America Education in Sports

There is no doubt that sports are an important part of American culture from Monday Night football to the World Series millions of people tune in to watch. Sports truly bring together our families and our nation. For some families that have a family member that works multiple jobsthe only time they might get to see that family member during the week is when his favorite sport team is playing on tv. But also athletes like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Drew Brees are role models for millions of youth across the globe. I believe the direction America should be taking is lost at a young age.

From the time we start playing our first sport every teenager including myself thought I could go pro. Although I had the work ethic and I was coachable and I was not the best athlete or the worst I did all the little things to leave my impact on the games I played in. As I got older and I started playing in more Basketball games and I saw everyone I played with and played against wanted to play Basketball professionally. If you did the math 30 NBA teams 12-15 players on each roster you had to be great to play. Not to mention the NBA recruits outside of the country too. After realizing I needed to find something different to do to be a more productive member of society. After watching the Olympics there is no doubt American Stands on top in sports overall. We have some of the best Athletes in the World. But why do our Public education system sucks compared to other countries?

In American we have a broken education system and it has to be fixed from the foundation. The ways schools are funded are completely wrong. If you live in a poor neighbor you might not have books. If you live in a rich neighborhood you will have access a lot of resources. Recently I took trip to Beijing, China and I got to see the rigor of the Education system. We meet a student who was still in Elementary school and the amount of homework he had I did not get until my junior year of high school. He also had to get many tutors to get help with classes and he finished school around 5 pm. After seeing this I knew that the rigor provided to him is something all students need to go and be successful in the world. There is a big difference on how education is being presented around the world. In China based on test squares and other things they have it separated on which Students will go to traditional colleges and which ones will go immediately into the work force. I know I would like this idea but in some places around the world they provide free education to their students don’t put their students in debt.

But in America, sports have hindered the education of our youth. Growing up if you went to a school that was known for doing well in a particular sport and you were a star athlete you sometimes get a pass on grades. Derrick Rose is a current NBA Player and from my hometown of Chicago. He was a star athlete in high school. When he got to college it surfaced that he didn’t take the ACT which is a required test for all high school students to take to get into college. I have nothing personally against him I just think it’s a bad example to set for our youth. This is one of thousands of cases that happen across our country of star Athletes getting a pass so they can keep producing in the sports they play. I like how recently the NBA made it where its players have to do at least one year of college before joining their league. But I believe more can be done. I remember when there was a time when athletes finished their college degrees before declaring for the draft.  Now so many students jump into the NBA after one year of college not earning a degree to help fill the education gap the United States have.

Although, many athletes have stories that inspire the millions of fans we need to push the importance of education. They come from the same backgrounds, grew up in fatherless homes, faced violence, overcame adversity, or lived in the same neighborhoods. Just as Americans I can go dominate in the Olympics and bring back 110+ medals. Our children should be able to compete with students from around the globe academically. There should be more incentives for competing in the math team and Academic Decathlon.  As many Americans I watched proudly and eagerly as the USA competed in did great in the 2012 Olympics. It gave you the feeling we are a real power house in almost every sport. I wish the same emphasis was put when students competed academically.

I don’t blame our athletes for the problem at hand. I commend them for being the role models they have become for all of us. I blame the system we have let manifest and conquer our country.  We need to spend the same money, time, and resources we use for sports training and put it into educating the youth in America. Until education is a number one priority in our nation we cannot take the title we have as been the Most Powerful Nation. Applied Knowledge is key to being successful.  If we train our children academics like we do training in sports there is no doubt in my mind the United States will bridge the worldwide education gap we have. Sports are still that one area you can still bring families together everyone has a favorite sport, player, and team.  Having the smallest interest in sports gives you the ability to hold a conversation with anybody which allows you to make new friends and creat friendly rivals.

