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Volume CXXXIII, Number 10 |
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Kudos to Slovenski
To the Editors:
Coach Slovenski reopens an ongoing discussion in the field of physical education: is it a legitimate discipline or a "sideline" to a true liberal arts-type education? The same argument occurred when biology and psychology were considered to be "true disciplines."
My mother, an educator, told me that the human brain had 20 million pigeon holes and we spend a lifestyle filling as many as we can before our demise. Each time we fill one, it adds to our education and that education takes all forms-good or bad-but education it is!
Many of the United States' top colleges and universities believe that if a coach teaches someone how to make a football block or how to throw a shot put or how to jump from a diving board into water, it's education. These coaches may be accepted as part of the professional tenure track and may vote at faculty meetings.
I myself have spent 34 years in the field of physical education, including nine years studying toward a doctorate. But that's another story!
The term "physical education" takes many and varied forms, including such areas as physical fitness, athletics, and aquatic activities.
Today it's a mistake to think that "physical education" and "athletics" have the same definition. The term "physical education" means teaching people how to have fun-in other words, teaching people how to recreate. Once a person learns how to play tennis, it becomes recreation (mostly). Physical education involves "lifetime sports" which may enhance a person's life and add to life's enjoyment.
Teachers are teachers whatever they teach, and, of course, they should be recognized as part of the regular faculty at places of "higher education" But! They should go through a similar initiation period that most professional teachers go through, and that is to earn the usual undergraduate and graduate degrees in their field.
Now the argument comes down to whether a professional athlete in a sport or an Olympic gold medal winner is equal to a doctoral degreed professional teacher.
Many colleges and universtities hire former athletes as their coaches. Most have not earned advanced degrees so they probably should not be a professional tenure track but to not be allowed to vote as part of a faculty leaves them as "outsiders."
Remember that there are many institutions in this country that train students to be professional physical educators. These institutions support a PhD-type faculty that teach the courses in the sciences, psychology, etc.
In today's world it's getting more and more difficult to define what a college of liberal arts is all about. There are individuals who frown on "those technical schools" that really train students toward certain jobs or professions. Even liberal arts colleges support a "Career Department" to assist graduating seniors in finding employment and to help them get into graduate schools. And let us remember that during President Sills' tenure, Bowdoin added science courses to the curriculum. Perhaps we should call ourselves a "liberal arts and science college" (but that's another story).
In the November 14 issue of the Orient the opinion colmnist Patrick Rockefeller assumes that "it should be clear that Coach Slovenski's article was written specifically about big time D-1 sports." It is not clear to me because, as I pointed out a few years ago in a letter to the editor, the difference between the Universtity of Michigan athletic program and Bowdoin College is very small in most areas. I know Bowdoin College does not give out "athletic scholarships" but I wonder what the total amount of money is that students athletes at Bowdoin do not have to pay this year...but that's another story!
Sincerely,
Lou MacNeill
Facilities Managment
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