v Defend or critique the claim that athletics is just as valuable in a liberal arts education as artistic endeavors such as art or music.
v Comment on the claim that athletic participation is a good, helpful source of self-knowledge (helps folks learn their limits, their capacities, “learn to think critically about their own performance and that of teammates and opponents, to learn from the criticism of others, to focus on the task before them in the contest and avoid distraction, and to appreciate standards of excellence even when the standards are met better by opponents than by themselves. These skills are similar and arguably may reinforce similar critical skills and the ability to appreciate achievement in the classroom” (Simon, p. 155).
v Continuing on the same point, Simon writes “In calling for the best that is within each participant, a good athletic program can provide educational experiences that are unusually intense and unusually valuable and that reinforce and help develop many of the same traits that promote learning elsewhere” (p. 155). Are academics and intercollegiate athletics mutually reinforcing? Please discuss.
v Comment on the idea that sports can serve as a focal point for building community. Do you agree and if so, is this particularly true at college? Do sports bring us together in ways similar or not to other kinds of shared experiences like arts performances or religious rituals? The philosophers Dreyfus and Kelly in a book called All Things Shining make the point about sports and the sacred using the example of Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech at Yankee Stadium:
“In part this association between sport and religion derives from the importance of community in each. The sense that one is joined with one’s fellow human beings in the celebration of something great reinforces the sense that what one is celebrating is really great.”
