17 REASONS WHY FOOTBALL OFFERS BETTER TEACHING MODELS...

1. This attitude is extraordinarily rare in teenage life, but it is central to both learning and self esteem. A football team is framed around the abilities and preferences of the players: if there's nobody who can throw the ball but three big fast running backs and a strong offensive line, the team isn't going to have an offense that dwells much on passing. But the geometry class--and every student in the geometry class-- has to keep pace with the same state-ordained curriculum as every other school, regardless of the skills and interests and abilities of the students. Football players know that they, and nobody else , will get the job done. Students know that they are considered empty minds to be filled at a pace and with materials to be determined by others.

2. In football teenagers are encouraged to excel. By this I don't mean that players are asked to perform to someone else's standards (which may already be limited)rather, they are pushed to go beyond anything they've ever been asked to do before to improve constantly. There is no such thing as "good enough"

We congratulate players on their accomplishments. but we don't give them much time to be complacent -- we ask them to do even more. In the classroom, we give them a test on polynomials and the best result they can get is to score high enough never to have to deal with polynomials again.

3. In football, teenagers are honored.

Football players get extraordinary approval: award banquets, letter jackets,banners around the campus, school festivals, team photos, whole sections. of the yearbook, newspaper coverage. trophies. regional and even state recognition for being the best. The whole community comes out to see them. We put them on floats and have parades. That doesn't happen for members of the consum- er math class.

4. In football, a player can let the team down.

Personal effort is linked to more than personal achievement: it means the difference between making the team better or making it weaker. making a player's teammates and coaches grateful for his presence or irritated with his apathy. A single player can make his peers better than they would have been without him. That's a huge incentive that we take away from the classroom with our constant emphasis on individual outcomes.

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