Monday, February 13, 2012

Student Opinion #1

Should home-schoolers be allowed to play public school sports? Below is a link to the article from the New York TImes.

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/should-home-schoolers-be-allowed-to-play-public-school-sports/?nl=learning&emc=learninga3

14 comments:

  1. I see no true problem in allowing home school students to play varsity sports such as football, basketball, and soccer. My reason because as Patrick Foss said; "My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports, I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics." Adults are paying taxes for public school athletics so home schooled or not, they would want their child to participate. What is the purpose of depriving notable students of sociable activities because they are not apart of the general population, known as high school, and choose a more secluded style of learning? Home school students are usually know as weirdo's because they spend majority of their time at home; allowing them to play varsity sports will create friendships. Moreover, opposers of the law make a faulty argument because they claim; "...it would be extremely difficult to apply the same academic, attendance and discipline requirements to home-schooled students as to those who are monitored daily in public schools." I find this weak because if the student had the time, effort, dedication, and determination to begin the sport in a beginners level and advance to varsity, they would be just as disciplined, if not, more because they want it more. Furthermore, home school students can be an asset to the team if they are good enough for varsity. The opposers make it very specific as though they do not want them to play; "...students must take five courses in the current semester and must have passed five in the previous semester. Home-schooled students do not have to adhere to that standard." This serves no relevance because if they were not adhering to the standard, home schooling would not be allowed. I still see home school kids going to competitive colleges and not complaining because they were trained just as well as a regular high school students. This reminds me of post slavery when African Americans received their rights yet they were still finding minute details to not allow them to exercise their rights fully such as the poll tax and literacy test. Essentially, students should have the privilege to participate in high school sports because it is nearly impossible to find a factual fault besides the student does not attend the school which isn't very strong itself.

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  2. I think home schooled kids should be able to play in the sports. I also believe they should have the same amount of classes qualified for their grade and gpa. You can't play a sport if your grades are down that should apply to them. They must reach a certain criteria of their gpa which is 2.0. The reason I feel this way is because I don't beleve their special. Yes, they are at home learning instead of the normal learning environment but that's all. If the kid enjoy participating in sports then they should be allowed to. What if they want to go into a professional athletic field? Colleges need to see footage and see what their capable of. I highly doubt the colleges will visit their home to see home videos of them playing with their siblings. Theses home schooled kids need to have the same exposure a public school has. It would be a good opportunity since they aren't socializing with "their peers". This will also help with encountering situations a normal kid would. This will also bring them out of their sheltered lifes and into the real world.
    -B. Mizzle

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  3. I believe home schooled students should be able to play varsity sports. If they have the grades and GPA necessary to play, they are indeed qualified to do so. If a student at a public school cannot play a sport because of his or her grades, the same should apply to home schooled students in the same community.“My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports. I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics" - Patrick Foss. I agree with Patrick 100%. If you live in the community, pay your taxes and are a normal citizen, you should have the right to participate in things such as the varsity football team. Just because they're being taught at home doesn't make them any different from us. All that's different is the learning environment. If they like to play a sport, for example soccer, they should be allowed to play with the team. Every state's job is to ensure each of their students an equal education and opportunities. By allowing home schooled students to play on varsity teams, colleges are able to see their abilities on the field. If they have talent, they might even get a fully paid scholarship to college. Finally, by letting these students participate in varsity teams, they will open up and make friends instead of being anti-social.

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  4. Yes, I think that home-schoolers should be able to play public school sports. Home schooled students should be allowed to participate in all that the school has to offer regular students. That includes sports, social events, and which ever classes the parent feels unprepared to teach. The parents are still paying the taxes that support those activities so the children should have access to them. I believe that all and any after school activities should be available to home schooled students. Sports activities are generally conducted after school. Although, there may be some tax breaks for those who teach their children at home, I believe those tax breaks only cover the academics and not the athletics. The parents of the home schooled students still continue to pay city, state and federal taxes. There is no reason to penalize the child by refusing participation in school sports. However, I would investigate the concerns of liability from sports injury and who should pay for medical treatment if needed. First reason, if you’re paying taxes, which everyone is, that money goes to fund that school. So if I'm paying for it, I should be able to use it. Next, if a kid is a very gifted musician or athlete, the public school classes are going to give him/her access to scholarship, and other means to expand that gift. This also applies to the AP classes for a child that may need to be more challenged and the parents can't afford a tutor. This gives the child a chance to make friends outside of the “home school circle” so to speak; also, it gives the parents a chance to talk with the child about issues that may not have come up otherwise. However a child might have a hard time making friends if he is only in a class for one hour and then leaves.

