In my opinion, I have always been surrounded by people who are passionate about getting involved and giving their time to others. Many times, however, I have questioned my motives for helping others. My high school would promote it in the light that it would help us get into college. Of course I have had the privilege to have teachers and professors who would push reading the daily newspaper, or always start class with the phrase “What’s going on in the world today?” I knew this was a genuine effort to further my self-growth and engagement in society. But of course, other times, I consciously made the decision to partake in an event with the mindset that it would help me with my resume. The reason behind my decision did not make me feel better about myself in the slightest, but looking back, maybe I do not have to be ashamed of my motives.

I have grown so much from my community engagement. My view on this topic of education systems promoting service, is that whether the motive is to get students into college, or just be a good citizen, everyone benefits in the end. If I can be involved and have one foot in “the real world” and real world issues while still having the other in the structured world of higher learning, then I can be a more well rounded person that is more prepared to graduate than I would have been without being civically involved. I am not only growing personally, but I am helping others grow as well, and doing good for the community. I feel as though I have I not only furthered my cultural awareness, and become more knowledgeable of social issues in the class, but also have learned outside of it through discussion and activities with fellow peers. This has also always been the case in my involvements in civic learning activities as well as community service. I have always approached everything I do with the mindset that it is a learning experience. I love to reflect after every community service event and think about what I learned from the encounter, and what I could do to improve myself and the world around me the next time.

Finley addresses the issue that most of the evidence if not all is self reported. She quotes, “Existing data on civic outcomes is almost entirely based on student self-reports of their behaviors, attitudes, and growth over time” (3). People question the efficiency and effectiveness of this civic engagement that takes up whole classes in schools. People want to know if this is a legitimate educational undertaking since many believe the activities just “water down” curriculum content and distract students from receiving an education. This conflict may just be because it strays away from the conventional teaching styles that have been in place for centuries.

If I were to be asked if I have benefited from civic engagement, I would emphatically say yes. Being so heavily involved in my community has connected me with many amazing organizations and people, helped build my personal growth and character, and skills for life long learning.

I know that I am not the only one that has felt the positive impact of higher educational institutions on my cross cultural knowledge and civic learning. My cousin recently went to Ecuador over the winter break to help establish pop up medical care stations. She did it through her Spanish class for course credit. Not only was she able to help deliver much needed care to the people of Ecuador, but she was also able to experience first hand the culture and language she had been learning about in her college classes. Yes, she was doing this for course credit, but in the end she left Ecuador with so much more. This tangible experience is an irreplaceable opportunity that her school provided that, who knows, could spark my cousin’s interest to continue in the future, using her knowledge of the language and culture to serve even more people.

In the end, no matter what the motive for promoting civic learning and engagement, the outcomes are always positive. Nothing compares to the real world experience of helping others and immersing yourself in another community, and even your own. As Finely backs up in her article, civic learning in higher education not only gives students an understanding of different cultures, develops personal morals and ethics, and establishes leadership, but also contributes to the welfare of communities. In my opinion, greater evidence is not needed on the ways in which variations in civic learning positively impacts student success (3). Success should not be measured solely by your job outcome, but also your personal growth gained from those civic engagement experiences.

A Lifeline To College

Studies have shown student athletes do not perform as well academically as non-athletes. Training, games, and consistent practices take up the majority of their time, resulting in lower academic success. In a study done by Maloney and McCormick in 1991, the GPAs of college athletes compared to ‘regular’ students from Clemson University were compared. They found that out of approximately 300,000 grades taken, with around 13,000 being athletes’, the average GPA of an athlete was a 2.379 while the average GPA of a non-athlete was 2.681. From both my research and personal experiences, I have found that for many athletes, sports is a lifeline to a college degree that simultaneously robs them from a quality education. Although sports is a lifeline, academics must never be underplayed and schools should teach students what it really means to qualify for acceptance into college.

The service organization, the Home Team, recognizes the issue and importance of emphasizing academics, providing in-class mentoring and after school study hall hours. Partnering with the University of Miami athletic department to provide a program with current UM athletes, they not only provide structure for the students but also inspiration. They serve as both academic and athletic advisors. Alex Pou, founder of the organization, alumni of UM, as well as Coral Gables Senior High recognized there was an opportunity to help at risk students who rely on sports to further their academic careers. His mission is to teach the life skills of athletics to promote personal growth not only on the field but in the classroom and community. The Home Team partners with Coral Gables Senior High School’s football program to provide a two hour study hall session after every Monday through Thursday from 2:30 to 5:00pm. Over 100 student athletes are currently participating. The Home Team strives to create inclusive communities, targeting elementary through high school students to prepare them to rely on their minds just as much as they do their bodies.

