Football - the school is the town

A resignation crisis in our community: The issue was discussed widely featured prominently in the local newspaper and radio. The responsible people responded with immediate action, advertising for a replacement across the country. The community was relieved when the position was filled in short time and warmed in the knowledge that the successful applicant was from a local school.
The important position was the school football coach !
Even though the coach is a teacher at a local school, this is not a requirement for the job. Many coaches travel long distances after their days work to help train students in another school district. There is no guarantee of a day job accompanying a coaching contract, but , of course, it helps considerably with a future job application.
The contract pays $4276 for an immense commitment of skill energy and time during the months of the US football season.
The coach starts early in the morning, works most evenings at training, fine tunes, encourages and tongue-lashes his team at each Friday night match until 10or 11 pm.
Bill, a social education teacher, at Cambridge HS holds the baseball coach contract at $2,141. Baseball practice is held every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, and games take all Saturday during the season from January to May. Bill believes strongly in the power of sport to improve students by increasing that educational cure-all - "self esteem". He also believes that sport benefits development of responsibility to a team; willing acceptance of discipline; persistence; physical fitness, strength and skill; improved rapport with adults; improved attitude towards teachers; respect for the school - sporting "carrot" with the academic "stick"; "honey with the medicine".

Sport at Cambridge HS also provides enthusiastic audiences for major student performances such as the bands and cheerleaders. the main band performance and dress rehearsals are held at half-time during football matches when both competing schools display their best precision marching, dancing, musicality, singing. This is all done in a faux military uniform that would make the British Life Guards turn their heads !

Other staff, (including many with classes on what the principal describes as the "academic floor" where I teach) are not convinced. Many of the skills and attitudes are only expressed on the sporting field and do not translate into classroom improvement. Some students have unrealistic ideas of getting to college through a sporting scholarship rather than through "real" scholarship. these teachers are concerned that, in the 6 primary and junior high schools under the Cambridge City schools Board of Education, over 75% of paid staff responsibility money goes to sport. Academic subjects and the performing arts (including band and choir) attract less than 10% of the budget each.