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  5. I think that home schooled students should be allowed to participate in public school extra curricular activities such as sports. Every parent has to pay taxes in the school district where they live at whether or not their child is in public school or home schooled therefore each student should have equals rights to participate in sports.It is not fair that everyone has to pay taxes but their student can not participate equally in these sports just because the student chooses an alternative method of education. Also each student should be allowed to participate in extra curricular activities because sports is a privilege that is provided to each student when they preform well academically. However, if home schooled students do not get the privilege to participate in these extra curricular activities then each student is not being rewarded equally which is not right and a form of discrimination. If each student preforms academically well, then it should not matter if the student is being home schooled or in public school because either way students are still receiving an education and should be rewarded for there hard work academically.

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  6. Students that are home-schooled should be allowed to participate in extra-curricular activities. They are also students and they should not be exempt from sports or activites that may help them grow as a person. Certain students learn differently from others, explaining why some are home-schooled. If they are not able to participate then how are they going to enjoy their year as a student. They might actually like the sport or activity and pursue it as a career. However, preventing them from participating in such activities limits their options for careers and may end up with just a job. Job stand for just over broke and a career is something you actually want to do. Every student wants something that they enjoy doing for the rest of their lives. Unfortunatly, some do not get to have a career and just end up with a job. Home-schooled students are just like regular students that actually attend school. The only difference is that the home-schooled child is not around their peers as often as the regular student is. "My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports. I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics.”- Patrick Foss, 17. If they are paying the same taxes and living in the same area, there should be no reason as to why home-schooled students cannot be a part of the community. It's not like they are aliens, they are people who choose to learn away from their peers. Everyone cannot be the same way, but everyone shall be equal.

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  7. ` My thoughts about this article is that it's very unfair towards the students who are home schooled. I think their(teachers or staff) train of thought goes directly towards the fact that the student him/herself isn't attending the school, which makes him/her illegible. Schools in the United States are supporting students to get at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity ( excluding gym) and the activities after school can be a helpful benefits towards the students. If not, then the schools themselves may be contradicting themselves by creating obese students by not letting them join in the after school activities. Which can result the students being lazy and growing obese. Then the students could get/be healthy by doing these activities everyday. Sports are a great way for those students to interact with teammates, have fun, have (friendly) competition, and get their daily exercise. In addition, the family of the home schooled student is already paying the "...same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports." So it's only fair to let those student be part of the community/school and let them be able to pick an athletic activity they want to. They are oblige by it because they themselves are student, even though they aren't enrolled in a school. But they are getting the proper education from home, which is just like school but in a calm manor. Being in a sports team requires balancing your school work and being able to uphold your responsibility towards the team. I believe that if a student (even if home schooled) can do this, anyone can. Not only that, but being in a team teaches you many valuable lessons. For example, team work and being assertive. Like I was previously stating, that if a student can do all that is needed to be in a athletic activity, they can join. Everyone deserves to be treated as equal and if you detach someone from a group, that's being hurtful to that person. Which can affect them in the future.

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  8. Students that are home schooled should be allowed to play in varsity sports. Just because someone doesn't go to school with others doesn't mean they should be excluded from public affairs such as sports activities. I'm sure everyone in the community pays the same amount of taxes. Plus, home scholers don't really get any special beneifts to opposed students that go to public schools. Excluding any student from varsity sports is like excluding them from other public activities, such as festivals, carnivals, and other activies that a school or community organization might run. I say as long as the student has the minumum requirements, which would be a certain GPA and physical, then anyone may participate. Home-schoolers are also more out of touch with the real world. By allowing them to join in on varsity sports, they get a taste of what society is really like.

