"Wall of Fame/Wall of Shame " by Tom Winiecki

Are athletes role models? You will hear people on both sides make compelling arguments.

People on one side will say that since athletes are in the public eye so much, they should be role models. Many people, young and old are drawn to them because of their abilities. The argument goes that they should take advantage of their status by sending positive messages to the public.

Others will argue the opposite. People like Charles Barkley will say that athletes should not be role models, parents should. They have the most direct contact with their own kids, so they should be the role model.

The way I see it, both arguments are right. Parents are, in fact the first person that their children look up to. As a father of two myself, I am always aware of what I say and do in front of them. I know that they are like sponges.

This does not absolve athletes. They, have the same responsibilities as a parent, or teacher to show those after them a positive example.

We as teachers want to use as many means as possible to reach our students. The print media offers us just such means. This is where I got the idea for our "Wall of Fame/Wall of Shame."

Our "Wall of Fame/Wall of Shame" is a collection of newspaper and magazine articles that my students or I find. They have nothing to do with who won, or lost a particular game. They have everything to do with how the athlete or coach acted on, or off the field.

The "Wall of Fame/Wall of Shame" is found in two places in our school. First it is posted on a bulletin board outside the gym. The second place is on our web site (http://www.fm.cnyric.org/mott_road/pehome.html).

The "Wall of Fame" is full of articles about positive things that happen in the world of sports. For each story, I try to explain it to my students in terms that they can understand. For example, one of the articles posted is about Chris Spielman and his wife’s battle with breast cancer. The article went on to say that Spielman gave up professional football for a year to be able to stay at home to take care of his wife and children. He did not want to give that responsibility to someone else, just so he could continue to do something he loved (play football). His commitment to his family was more important to him than his commitment to football. I explained it to our students by asking them if they ever had to do something, even though they would rather be doing something else that is more "fun?" Almost all of their hands went up. Well now, I knew that they could understand the meaning of the story. They could tie it to something they have experienced.

Another example from the "Wall of Fame" is about James Flint, head basketball coach at the University of Massachusetts. He suspended himself for one game for using "bad language" during a post game press conference. He said that since he sets high standards for his players, he should be expected to meet those same standards.

In my discussion with my students we talked about the fact that rules are for everyone, especially for the people who make the rules. No one should be allowed to break a rule, just because he/she is older than someone else is. I asked the kids what would happen if I made a rule for class, then promptly went into the gym and broke my own rule? Would you listen to me if I told you to sit out for breaking the same rule? They all say "of course not!" Now I know they understand. We’ve now taken something they have seen on television and brought it to their level of reality and understanding.

The "Wall of Shame" contains articles that shows poor behavior, both on and off the field. These stories are explained the same way. One example is about football fans in Philadelphia. They cheered when the ambulance came onto the field to get injured Dallas Cowboy (N.F.L.) receiver Michael Irvin. Instead of cheering the player, they were cheering because he was hurt and couldn't return to the game.

Our discussion was about the fact that players are real people. Everyone needs to remember that players have families that love them. They are just playing a game. While the game is very important, in certain ways of thinking, it is still a game. To cheer an injury is terrible behavior! You should be concerned that the player is all right. You may even want to check on the player later on. I asked my students what would happen if we were playing a game in class and the best player on the other team got hurt? Your team may now have a better chance to "win," but is that what is really important? It certainly gets them all to stop and think for a moment!

Another example was about members of a college football team that were stabbed while they were at a bar in a bad part of town. They were all hospitalized with their injuries. They also missed games because of the injuries. Their coaches told them not to go to this place, because it was in a bad part of town and bad things have happened there before. The players decided to go anyway. The players want to be considered adults. They now have to make "grown-up" decisions. They decided to go against their coaches' advice. They got hurt as a result.

We talked about this one in the context of the kids ever having had their parents tell them that they couldn't have something, or go somewhere? Again, everyone’s hands went up. They may not have liked it at the time, but parents know best. I get the chance to reinforce the fact that they should pay attention to their parents. They have their best interests at heart.

Again, the kids have all been in these situations before. As long as I take the events from the articles and put it in a context that the kids can understand, I’ve got my message across.

We are not trying to create the next Michael Jordan. We are just trying to create healthy movers for a lifetime. The fact is, our students look up to these athletes. As a result, we should take advantage of this and use it to teach traits like fairness, compassion and teamwork. Through this, the kids see what they can learn from other people’s actions. More importantly, through bringing the stories to their level of reality, they begin to see that they are also role models. Their friends are watching what they do in certain situations. They see the influence that their choices have on other kids!

If you have any questions about these activities, or anything else we do, visit our Mott Road Elementary School web site at or contact me directly at twiniecki@fm.cnyric.org

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