Out of Alex’s current three locations, I have chosen to volunteer at the second, Coral Gables Senior High School. The Home Team has partnered with the school’s football program to provide a two hour study hall session after school every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:30 to 5:00pm. Over 100 student athletes are currently participating. I specifically chose this location because I miss being a student athlete and being a part of a team. I feel as though I will be able to connect with these students on some level, and can relate to the struggle of balancing and juggling school work and extracurriculars. I remember how hard it was in high school to juggle three sports while trying to maintain a decent GPA. I want to help these students reach their full potential and be able to achieve academic success.

I was so excited to get started on Wednesday February 11th. I went in right away hoping to connect with the students and inspire them, as Alex has, to focus as much on their studies as they do when they are on the field. The first day was hard, however. I struggled to make any connection with either of the students I have been assigned. They seemed disinterested and embarrassed to have a tutor. It was in that moment that I realized, this experience is not going to be the “funnest” or easiest, but it is going to be real and raw. Not only these students are going to grow, but I will as well.

I have witnessed a lot more than I thought I would in only a few weeks at this high school. Since the first day, the students have warmed up to me, now that they are realizing I can genuinely help them. No one has made negative comments about there being tutors since that first day, and I’ve had many new students approach me to ask for help.

This experience has opened my eyes to how there truly is an issue. This past wednesday one of the coaches approach one of my students reviewing his nonexistent attendance to classes, multiple failures and incompletes, and said that the student will not be eligible to play with the way his grades are looking. The student looked upset and defeated. The tension in the dead silent room grew, and as I sat in my seat, not knowing what to say or how to comfort the student, I questioned… what if they didn’t have The Home Team?

The Takeaway From My Learning Experience

From an early age, education must always be balanced in any academic setting, with athletics and extracurriculars. In my research, I have found that most of the available investigation on the correlation between athletics and academics has been on studying college athletes that are exploited by universities for their physical abilities. More research should be done on high school, middle school, and even elementary school students, and why they are being brought up with the sentiment that sports is their lifeline. I believe that the distorted vision of athletics being the be all end all to a college degree carries on over into college students who do make it to play on D1-D3 teams. At that point, those that have made it seem to keep the same work ethic for the rest of their careers, always putting academics on the backburner, doing the minimum needed to stay off academic probation (Benson 1). After my research and experiences with the Home Team, I have learned the difference between high school and college athletes is that college athletes have a sense of entitlement and expectations from academic advisors and teachers. They expect to “make it big” through their sport and as a result, expect special treatment from the athletics department, which in turn, handicaps the student and their learning as academics in not considered a priority. High school athletes, are different as they are not yet in college and their futures are unknown to them, so they are not as comfortable and set in their ways. They fear that their abilities in their sport will not be enough to carry them to college. What these students overlook is the fact that athletics has the potential to help students develop social and team building skills, lower risks of negative influences, boosts self confidence, as well as becoming well rounded individuals. The Home Team has to keep the program focused on doing just that. Yes, students should have aspirations of getting into the “big leagues,” but they also need to be realistic and focus on what is going to benefit their lives as a whole. The mind is a lot more powerful than the body, and it is important to keep it just as strong and healthy.

Recommendations For The Home Team

The Home Team must facilitate a type of environment that encourages athletic development as well as academic growth. Students are incentivized to get work done and stay on top of their grades in order to be eligible to practice after study hours. Alex, has targeted students from an early age to teach them that balance is key. By targeting elementary school to high school students, the Home Team teaches students from a young age that extracurriculars can make them whole and absolute, not define them completely, or being the only way to go to college. My advice for Alex is to keep targeting the youth before sports is all they rely on to get into college, to continue encouraging the youth to trust in themselves that they will succeed, and continue being a guide for the youth before it is time to go off on their own. From an early age students need to be encouraged to care just as much about learning and doing their work as excelling in sports. Having to rely on athletics to get into a certain college, is such a dangerous situation to be in, and no one should have to feel like they are a “one trick pony.” These students should be taught that they have the potential to be anything they want as long as they are well rounded. Alex needs to foster a motivated environment that teaches students to “play with one eye on college and the other on their professional careers” (Kohler).

As for how society should handle these issues, high schools should hold similar after school study hours for not only student athletes (mandatory) but also non-athlete students as well, and middle schools should impress upon students that sports are a way to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle. As athletics grows more nationally, athletes are being exploited more for their abilities. When there is a shift in focus and concentration from academics to athletics, it separates the athletes from the regular students. Colleges need to stop fostering this type of environment where the athletes are not held to the same standards as the regular students are. Standards for athletes are based off of their performance on the court/field while others’ are based on the time and effort spent studying and participating in organizations. This clear separation has led to a different mindset of the athlete. Encouraging a more inclusive educational community from a young age, along with the positive correlation between athletics and academics can work miracles.