I can’t think of a greater indictment of our “education system” than that it produced a population that voted in a sorry excuse of a human being to the presidency (putting aside the “election rigging” issue).

We see millions spent on athletic facilities, coaches, marketing, etc. And barely thousands spent on recognizing intellectual or humanistic contributions. Schools get enormous identity and recognition via their sports teams, but the number of people who could cite intellectual, artistic, philanthropic, or other socially uplifting acts or individuals is miniscule in comparison.

And what is taught in sports? TO WIN!? Yeah… I know there are good coaches who emphasize sportsmanship, teamwork, etc. and those are good. But we also hear all too often about “win at all costs”, esp in the zero-sum model of WIN OR LOSE… Don’t be a loser! Those who stop to help a fellow runner dehydrated by distance are recognized in memes, but the millions go to those who DO NOT STOP TO HELP.

What recognition do GOOD TEACHERS get? Bad teachers still get tenure. Good teachers get admonished by administrations afraid of innovation and community expectations.

The values we teach BY ACTION are what are learned by students. I saw growing up the being a good student was NOT NEARLY VALUED as much as being good looking, or being a good athlete.

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