On Sportsmanship

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." - Philippians 2:3

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him." - Proverbs 24:17-18

“When you get in the end zone, act like you’ve been there before.” – Paul “Bear” Bryant[1]

Unabashedly, I am a huge sports fan. Athletics has been a central part of my life and my growth as a person. In fact, I would attest that my athletic experiences were probably more formative than my experiences in the classroom.  To touch on but a few life lessons, I learned how to succeed, how to fail, how to lead, and how to follow. I learned the power of resiliency and the efficacy of assiduousness. Consequently, it is with no small degree of dismay that I have watched the worldwide decline of sportsmanship. I must admit, too, that I am fairly appalled at what passes for fandom in today’s culture. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but shouldn’t we be cheering for our team, instead of against our opponent? When did taunting and humiliating your opponent become an acceptable part of American sports? Why are Philadelphia Eagles patrons and Duke’s “Cameron Crazies” considered “good fans”? It seems to me that this strikes at the very heart of the concept of honor that we are trying to impart at HA.  I told the students when we had our Honor Code Ceremony this year, “Honor is not just about not lying, cheating, or stealing; it’s about how you treat others from whom you have nothing to gain.” I believe we can tell a lot about the culture of schools by how they treat their athletic opponents “from whom they have nothing to gain.”

I saw some post on Twitter regarding the football game this Thursday that got me thinking about sportsmanship. This is my first experience with the HA v. Providence football rivalry, but if it’s like any other rivalry, I imagine that things have gotten fairly heated, at times. Monday morning, I addressed our student body about sportsmanship, so I thought it would be a good time to share my thoughts on the matter with the HA community.

As we approach this football game, I hope that you will take the time to reflect on the hard work and dedication that the athletes from both teams have exhibited over the course of the season. The best way to honor our athletes is to exhibit good sportsmanship. Briefly, let me share with you some of my views that I have partially borrowed from Dr. James Garland, the former president of my undergraduate alma mater, Miami University (OH):

·      Good sports treat opposing teams and their fans with respect and courtesy. Good sports are humble when they win. They accept their victories with poise, without gloating or demeaning the other team. Good sports are not rude.

·      Good sports understand that losing is part of athletic competition. They accept their defeats gracefully, without pointing fingers or making excuses. They view their losses as opportunities for growth and further development of their skills.

·      Good sports keep their emotions in check. They understand that stress and pressure are part of athletics, and that the true test of character is when the disappointment, the bitterness, and the frustrations of a game are the greatest.

·      And finally, good sports keep a sense of perspective. They know that the other team is their opponent, not their enemy, and that the game is a contest, not a battle. They know that if they conduct themselves with dignity, they will always walk off the field as winners, no matter what the numbers on the scoreboard may show.

Houston Academy athletics has always epitomized a winning tradition, integrity, a commitment to the academic development of players, and good sportsmanship. I have been incredibly proud of the success of our teams this year, but I have been even more proud of the comportment and enthusiasm of our fans and athletes.  Win or lose, I know we will continue exhibiting good sportsmanship this Thursday and in the rest of our athletic contests.

Go Raiders!

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[1] Also attributed to Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi, Woody Hayes, Joe Paterno, and Barry Sanders’ father, but we’re in Alabama!

Working on the "6 C's of 21st Century Learning": Character

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

This year, the Honor Council at Houston Academy decided to update the Honor Code. While we have a well-established honor code and honor system, the Council felt that we needed to do something tangible to make honor a more visible and vibrant concept in our community.

For the first time, students at HA are taking part in a special ceremony to help reinforce the concept of honor in our community.  To quote from the revised Honor Code:

At the beginning of the school year, during a special honor ceremony, faculty and students declare their honorable intentions and publicly acknowledge their support of the Honor System by signing the following pledge to uphold the Honor Code: “On my honor, I will not violate the Honor Code, and I solemnly pledge to act honorably in all my endeavors as a representative of Houston Academy. My signature affirms my honor.”

