One of the reasons why scholastic achievment has fallen of late...

[Asmodeus]

... is because of this. (http://www.yahoo.com/s/85861)

Now, I am all for the underdog winning the bread and all that- the unsung heroes et al. But, this is a bit ridiculas, 90 million???

[Barbie]

No where in that article did it mention his grade point average?

You're assuming that he's not as academically equivilent to say, you?

[Pianomahnn]

He is smart enough to get $90M at 18 years old.

8 different intelligences.

[Billyman]

And he can dribble with both hands.

He's very amphibious.

[Asmodeus]

*gets on soapbox*

No. With 18 year old guys getting 90 million, what does that say to the other 18 year olds in skool? "Hey, that could be me. All I have to do is play basketball- or football or whatever- all the time everyday. I don't have to study because if I can get drafted outa highskool I won't need to know how to read. I will have, say 90 million dollars to buy a manager and lawyers and whoever else I need to read for me. Yes, that could be me."

Now tell me, is that unrealistic?

Why am I going on about it? Cause I have known quite a few folks who have said the equivalent to the above. Know where they are at now? Not in a professional sport. One is a janitor at a hospitol because you don't have to know how to read to clean toilets. Another has a similar position with Hobby Airport- he cleans the toilets on the planes. 6 are in prison because their hearts were so broken by not getting drafted or even a scholorship out of highskool they thought that was all their was to life- that they had nothing else to live for- they started selling drugs, stealing cars, etc. and got caught. The list goes on.

And no, not all highskool jocks are like the examples. But there are alot more than is heard about.

*gets off soapbox*

[Pianomahnn]

I think you're really grasping wildly at this being a reason kids aren't doing well in school anymore.

It's much deeper than simply kids ballin' instead of studying.

[Asmodeus]

Like I said, this is not why the majority do less well than say previous generations. But, this is why some do less well- namely jocks. They want the quick and easy- sacrificing everything else including a future for the quick and easy.

Just one reason of so many.

How to change it? I ain't got a clue.

[Barbie]

Originally posted by Asmodeus
*gets on soapbox*

No. With 18 year old guys getting 90 million, what does that say to the other 18 year olds in skool?."

Now tell me, is that unrealistic?

And no, not all highskool jocks are like the examples. But there are alot more than is heard about.

*gets off soapbox*

The fact that you're discussing a slide in academics, while you are spelling school as skool, says something for NON jocks.

Yes, you are being unrealistic...perhaps you never thought to concider that he may be not only setting a precedent, but a positive example:

LeBron may very well have a great GPA - and maybe he's able to say, "Kids, stay in school, study...work hard...it worked for me."

Jealous??

[Pianomahnn]

Originally posted by Barbie
Jealous??

That's normally what it comes down to.

[Venus]

Originally posted by Barbie


The fact that you're discussing a slide in academics, while you are spelling school as skool, says something for NON jocks.



I am so glad you brought that up. It was driving me crazy. I know he was doing it purposly, but it's just the wrong subject to do so in.

Asmo, you can't assume that because he is a great ball player, he did poorly in school. Most highschools have an elgibility standard. A student has to keep a certain grade point average in order to play. Drop below that average, don't play. They do that for this reason. You can't tell me that if you got offered a deal like that you would turn it down just because other kids might think they don't have to do anything in school because they can get deals like this too. I wouldn't be supprised if academics were slipping because of a lack of good teachers due to lack of funding. But it's certainly not because every once in a while someone gets a lucky break. This guy has probably been playing basketball since he was old enough to walk. If a kid waits until highschool to start playing, he's good as screwed anyway.

[MAC]

First of all Asmo WAS a jock.
Its how he WENT to college the first time and he can attest that going to skool doe snot guarantee anything to do with learning.

Which is his point, I think.....

The more kids DREAM about crap like that the less they DO anything at all.
Yes, its Eminem syndrome. "I was a nobody form a shitty home and now I'm super rich/famous." Now, lets face it we can only dream so long and then reality hits us....but today....parents of middle class children pay for them to dream longer and longer and do less and less
The poor kids are the ones faced with reality.
Raise your hand if you know some complete screw up who's parents keep bailing him out and paying his way over and over. How well did he do in skool?

It is stupid that this guy is worth this much money. But the reason he is worth so much money is because YOU think the value of your life's work an dincome can be summe dup with big screen TV's, trips to ball games, clothes that make you look like you don't work and nice cars to park in the multiteir garages of the shopping malls you go to.

That about sums up the value of your education
and you wonder why academics are falling off?

bourgeois`

BTW (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&e=7&u=/nm/life_geography_dc)

and if you don't wnat to hear anymore about education try this one (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?p=news&g=events/en/051603missuniverse&e=1&tmpl=sl&nosum=0&large=0&t=1053712665)

[SimpleSimon]

Perhaps one might look to the lists of scholarship winners, and academic honorees that are being published in newspapers all across this land as high school graduations get under way.

The largest award I could find was for $25,000. The average scholarship award is on the order of $1-$2,000. Kids know the value of money, they are not fools. Every year we see "jocks" in all major (and most minor) sports awarded full ride athletic scholarships worth many tens of thousands of dollars, while the kids who excell at using their minds struggle and compete for less than 1-5% of that amount.

Perhaps the decline is not due to the kids, but rather to our culture, which glorifies and nearly deifies athletes, and denigrates and belittles the "geeks" who use their minds.

Look at those lists of recipients of academic honors again. Notice anything? A very large proportion of them come from unassimilated ethnic groups and/or first generation emigrants children. People who don't pay the athletes any attention, or very little, but who DO spend a great deal of time, effort, and concern on supervising and directing their children toward the greatest acheivements of which they are capable.

It's allright, though. In the end, the jocks say "Yes, sir.", or "No, sir.", to the geeks who run the businesses and earn the money.

[Pianomahnn]

Originally posted by SimpleSimon
It's allright, though. In the end, the jocks say "Yes, sir.", or "No, sir.", to the geeks who run the businesses and earn the money.

:)

This kids deal with Nike is entirely market driven. The purchasing populations, indirectly, decided this person is worth $90M to sell shoes made by poor folks in non-US countries. Don't like the situation, don't buy the shoes. It's very simple.

[SimpleSimon]

Originally posted by Pianomahnn
:)

This kids deal with Nike is entirely market driven. The purchasing populations, indirectly, decided this person is worth $90M to sell shoes made by poor folks in non-US countries. Don't like the situation, don't buy the shoes. It's very simple.

Exactly.

I don't buy Nike, Reebok, or Adidas anything.

[Edit} In fact, thinking about it, I own two articles of clothing that show some sort of emblem: one polo shirt with an indistinguishable generic crest on the pocket, and a nylon windbreaker jacket with <center>Avison Lumber Company
Molalla, Oregon</center>
on the left breast.

I'll wear the brand labelled products when they pay me to be a walking billboard.

[RiZZ]

i want 90mill

[MAC]

Originally posted by RiZZ
i want 90mill

get 10,000,000 kids world wide to buy my new line o fshoes at $150/pair and I'll cut you a check...or would you like cash?

[Barbie]

Originally posted by SimpleSimon

I'll wear the brand labelled products when they pay me to be a walking billboard.

Perhaps this is what LeBron said...or someone said it to him.