Success

We are all as strong as we strive to be. Weakness is only apparent if we want it to. When you say I can’t it leaves  room for failure. There is a difference between failure and mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen. Life would not be worth living without mistakes. Failures are very painful and in most cases we bring them upon ourselves with doubt and sometimes guilt. SUCCESS is the word we should live our lives by. Not all friends have our best interest. The Key to SUCCESS if you don’t already know is determination. No one can steer you in the wrong direction unless you want them. It is so easy to lose focus with work and difficult tasks at hand. But you are the driver in life and you should follow no one but you. Friends who just want to party you should try to persuade them into taking their studies serious. As we move forward into the future your education is the only thing that will ensure you to have a job. From those family members and friends who have dropped out of high school we must encourage and tell them they can finish and they need to focus on getting education. We all have different motives on what actions we decide to take in life. Mine can be measured as simple as the next person or they can be viewed as complex and unique. On person is motivated by the sheer thought of making money, one person is motivated by the thought of getting out of the hood and another is motivated be worked because they know their parents have worked so hard to give them the best.There comes a time when you will make a decision that not only affects you but others around you. When making a decision you want to try and please everyone, but you can't. You have to live to please yourself you cannot run and live in someone else’s shadow. The friends, who offer you advice, listen when you have to talk and offer a shoulder for you to cry on care about you and they will be with you through thick and thin. Only you can make your dreams come true. When picking you dream job and what you want to do in life aim high. I want to go into politics but I’m not settling for being an Alderman or community organizer I want to be President of the United States. I’m preparing myself know for my dream job. I participate in civic work both in and outside of school and they change I make is seen all over my city and community. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes they open the door to more praise and acclaim for you to succeed. Some may not think I use to be shy. You couldn't pay me to say two words. Now I have had the opportunity to give speeches in many different environments and I have had much success. This is only a small step to succeeding in the world and having your dream job. Sometimes in your life you will have to make the decision to leave troubled family members and friends behind. They will do nothing but hold you back and keep you from succeeding. Even though you love them you providing for your family and in some cases your life is more important. I know who will be there with me and who has been with me in my time of need. When everything looks gloomy never give up on yourself. Last year I gave up on myself. I told myself I couldn’t past trig. Despite I knew the material and did the homework I failed trig semester 1. I knew I was better than this and i had to push myself to do my work. Your best friend in life is not to depend on friends. You have to be individually motivated and able to except large tasks on you own. When you acquire this skill life will be so much easier for you. In life you are expected to make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up and hate your life. When you make your next mistake take time and reflect on what happened and how you can make yourself a better person. Life is short so live every day like it’s your last.

So as you move forward think of the way you want to write your future.

Beijing Pre trip Reflection

I have the great opportunity to go to Beijing, China this summer. I will be leaving June 14 and coming back July 2. It is not to long of a trip but for me it is long enough.  I am thrilled and honored to go on this trip but the one thing I feel like I am going to miss when I leave is American food.  I am such a picky eater and it takes a lot for me to try new foods.  This past year I have been open to trying new foods from other cultures but nothing beats good American food.

 The funny thing I remember is since getting out of school our advisers and some of the other students we went to China Town in Chicago to have lunch and get a taste of Chinese culture.  One of the catches to lunch was to get something you have never had before. I ordered a plate of Beef pan fried noodles. The dishes were so big everybody got some of what they ordered and passed the dish around so everybody can get some.  I thought I was putting beef on my plate but after I ate it I found out it was Lamb. Well luckily for me it tasted really good.

Although I am truly excited about this trip I am also a little scared. When going to the doctor to see what shots I needed to get I found out there were so many precautions to going to country.  First of all I had to get three shots and it wasn’t too bad. As a kid I hated getting shots and I gave the doctors a run for their money. But for this trip I got all three shots in the same arm. The worst thing that happened was my arm was sore and a little swollen for a week.  I had to get a shot for Polio, Hepatitis and since I never had chicken pox I had to get the 2^nd vaccination shot for it. I had the first one but now there are two shots for the chicken pox vaccination, but also I had to get a TB test.  And if we would have stayed longer than 30 days in China I would have to get a possible 3-4 more shots which I did not remember the names of and get a HIV test in order to make our trip.

Finding of this news shocked me because I started thinking what am I getting myself into. As the doctor concluded of informing me of what shots I had to get. She went into other health issues I should follow. Only drink bottled drinks, no tap water, and also when we brush our teeth use a bottle of water and don’t let water get in your mouth when you take a shower. Also the doctor gave me a prescription for medicine just in case I get extreme diarrhea because I will get sick because of the difference of food.  Of Despite all of these pre cautions I am more than excited to go despite the 11 hour flight we have ahead of us and getting Jet legged.

I am excited to go because not to many peers have had the opportunity to get outside of their comfort zone. This trip will give me the opportunity to stay in another country, visit the schools, and see some tourist attractions. Not too many people can say they have been to China not to many people can even say they have left the United States. I am looking forward to this trip because it is a once in a life time experience.  This trip will help make me a better leader, man, and student.  When taking this trip I will miss my family, friends, and just being in America, but I will accept this new experience with open arms.  From the conversation I had last night with my cousin who just went to China last month I am even more excited to go and even happier to have someone who can be a great resource to me. 

The best thing I like about this trip is I will not be going along.  I will be going with a group of 3 advisors and 6 students from school. I am excited because the group we have is really coming together and everyone are great individuals.  On my trip I will try to keep my blog updated because I know this trip is a win for everyone who has taken the time to help me or offer advice to me and everyone will want to know how it is going.