What Are Your Children Learning?

Koach Karl - I recently read a most eye-opening and disturbing report from the Josephson Institute of Ethics. I will put the report on this blog for the next few posts. This is MUST Reading for parents of High School aged children.

What Are Your Children Learning? The Impact of High School Sportson the Values and Ethics of High School Athletes. A Report by the Josephson Institute of Ethics

LOS ANGELES, (February 16, 2007) - According to areport, released this week by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, thevalues of young athletes are dramatically impacted by their sportsexperience, often for the worse.

The report, What Are Your Children Learning? The Impact of High SchoolSports on the Values and Ethics of High School Athletes, summarizesthe responses of 5,275 high school athletes to a written surveyadministered in 2005 and 2006.

Michael Josephson, president of the nonprofit Josephson Institute andfounder of the national program, CHARACTER COUNTS!, said the reportcontains both good and bad news for parents and school administrators."The good news is that the majority of high scho ol athletes trust andadmire their coaches and are learning positive life skills and goodvalues from them. They are less cynical about ethical issues and lesslikely to steal than their classmates.

"The bad news," Josephson added, "is that many coaches - particularlyin the high profile sports of boys' basketball, baseball and football- are teaching kids how to cheat and cut corners. Both boys and girlsare more likely to cheat in school and far too many are willing tocheat in sports and engage in other dishonest, deceptive and dangerouspractices without regard for the rules or traditional notions of fairplay and sportsmanship. There is reason to worry that the sports fieldsof America are becoming the training grounds for the next generation ofcorporate and political villains and thieves."