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 A Prize for an MVP 
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While we are discussing the national discrepancies between the "haves" and the "have-nots," I thought it might be apropos to bring up something that has been bothering me since October....

Did anyone besides me stay up late enough last Sunday night to see Peyton Manning get his Super Bowl MVP award? If you had, you would have also seen an executive of General Motors present him with the keys to a brand new Cadillac. The same kind of thing happened in October, when World Series MVP David Eckstein was given a brand new GM sports car.

Is it just me, or is there something wrong with this picture? When people like Cedric and Barbara Jennings cannot afford a car to drive, an athlete who makes millions of dollars a year is given a luxury automobile? That is something I have a hard time understanding.

I liked what happened back in 1995: when Tom Glavine was named World Series MVP, GM donated a brand new Chevrolet Astro van to the Special Olympics in his name. What has happened to the priorities of General Motors during the past eleven years?

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Logan McGuire


Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:53 am
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You have hit the nail on the head, Logan. What message is this sending to our young people? Should we not be teaching them the law of probability of being a pro-athlete? Or better yet, who really makes the money with the pros?? -Managers, Agents, CPA's, etc.

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Stephanie Williams


Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:08 pm
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You don't have to look hard to see why so many of our impoverished youth turn to drugs and/violence. Why go hungry and be harrassed by your peers when you can make a few "deliveries" for the guys on the street corner and have all the money you need. As a mother, I know that I would have a very hard time not giving in to these thugs when it comes down to the decision of heat in my apartment for my child or moving to a better apartment. Maybe when it comes to my children, I'm very weak... but I personally just feel human. I ache for these people who are treated less than such.

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Rosanna Whisnant


Tue Feb 13, 2007 10:58 am
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I grew up watching professional football. I even had a favorite team. For the last several years I do not watch any professional sports. I find it hard to believe that some of these players are worth what they are paid. I choose rather, to not contribute by not watching them. I did not even know who was in the Super Bowl this year. Some one asked who I was pulling for, I said, "Who cares!"

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"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." M. Twain


Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:13 pm
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It is without a doubt very disturbing when athletes are paid more than teachers and so many others. However, for many athletes, sports are the only way they and their families were able to move from poverty. Most professional athletes have a Cinderella like story to tell. Often poor or from a bad home life. They were blessed with an ability to run, throw, jump, hit, and/or shoot better than others. When it comes to sports and education, the latter is often used to get athletic skills recognized. In my case, knowing I had no chance of playing pro ball, I used sports as a means of getting an education. Sports are used to move an athlete from high school to college and from college to the pros and the "Big Bucks". Don't blame the athlete, blame those who gain because of the athlete.

Stephanie's question of "Who really makes the money with the pros?" is the right one to ask. Managers, agents, CPA's and family members are there to reap a big harvest when the athlete get paid. These people are the ones who should help young men (18 to 25) understand it is better to give than to receive.
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Iredell County


Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:47 pm
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Well stated, Billy. Sports are a base to move people in differnt directions, when there might not be other options. If we can't change the amount they make, maybe we should consider pushing the giving end-make a difference for others that don't have your blessed ability...or society could take a stand in promoting the act of giving by boycotting or showing less interest...I am sure it probably wouldn't fly, but think for a moment if it did? What would be the outcome? What would be the unintended consequences?

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Leigh Anne Frye


Wed Feb 14, 2007 9:48 am
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This is just another example of mixed up priorities in America. The good news is that sports are a great motivator for many students (in some cases it's what keeps them in school) and also that teachers really make a greater difference in the long run. I can't remember most of the players on my favorite football team over the past decade, but I can remember all of my teachers from K-12th grade.
As an administrator it is ESSENTIAL that we find those TEACHER MVPs and reward them.... There are TONS of public and private awards (Wal-Mart TOY.......Disney TOY....). Even the local TOY gets many, many rewards that are not the media and public spectacle that you see with the Super Bowl, but are really quite nice (at least in Lincoln Co.)

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Heath Belcher


Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:05 pm
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The big question is, why do we buy the products that are advertised on the game days? That is really thedog that is wagging its tail!

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Jackie Shaw


Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:52 pm
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Jackie, I suppose that is why I do not watch professional sports. I do not knowingly buy products from advertisers who support an industry whose values I do not believe in.

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"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." M. Twain


Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:09 pm
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I think that Heath makes a great point about honoring teacher MVPs, but at the same time, there are literally hundreds, maybe even thousands of teachers in each of our systems who will never be chosen as TOY, even by their schools. Special area teachers are a perfect example; as a music teacher, even if I were not rising (hopefully soon) to a position of administration, I would not expect to be chosen as TOY at my school. Why? Because these awards typically go to teachers who work in a classroom subject area (most of the time, it is an EOC or EOG subject area) who has seen test scores rise. The only evidence for an outsider to judge an art or music teacher's performance by (as they can with other teachers' EOG and EOC scores) is the quality of artwork and/or performances demonstrated by the teacher's students, and I have a feeling that many classroom teachers view this as nice, but not really important - just "fluff" on the outside edges of the "really important" curriculum. This is absolutely false; I know I teach math and science in my classroom every single day.

I loved the video that Dr. Jenkins showed us on Thursday. I've seen it twice now, and my favorite part about "encouraging the heart" is how, in many of these cases, the entire company gets into the celebration when someone is recognized. In my opinion, our schools and districts should do more of this. I know they had to do it because the state delayed the publication of the EOG and EOC scores, but I hated that Lincoln County Schools did not have an ABC celebration this year.

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Logan McGuire


Sun Feb 18, 2007 5:38 pm
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