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  9. I think home-students should be able to participate in public school sports. They should have all the same benefits as those who attend school to be educated. All the students home-schooled and who attend school parents pay taxes to help the school and fund the activities happening around. As long as they have the right academic requirements to participate, they should be eligible to take part in any sport from football to table tennis. As Patrick Foss said, “My parents pay the same exact taxes as my next-door neighbor who plays varsity sports,” he said. “I just want to be part of the community. You shouldn’t have to pick between athletics and academics.” I agree with him. Not being able to take part in sports would put them at a disadvantage when it comes to applying for colleges. Colleges look for well rounded students who take part in a variety of activities and maintain good grades. Not being able to take part in sports would make their college application unattractive. Playing sports also allows kids to have a social life. If it weren't for sports i wouldn't have met half the people i know now and be where i am today.

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  10. I think that home schooled students should be able to participate in an athlethic team for a public school because they don't get the same opportunities as the students attending the public school. Why shouldn't they be able to participate? They are part of the community and they have to keep up with their grades just as much as students who attend public shools. If the home schooled students aren't able to participate in extra curricular activites, then what are colleges going to look at when they are looking at them? By not letting them be a part of an activity in a public school just because they don't go to the school is being selfish. Its not fair to them and their parents. The pareants are going to feel bad that they chose to home school their child rather than send them to a public school. They'll think they made a mistake rather than a decision just because their child isn't able to be a part of an extra curricular activity at a public school. Also, it gives the home schooled student an experience to meet new students from other schools/cities. They'll get a chance to meet new people. In other words, they shouldn't deprive a home schooled student of being a part of an extra curricular activity because they are still part of the community and they don't have those types of opportunites at home.

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  11. I think that students being home schooled should be able to participate in public school activites regardless of them attending public school or not. Students being home schooled should be able to do a requirement of a certain school so that they will still get the opportunity to do extra curricular activities. A child may be home schooled for a certain reason based on what the parents decide to do with their child. I do not think that schools should exclude or take away a childs privilege of participating in a activity because the child does not attend the school. I think the child should get the chance to do what they feel and have that opportunity to excel.

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  12. Home-schooled students deserve to be on public sports teams. They are just as eligible than students that aren't home-schooled. The only difference is that home-schooled students take classes in their own home, while others actually go into a building. State officials should try to compromise with teachers that home-school so that the same rules that apply to normal students also apply for those who take classes at home. In the article, Patrick Foss stated that his parents "pay the exact same taxes as their neighbors", which shows that there is no clear difference between parents of public school students and parents of home-schooled students. Opponents of this bill seem to be thinking about the situation in one way, as if an agreement can't be met between the teachers and the board of education. Also, if all that the victim (Patrick Foss) wants to do is "be part of the community" then why is the state (along with the board of education) preventing him from contributing to the community? In my opinion that is just unconstitutional.

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  13. Kids who are homeschooled should have the same right to play sports in a local school. The fact of the matter is that kids who are homeschooled have their reasons for being there and if they want to join any extracurricular activities like sports for example then the school should let them. It isn't fair that just.because someone is learning at home, they be excluded from sports being provided at the local schools. In the article Patrick says his mother pays the same taxes as those parents whose children are attending local school. The fact that his mother pays the same amount to get her son an education, it shouldn't matter how or where he's receiving it . What should matter is that Patrick wants to get involved in playing sports and the only argument that the coach can give for his refusal if the fact that he's not a part of the school.

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  14. Depending on the healthy status of home- schooled students, it should be allowed that they participate in any school based activities. On the contrary, students who are home- schooled by choice should not be allowed to participate in school activities. If it is the parents', or child's definitive decision to be home- schooled, then it was in an almost escape from from the potential dangers inside of the school. If the students are allowed to participate in the school's programs, it opens them up to being a target. In a scenario where the home- schooled student is involved in baseball, the students' teammates may possibly taunt them for being afraid to attend regular school during the day, and being allowed to play ball after school. In addition to being taunted, it will not be fair to the students of the school. Some teams have limited spots, therefore should be available to the school's full attendance students, who are privileged to gain a position because of their availability in school. A home- schooled student is able to dress comfortably in their homes, and have a teacher come to them rather than they go to the teacher. These students have it a little easier than others, and allowing them an easy spot on the team is not fair at all! There are alternative programs available for activities outside of a school that a home- schooled student can be opened to. It may not be free of charge, but with a teacher coming to their home every day for free, and not having to buy uniforms, extra clothes, or lunch, an activity should be no problem at all.

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