Credits for Play?: Courtesy of John Stoner, an article from the Washington Post discussing the policy of giving players credit (up to 1 per year) for playing varsity athletics. Obviously, this has many people upset. Why should varsity athletes, on a full scholarship in sports like football, also be given class credit for playing a sport? My response: why not? Every college has Physical Education courses. Credits are given for playing tennis an hour a week, going bowling or taking a course in lifeguarding or first aid (for which the applicant receives certification). Why should someone who participates in athletic activity for up to 40-60 hours per week not receive one credit each year for this activity?



It is clear that participating in varsity sports adds just as much value, if not more, than an hour each week playing tennis or bowling. Athletes learn valuable skills of team work, handling enormous pressure and expectations, time management and coping with defeat. Is there really any problem with awarding one academic credit each year for this expenditure of time and the clear lessons that are learned. If people are concerned with assigning a letter grade, make the credit pass/fail. But no one can convince me that enough is not learned in playing varsity sports to justify some (very limited) academic credit.



This also seems like a good alternative to compensating collegiate athletes, which has been proposed in legislation in at least two states (California and Nebraska) and which I discuss in this article from last year. We should not pay college athletes for a number of reasons: they should remain amateurs, there isn't the money, Title IX raises a number of hurdles, etc. But why not compensate athletes in some non-monetary way, like class credits? One or two credits each year does not jeopardize the education of these athletes any more than any PE class does. Many high schools, including my own, award credit for playing varsity sports, participating in student government, or engaging in community service. This encourages students to participate in activities they enjoy and also awards them for the education they receive in doing them.



Too often, administrators view education as something only gained in the classroom. This simply is not accurate. I learned much more in college outside of the classroom than I did inside. I learned about life, about living on my own, about dealing with people from different backgrounds and who held different beliefs, and on. If some of these lessons can be pinpointed to a particular, university-sanctioned activity such as athletics, then credit should be awarded. This does not jeopardize student-athletes; if anything, it reminds these men and women of the benefits of being both a student and an athlete.



Also, John has a link to an interesting article on his blog about wine and baseball, two of my favorite topics.

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