Proposed high school athletic handbook ires parents.
The Estancia (NM) High School’s athletic staff and administration have been working on an athletic handbook to present to the district school board for approval. Most schools at all levels have such a document. The handbook usually covers obvious items like care of school uniforms and equipment, attendance at contests, and other school policies. Handbooks are intended as a source of information for coaches, athletes, and parents. They also serve to insure that all coaches and staff are on the same page as far as policy matters. They also should contain the school’s and district’s philosophy of athletics along with the goals of the program.
Most handbooks will include a section on student-athlete expectations, such as abstaining from alcohol and substance abuse and the consequences for violations. This area of Estancia’s proposed handbook has drawn the ire of a group of parents who feel this section invades their parenting responsibility.
"It's kind of a slap in the face saying that we don't know how to parent our kids," scolded Cheri Lujan. She - and several other parents - referred specifically to a provision under "Prohibited Conduct": "The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or tobacco in any form, or attendance at a party or other gathering at which any of the foregoing substances are present and/or being used ..."
Discipline "is our role as a parent," said Angela Coburn. "I do have a problem with 24-hour monitoring or surveillance of our kids."
So here I go: Your high school coach is paid pitifully to coach your child. Yet he/she has had years of formal education and training as a teacher and a coach. He/she has chosen a noble profession that regretfully is dependent on the actions and attitudes of teenagers and their parents. You would think that Mrs. Coburn would be grateful that her child is under the guidance of adults who expect them to abide by certain standards of conduct while a member of an athletic team. Coaches who remind them to make good choices should be supported. We tend to forget that team membership is a privilege not a right. Nobody has forced Johnny to be a part of the school’s basketball team and if he wants to be a team member, he should expect to abide by a code of conduct set forth by the school and the coach...for everyone’s protection.
Ideally coaches and parents work as partners. It truly does take a village to raise a child. There is some poor coaching out there and there is some poor parenting as well. Too often coaches and teachers provide the only parenting some children receive. Remember these young people need guidance. They are not yet adults and they should not be treated as adults.
The Estancia (NM) High School’s athletic staff and administration have been working on an athletic handbook to present to the district school board for approval. Most schools at all levels have such a document. The handbook usually covers obvious items like care of school uniforms and equipment, attendance at contests, and other school policies. Handbooks are intended as a source of information for coaches, athletes, and parents. They also serve to insure that all coaches and staff are on the same page as far as policy matters. They also should contain the school’s and district’s philosophy of athletics along with the goals of the program.
Most handbooks will include a section on student-athlete expectations, such as abstaining from alcohol and substance abuse and the consequences for violations. This area of Estancia’s proposed handbook has drawn the ire of a group of parents who feel this section invades their parenting responsibility.
"It's kind of a slap in the face saying that we don't know how to parent our kids," scolded Cheri Lujan. She - and several other parents - referred specifically to a provision under "Prohibited Conduct": "The use or possession of alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, or tobacco in any form, or attendance at a party or other gathering at which any of the foregoing substances are present and/or being used ..."
Discipline "is our role as a parent," said Angela Coburn. "I do have a problem with 24-hour monitoring or surveillance of our kids."
So here I go: Your high school coach is paid pitifully to coach your child. Yet he/she has had years of formal education and training as a teacher and a coach. He/she has chosen a noble profession that regretfully is dependent on the actions and attitudes of teenagers and their parents. You would think that Mrs. Coburn would be grateful that her child is under the guidance of adults who expect them to abide by certain standards of conduct while a member of an athletic team. Coaches who remind them to make good choices should be supported. We tend to forget that team membership is a privilege not a right. Nobody has forced Johnny to be a part of the school’s basketball team and if he wants to be a team member, he should expect to abide by a code of conduct set forth by the school and the coach...for everyone’s protection.
Ideally coaches and parents work as partners. It truly does take a village to raise a child. There is some poor coaching out there and there is some poor parenting as well. Too often coaches and teachers provide the only parenting some children receive. Remember these young people need guidance. They are not yet adults and they should not be treated as adults.
