’s youth athletic team winning the championship at 12 years old or my child losing a potential scholarship at 18 years old? Then the coaches and mentors approach the parents with this idea that they will monitor the athlete more often. Sometimes the coach best option is not monitoring the athlete academics; it is not allowing the athlete the opportunity to participate in the game. As a coach I had a deflated basketball in my office with the following inscription: ‘without an education you are looking at a flat life.’

Mastering the Parent-Teacher Conference

The parent-teacher conferenceis vital to the academic growth of all children. Yet, neither the parents nor the teachers are actually trained in how to handle the conference situation. Teachers develop their conference techniques from older teachers or by trial and error. The parents are generally apprehensive. It is the parents inital experience where a stranger is evaluationg their child. This anxiety is directly related to a feeling that our parenting skills are also being evaluated. Think for a moment, too often we are more concerned about our child's behavior rather than the child's academic performance. Oftentimes, negative behavior is directly related to a deficiency in a particular academic skill. It has been my experience that teachers will generally provide the parent with three positive attributes for every negative attribute regarding the students behavior or academics. It is important that the parent share information about the child that can assist the teacher in guiding the student's academic growth. However, it is not useful for parents to share personal information and turn the conference into a venting session. The conference is not about you! It is about the child.

I strongly suggest that the parent actually sit in the classroom and observer what is taking place. Remember, teachers who have inferior classroom management techniques, generally will have created a learning environment that is alien to academic growth. Additionally, a visit to the cafertia will provide you with a firsthand view of how many adults are actually supervising your child.

When faced with a situation where you and the teacher disagree, remember to focus on how to assist your child verse defending your child's performance or behavior. It is more potent if you address your concerns, after some reflection, in a letter to the principal that states your concerns and your expectation of a response by the principal.

I believe that there are some Vital Expectation that each school administrator should require of all teachers. The administrative team should monitor these Vital Expectation when review weekly lesson plans. As a principal, I felt that this was reasonable, yet more importanly, it was vital to the academic growth of all students.
1. How are the students informed about the academic standards that they are expected to meet? This should include the types or projects and assignments that are planned to assist the students in meeting higher academic standards.
2. How will the students be evaluated? How are grades determined?
3. How will the teachers communicate with the parents? Academic growth is a collaborative effort between the parent and the teach?
4. How will the teachers accommodate different leaning styles?
5. How can the parents support the teacher's efforts in implementing more academic rigor in the lesson?
6. What can the parent do at home to complement what is happening in the classroom?