08-26-2001, 05:17 AM | #31 | |
Thoth - Egyptian God of Wisdom
Join Date: August 16, 2001
Location: UK
Posts: 2,891
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A German, an English and an Ostfriese were stranded on a small island 50km from shore. There was no food. After a while the German says: "There's no point in starving here, I'll try to swim to shore. And if I drown, well, I'll die anyway so why wait here to starve?" He swims out 10km and then gets tired and drowns. Some time after that, the English says "Now I'll try to swim to shore." He swims out 20km and then drowns. Finally the Ostfriese decides to swim to shore. He swims out 25km, thinks "This is too far, I won't make it", so he swims back to the island. About the sports - I haven't noticed anything of the kind in Europe, is this only in America that schools have to be good at sports? ------------------ I am the great Kazara |
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08-26-2001, 11:51 AM | #32 | ||
Lord Ao
Join Date: May 17, 2001
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Age: 53
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Extending this to colleges and universities, sports in the one sure road to recognition for most colleges. Sure, you have places like Harvard, who have many graduates in positions of power (in effect, many of them are viewed as "winners" due to their financial success), but most colleges just do not have the national recognition that Harvard commands. Sure, when you look at going to a university, you look to see which school has the best certifications and programs in your field, but does the average citizen or employer who is out in the working world? Most times not. Instead, they jump on names they recognize, and that is where sports come in. Sports act as a advertising for the school; people will see the school name and recognize it, especially if their football team just went to a bowl game (i.e. was a "winner"). For example, from what I have seen, UTSA has a much better Business program (academically) than Florida State. UTSA does not have a football team; Florida State has the best team in the country. I graduate from UTSA with an MBA, and another guy with otherwise equal qualifications graduates with an MBA from Florida State. We both interview for the same job. Who will get the job? Chances are it will be the guy from Florida State, simply because the employer will recognize the school on his resume, and as such his schooling is considered "better" than mine (even though quite the opposite is true). It's gotten so bad now that kids are being pressured by parents to become "super kids." They have to be perfect academically and have all kinds of extracurricular activities (including sports; hey, they give free scholarships to top athletes, and athletes are extremely well-paid) so that they will be more "attractive" to employers when they get out of college. The parents push their kids to be best at everything, and attack anyone that gets in their kid's way. Give a kid a (deserved) bad grade, and you will have the parents in the principal's office with lawyers threatening to sue (in some cases this is an exaggeration, but this has actually happened before). At little league sporting events, the parents will jump on referees for making what they see as bad calls (i.e. any call against their kid's team, especially if it is against their kid); there have been instances of violence against referees and teachers for just doing their job. In fact, a recent survey here in America found that the majority of school age children believe that cheating is okay, as long as it helps them obtain their goals. In other words, Americans are hyper-competitive (like this is a surprise to anyone). Any sort of edge helps. And if your school can gain greater recognition by fielding a good football team, then do it (take the money out of the library and technology upgrade funds, and build a powerhouse team). That is the philosophy here in America. Ready to move here now? ------------------ Death is only the beginning... |
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08-26-2001, 12:11 PM | #33 | |
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In most of the places I have lived throughout the U.S. Texas A&M has been a reputable school, the exception being AZ where Wildcats rule. I am not taking the defensive because I will be going there but just asking where the reputation developed because I seriously haven't been exposed to derogatory Aggie jokes for as long as I can remember being alive, or due to the fact that I don't register those types of things as important enough to remember, have forgotten ever seeing or hearing any. All of the Texas A&M grads that I know (less than ten actually) enjoy good reputations as intelligent people and have excellent jobs with good pay. Thanks ------------------ You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity. Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not! |
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08-26-2001, 12:24 PM | #34 |
Thoth - Egyptian God of Wisdom
Join Date: August 16, 2001
Location: UK
Posts: 2,891
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Hi Moni!
I just realized that Germany may not have this sports fixation because under the Nazis, sport was VERY important. You needed to have a special sports degree to get a JOB, for heaven's sake! Anyway, Germany is banishing everything that might be associated with Nazis, so that might be a reason. If it was important, I suppose I'd have good chances - my school were the winners of Youth trains for Olympia - Basketball for Lower Saxony two years in a row . I am not planning to move to the US but I am considering going there on an exchange visit. In 11th grade many German pupils go to other countries on exchange and I am planning to go to the US. ------------------ I am the great Kazara |
08-26-2001, 12:30 PM | #35 | |
Fzoul Chembryl
Join Date: March 1, 2001
Location: Minneapolis, MN
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I have to agree and disagree. I agree that schools do look to further their sports teams at the expense of other more important programs, but I disagree as to the motive. Universities will funnel funds to the big programs like football and basketball in the hopes that the returns will be greater than the costs. If a football team makes it to a bowl game, then the University receives money from the TV networks and from ticket sales. A bowl appearence (or NCAA Basketball post season invite), will also 'advertise' the University for new recruits (not only for sports but for all students). I believe that sports are used as a recruiting tool for students, not as an employment criteria for employers. If a student is looking at two schools with matching programs (i.e. between two good biology programs), they are more likely to base their decision on the sports teams recognition. If given the choice between say Nebraska and Iowa one might choose Nebraska merely b/c they have a better football team. Am I making sense? As for employers choosing between two candidates, I don't think they go for name recognition based on sports as much as thought. Most employers that are hiring for degreed positions could care less about the sports programs of the schools that the applicants attended. They are more likely to look for applicants from their Alma Mader(sp). Certainly an employer that may hire MBA grads knows that UTSA is a better business school than FSU and would therefore hire the UTSA grad. The majority of employers that care that much about sports, are not hiring college grads, but rather technical school or HS grads. ------------------ Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig I've got to admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time |
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08-26-2001, 04:50 PM | #36 | |
Lord Ao
Join Date: May 17, 2001
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Age: 53
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The main UT campus is located in the capital (Austin), which is something of a cultural center in Texas (theaters, music scene, restaurants with a huge variety of cuisines, etc.). The main Texas A&M campus is located in College Station, which is essentially a farming town that grew up around A&M. That's why I think that UT looks down its nose at A&M, and that's why the stereotype is perpetuated. Like I stated before, I think the reputation is undeserved, but I can't give A&M too much slack (or I will take a lot of abuse from my friends living in Austin! ). ------------------ Death is only the beginning... |
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08-26-2001, 04:57 PM | #37 | |
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------------------ You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity. Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not! |
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08-26-2001, 05:03 PM | #38 | |||
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You are probably right. Quote:
------------------ You know childhood is over when a puddle seems like an obstacle instead of an opportunity. Is Too! Is Not! Is Too! Is Not! |
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