I don't want to see women's athletics get the same degree of support as men's

[Silent3]

93. I'd love to see a breakdown in trophy size, prominence, frequency of sports-only displays, etc.

The United States routinely spends more tax dollars per high-school athlete than per high-school math student—unlike most countries worldwide. And we wonder why we lag in international education rankings?

Even in eighth grade, American kids spend more than twice the time Korean kids spend playing sports, according to a 2010 study published in the Journal of Advanced Academics. In countries with more-holistic, less hard-driving education systems than Korea’s, like Finland and Germany, many kids play club sports in their local towns—outside of school. Most schools do not staff, manage, transport, insure, or glorify sports teams, because, well, why would they?

Athletics succeeded in distracting not just students but entire communities. As athletic fields became the cultural centers of towns across America, educators became coaches and parents became boosters.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/

Jenny Brundin: Well Ryan, what’s the first thing you see usually, when you walk into a high school?

Ryan Warner: The trophy case.

Jenny Brundin: Exactly. So this really sends a message about what the school values. The author Amanda Ripley asks the question: “What if Americans transferred our obsessive intensity about high school sports—the rankings, the trophies, the ceremonies, the pride—to high school academics?”

Ryan Warner: So the idea might be I walk into a high school and instead, I see the awards I got for being in Model United Nations. How much money goes into high school sports, compared to other areas?

Jenny Brundin: She reports that the U.S. routinely spends more tax dollars per high-school athlete than per high-school math student—unlike most countries worldwide. She starts the article by interviewing exchange students who are truly amazed by the emphasis on sports in American high schools.

https://www.cpr.org/show-segment/what-the-trophy-case-in-the-school-lobby-says-about-our-values/