To this end, Mrs. Emblom, the Honor Council sponsor, has acquired a leather-bound book that each student will sign, every year at the beginning of the year. Thereby, we will record for posterity our communal pledge of honor.  Two hundred years from now, the children of Houston Academy will be able to look back and view the signatures of the current students who have collectively pledged to make Houston Academy (and the world) a better place. In addition, every time a student in the Upper School at HA complete an assignment, he or she will write or type on his or

her paper, "My signature affirms my honor."

I could not be more proud of what the students on our Honor Council have accomplished, and I am equally proud of our students who have voluntarily made their commitment to uphold high standards of excellence for our community.

Students Sign the Honor Book During the Honor Code Ceremony

Like most of you, I firmly believe that we are obliged to provide students with a firm foundation in moral and ethical character. As a parent, what I hope most for my children is not that they attain academic or athletic prowess, but rather that they be decent, kind, and that they seek to serve others. More precisely, I believe we must teach our students to be honorable. Unfortunately, in many schools, any emphasis on the concept of honor is starkly absent. This is to the detriment of our society.

One need not look any further than the news media to see how a lack of morality and ethics has negatively affected our country. In sports, where many of our children find role models, Lance Armstrong has been stripped of his Tour de France victories because he “doped”; Ryan Braun, the 2011 NL MVP, was suspended for the rest of the 2013 season in July for violating the league’s substance abuse policy; and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick did jail time for gambling and illegal dog fighting. Of course, the Enron, BernieMadoff Ponzi Scheme, and WorldCom scandals in the corporate world have grabbed headlines, and more significantly, have robbed people of their life savings.

In academia, numerous studies have, likewise, shown disturbing trends. According to one prominent study, 70% of students in the United States admit to cheating in one form or another (Gulli, Kohler, & Patriquin). Moreover, it appears to be getting worse. Donald McCabe (1994) of Rutgers University has done research comparing the frequency of cheating in the 1960s to the frequency of cheating in the 1990s. To cite just a few examples from his work, McCabe tells us that the number of college students who admitted to copying someone else’s work has risen from 26% in 1963 to 52% in 1993, and the number of students who admitted to using a “cheat sheet” during a test has risen from 16% to 26% during the same time period.

Of course, the proliferation of technology has made cheating in our schools almost too convenient.  McCabe (2006) tells us that students are using technology to cheat in larger numbers than ever before: In 1999, 10% of students surveyed admitted to copying wholesale off the Internet; by 2005, 40% admitted to doing so. I could cite many more studies that illustrate similar trends.

Fortunately, independent schools like HA have taken the strong step of establishing an Honor System to stem the tide of dishonorable behavior. Consistently, the literature has shown that creating an Honor Code and an Honor System significantly decreases academic dishonesty (Bowers, 1964; Campbell, 1935; Canning, 1956; McCabe & Trevino, 1993; Sierles, 1988; et al.). Perhaps more importantly, however, a well-functioning Honor System helps students to adhere to honorable behavior later in life – well beyond their educational career (Bowers, 1964; Campbell, 1935; Canning, 1956; New England Journal of Medicine, 2005; Sierles, 1988; et al.).

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Moreover, research on effective schools and organizations tells us that giving people a stronger sense of efficacy increases the strength of any organization (Collins, 2001, 2005; Covey, 1992; Fullan, 2001, 2003; Heifetz & Linsky, 2002; Patterson, 2003; Whitaker, 2003; et al.). Furthermore, the research on Honor Codes tells us that the most successful systems centrally involve students in the decision-making process and persistently involve the full participation of the school community in shaping the system. Indeed, with the full support of everyone in the HA community, I believe we are about to embark on a cultural shift that will make an indelible impact on our students and, by extension, the world around us.

If you get a chance, congratulate Sean Christiansen, Claire Duerson, Jacob Beauchamp, Rachel Beverly, and Bailey Spivey. Please take the time to thank our “small group” of Honor Council members for what they have done “to change the world.”

Scott D. Phillipps, Ed.D.