Before I venture into my topic du jour, I would like to thank Jack Oleander for his get-well wishes.
That being done, I will offer the following as an introduction to a topic dear to my heart. My wife was a teacher for 33 years. After retirement, she ventured into the field of reviewing portfolios of home schoolers. These are children who are schooled at home instead of a class room. They are evaluated twice a year, and that is where Mrs. Lacy comes in. For the past few years she has shared some of the work she has evaluated, and I have become fascinated. So, again I stray from “He Made a Difference” to bring you a few weeks of what I find fascinating.
The following is an authorized piece submitted by 14 year-old Sean Taylor.
PAYING COLLEGE ATHLETES:
I believe there are pros and cons when you start talking about paying college athletes.
One pro is that with money on the line, the players might play harder because they know that money is a reward. Also, with that money, if they were smart, they would be able to buy books that they need for class and other things along those lines. Another pro of paying college athletes is that the athletes could pay off their student loans and it could serve as a thanks because most of the money that the school gets is because of the sporting events.
There are also cons that go along with paying college athletes. For example, some athletes already can’t handle or control themselves off the field so why would you add some problems by giving them money to do whatever they chose to do. By giving the money, you don’t know what they might spend it on. Another con is that with the money they might feel that they have the power to not come to school or not fulfill their commitment to themselves and the school.
I think that college students should be paid, but not so much that they lose their heads. I also feel that college athletes should receive money for the work that they put towards their sport of choice because that might make them stay in school for longer and not go professional sooner than they need to. For instance, in basketball, a lot of kids are starting to leave college too early and they end up finding themselves not filling their potential in the sport because they didn’t take advantage of some of those years that they could have had if they would have stayed in college for a couple of extra years.
I bring this to you uncut and unedited. Well done, Sean.