Grooming the Kids

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In Those Days, although we were poor, my parents found a away to allow me do many things. But most of those things were what they wanted me to do, and things that they could afford for me to do. Like Sunday School and Cub Scouts. They encouraged me to do things that were affordable to them, but also built character. They'd send me off to Sunday School with a few coins to tithe, and to scouts where my mom could make the uniforms and there were no dues if your mom was the Den Mother.

But, I did get a chance to play a few seasons of Little League baseball, and some high school sports like baseball and football. I liked sports more than scouting and Sunday School, although my parents saw little value in sports. I think my mom went to a game or two of youth baseball, while I can't ever remember her attending a high school game of mine.

An interesting thought came to mind recently when I was thinking about how we groom our children for the future. In Those Days, I don't think that parents sent their kids to Sunday School in hope that they would become a preacher, or to scouting because that would lead them to be a great adventurer. And the thought of our children playing professional sports was the farthest thing from our mind.

After all, who wanted an athlete for a kid when they could become a doctor, teacher, or lawyer? "Be somebody," they always said, but they didn't mean a musician or a cop. They constantly stressed education as the way to success. The made us study hard, and do our homework with the idea that someday, it would lead us to riches. But, things are different today.

Who, but maybe a few (mostly Asians) wants their kid to be a doctor or lawyer anymore and make a mere few hundred K a year, when they could make millions as an athlete, and only work a few years?

That's what it seems like most Americans are doing these days. Most everyone is pushing their kids to be an athlete, and many of those don't even let the child chose the sport that they are interested in. And some parents even go so far as to pick the appropriate gene from the sperm bank that will lead to the best chance of success. They don't ensure their kid does their homework, but will drag them off to a practice. It has been so very long since I've heard a parent brag about his child's brilliance in education, or that they will to become a scientist. And when we hear that kind of pride, some of us tend to think of that parent (and the kid) as some kind of nerd.

Now, I've had my thrills with sports, and so have my children. One obtained an athletic scholarship and teaches sports at the high school she graduated from. But, never have I placed the value of sports over the value of education.

You see, I know America can not sustain herself on sports and athletes. We need brilliant minds in science, math, and technology to sustain us. Without that, we soon will be the third world country we used to laugh at.

If you are not prepared to the fight, then you need to turn and run for your life. The waters are rising.
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