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lazydictionary t1_ixay9eo wrote

Reply to comment by everyoneisnuts in Pawtucket residents vote to knock down McCoy Stadium, build new school by Legits

The issue is that not every at-risk-youth plays sports.

Those most at risk are usually on some kind of academic probation and aren't eligible to play.

Or they lack the financial resources for travel, training, equipment, rides home, etc.

Mandating physical activity for all students is a better solution as a whole - focusing money on specific athletic teams or events still leaves people behind.

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everyoneisnuts t1_ixbe36i wrote

Of course not every at risk youth plays sports, but those that do are keeping up their grades, keeping out of trouble, being part of a team working towards a common goal together, learning discipline, and building elf-esteem and self-worth. If a lot of these kids didn’t have sports in place to provide that structure and motivation to want to stay on the team, they would probably struggle greatly. So, there is nothing that is an absolute for everyone, but sports do a great deal to help many. Why would we want to take that away from them? Not sure how having less options that are know to help kids is better for them.

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thatstheteasis95 t1_ixbih2g wrote

Its their home lives that are the main issue. It's hard for kids to keep up grades when they barely eat, or not able to rest and feel secure in their own homes. Keeping up grades to do sports can be a huge obstacle for those reasons and that's why kids give up on trying to achieve. More extracurriculars should be available to kids- not just sports, but that also takes budgeting. Putting a basket ball/foot ball in a kid's hand doesn't change their home life and lack of mental health resources causing their issues.

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[deleted] t1_ixbj6ka wrote

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ziddersroofurry t1_ixcbzzm wrote

The issue is schools focus primarily on two sports-football and basketball. Those are the big money earners in regards to both scouting from universities and ticket sales. Sports like soccer, tennis, vollyball, etc are often overlooked as they just don't interest people as much.

The other issue is injuries. We know how much it costs in terms of harmful injuries and both short and long-term medical care. Football's one of the most dangerous activities a kid can take part in.

As far as arts, theater, music, and other programs those are getting phased out more and more as they cost far more than they bring in. Schools aren't about educating kids. They're about training kids to be money-earners which is why only the programs and activities that bring their schools the most money end up sticking around.

Schools aren't there to educate for the benefit of society. They came about as a means for the wealthy elite to foster a working class for them to exploit. This is why the best colleges are more often than not restricted to those with wealth and influence and why we're not seeing the wealthy in a hurry to implement actual, beneficial free education (and I don't just mean college-it costs a lot of money to send kids to good schools, period).

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