Lessons of the Locker Room: The Myth of School Sports - Hardcover

Miracle, Andrew W.; Rees, C. Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0879758791 ISBN 13: 9780879758790

Publisher: Prometheus Books, 1994

Synopsis

Examines the American obsession with sports, explains how sports became connected with schools, and argues that sports do not build character or promote good citizenship

About this title

About the Author

Andrew W. Miracle, Jr., is professor of anthropology at Texas Christian University.

Reviews

Miracle, a professor of sociology at Texas Christian University, and Rees, a professor of sociology at Adelphi University, set out to define--and expose--the myths largely responsible for what they regard as the overemphasis on sports in America's public schools. Tracing the development of "muscular Christianity" in the 19th century, they concentrate on the theory that participation in sports builds character, offering convincing arguments that the personalities of individuals are constant and little changed by athletic activity. As to viewing sports as a route to upward mobility, they repeat the widely recognized warnings that a career in professional sports comes to only a minuscule percentage of athletes. They stress the influence of business and industry on education, showing that in the past schools were expected to produce obedient, healthy and cooperative laborers, but with factory jobs being replaced by high-tech industries, business needs more math nerds than muscle-bound linebackers.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0879758791
• ISBN 13: 9780879758790
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 243