There has been a lot said and written lately about all of the negative aspects of playing football. Everyone from the Pop Warner Leagues to the NFL and its former players are mounting a growing concern over all of the injuries associated with the game. Rightly so on many levels.
When NFL Hall of Famer, Tony Dorsett has announced he is suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease at an early age, Brett Favre has stated he does not remember one whole year of his daughter's soccer season, the Minnesota Vikings were not able to field a full roster for their last game because of injuries and current NFL teams injury lists look more like MASH reports, there is an epidemic of injuries amongst all levels of football.
60 Minutes did a report last Sunday on how the numbers of young boys playing football at an early age is steadily dwindling and ESPN is doing special reports on injuries amongst that age group, you know something is drastically wrong. The question is, what can be done about it? I have some suggestions as do many experts, but like any subject that debate cannot be solved in a simple blog post.
I am living proof football is, and always has been; a violent game and can result in serious injuries. I did a paper for my Prevention and Care of Athletic Injuries class in college on Neck Injuries In Football. In doing my research, I learned the neck musculature is the last muscle mass in the body to develop. And yet, we see young boys and girls wearing heavy helmets with giant facemasks trying to support their heads and faces with necks that are not fully developed.
That is why eighty percent of all spinal cord injuries occur to young males between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four. When one counts all the spinal cord injuries that occur in the United States every year, football related injuries only occur about twelve times annually. That is not very many when one considers the number of automobile, gunshot, motorcycle, diving and other active activities accidents.
But that is not what this post is all about. Once again, I have strayed from my original intent. Of course, my longtime readers know that is how I write.
I titled this post "Football And Sportsmanship" because of a wonderful gesture on the part of the Olivet Middle School Eagles in Olivet, Michigan help one of their own score a touchdown.
Watch this video and see if you do not agree with me. To view the video, click here. If the video does not show up, click on this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8_RpyfyNs4
Keith Orr will never forget his touchdown thanks to his buddies who decided to do something for the young man. Steve Hartman gets to do some amazing stories, but not many have brought him to tears like this one did. I like his weekly story on the Friday Night CBS News. He has introduced us to many wonderful people and their incredible stories.
As always, I welcome your comments.
Later,
Mike
Showing posts with label students with disabilities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label students with disabilities. Show all posts
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Is Extending The School Year A Good Thing?
Many studies have shown students lose a good amount of what they learn in the typical nine-month school year over their three-month summer vacation. That three months has been a huge detriment to their retention, and causes a goodly amount of time to get back to where they were before their summer break.
That is one reason why many schools across the county are moving to year-round schooling. If you do not know, in year-round schools, they never have a break of more than six weeks.
I just read an article that originated from the Associated Press telling of a pilot program in five states and forty schools that will extend the school year by six hundred hours. According to the article, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will take part in the initiative, which is intended to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level.
You may read the article from USATODAY.com by clicking here. I could not find the original article on the Associated Press's website.
I believe this is a good step towards catching up with much of the rest of the developed world. The United States has continuously been falling backwards in our ranking for many of the education benchmarks which we have historically led the world. This pilot program will only last three years and then evaluated.
I am guessing we are going to see marked increases in these schools' results.
Of course, there are detractors to the idea and believe it is not the way to go because countries like India and China have shorter school years and are getting better results. Is it a question of quantity versus quality? Is it a question of prioritization? I am anxious to see what the results will be with their students with severe disabilities, all their students with special needs for that matter, low-income students and all of the round students that do not fit in the square holes.
Something needs to be done to get all our schools educating as many of our young people to the highest degree we possibly can. I certainly do not have the answers.
As always, I look forward to your comments.
Later,
Mike
That is one reason why many schools across the county are moving to year-round schooling. If you do not know, in year-round schools, they never have a break of more than six weeks.
I just read an article that originated from the Associated Press telling of a pilot program in five states and forty schools that will extend the school year by six hundred hours. According to the article, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will take part in the initiative, which is intended to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level.
You may read the article from USATODAY.com by clicking here. I could not find the original article on the Associated Press's website.
I believe this is a good step towards catching up with much of the rest of the developed world. The United States has continuously been falling backwards in our ranking for many of the education benchmarks which we have historically led the world. This pilot program will only last three years and then evaluated.
I am guessing we are going to see marked increases in these schools' results.
Of course, there are detractors to the idea and believe it is not the way to go because countries like India and China have shorter school years and are getting better results. Is it a question of quantity versus quality? Is it a question of prioritization? I am anxious to see what the results will be with their students with severe disabilities, all their students with special needs for that matter, low-income students and all of the round students that do not fit in the square holes.
Something needs to be done to get all our schools educating as many of our young people to the highest degree we possibly can. I certainly do not have the answers.
As always, I look forward to your comments.
Later,
Mike
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Scary Report
When you were in school, were you ever tied down, restrained in any way, or put in a secluded room for hours? Neither was I. According to this report by the National Disability Rights Network, it's a fairly common practice to deal with students with special needs.
A very detailed report published just last month, starts out, "Whenever we open a newspaper, turn on the television, or go on the Internet these days, we hear about another child dying or being injured in school while being restrained or secluded. Some may think these are isolated incidents, but, when Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies across this country report that school children have been killed, confined, tied up, pinned down, and battered, this is clearly more than an isolated issue — it is one of national concern."
The report chronicles students who have been strapped to chairs — even wheelchairs, held down by adults, grabbed, dragged and left in secluded rooms, handcuffed, locked in closets, and more. They identify extreme cases in virtually every state.
This little, seven-year-old Wisconsin girl died while being restrained and secluded.
You can read the entire report by clicking here. It's a 60-page pdf, and I will confess, I haven't read the whole thing. But I read enough to know it's worth sharing.
Here is a seclusion room in one classroom:
Tell me what you think.
Later,
Mike
A very detailed report published just last month, starts out, "Whenever we open a newspaper, turn on the television, or go on the Internet these days, we hear about another child dying or being injured in school while being restrained or secluded. Some may think these are isolated incidents, but, when Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies across this country report that school children have been killed, confined, tied up, pinned down, and battered, this is clearly more than an isolated issue — it is one of national concern."
The report chronicles students who have been strapped to chairs — even wheelchairs, held down by adults, grabbed, dragged and left in secluded rooms, handcuffed, locked in closets, and more. They identify extreme cases in virtually every state.
This little, seven-year-old Wisconsin girl died while being restrained and secluded.
You can read the entire report by clicking here. It's a 60-page pdf, and I will confess, I haven't read the whole thing. But I read enough to know it's worth sharing.
Here is a seclusion room in one classroom:
Tell me what you think.
Later,
Mike
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