Hoop, and other, dreams

Caleb Stewart Rossiter's new book argues that after-school tutoring sessions for disadvantaged athletes are a well-intended gesture that leads them astray, reports Jay Mathews for The Washington Post. Rossiter, an educator and tutor at a D.C. high school, describes how out of 80 student athletes in a given group, ten at most would receive college offers, despite untold hours devoted to their sport with a "vague sense" -- fueled by the legend of a local graduate who attained NFL status -- "of using it to build their adult lives." (College is necessary for a pro-athlete career). Many of these students, Rossiter says, had they gone a purely academic route, could have obtained one of the scholarships that have proliferated for the young, black, and not even gifted but at least perseverant. Rossiter says he tried his best with athletes, but most took his tutoring no more seriously than they did his regular classes. Coaches enabled athletes' poor habits by trying to wheedle last-minute reprieves when terrible grades threatened sports eligibility. If teachers didn't cooperate, some coaches encouraged guardians to explore special education designation. And those athletes who received scholarships often lost them, Rossiter reports, when they found academic expectations in college were beyond their level. Mathew plans a follow-up column on Rossiter's solutions. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.