'Win at all costs' mentality does more harm than good

The message is this — it is good to compete and to strive to win, but not at the expense of creating a physically and emotionally unhealthy learning environment.

The SMUHSD push for the core curriculum, the development of the seven-period day and the elimination of teachers that coach mirrors the "win at all costs" approach we see in youth sports. The core curriculum puts all students on the fast track to meet University of California required courses by the end of their second year. Developing a seven-day period allows students to take more courses that will make them more competitive with other students when applying for college. The goal of having students get into the best schools in the nation and for all students to be on path to qualify for four-year colleges right out of high school are laudable goals. Similarly, the goal of having kids on a path to earn college scholarships or be all-state in their respective sports are laudable goals. The question is, at what costs are we going to push these goals?

One only has to look as far as what happened to youth sports when the "win at all costs" approach steamrolled over creating healthy learning environments. The teachers at all of the SMUHSD campuses have been screaming this message to anyone who will listen, or pretend to listen.

One Positive Alliance trained coach who is trying to combat the win at all costs approach to winning said, "I see families that are so obsessed with their kids being the best that they do more than is healthy. There's the Type-A, let's win-win-win parent who thinks if x amount of games and practice is good, three times must be better." In our district, there are already students overextended to dangerous levels. Is it possible that some parents will say, "If three high-level, high-pressure classes are good, won't four be even better?" You bet!

Not only is our district board promoting this approach to education, but by getting rid of teachers who coach they are heading the athletic programs over to the "club" coaches who promote this "win at all costs" approach to youth sports.

Columnist C.W. Nevius recently wrote about the increased use of methamphetamine in the suburbs. In the article, Dr. Alex Stalcup, a nationally recognized expert on methamphetamine addiction, says, "What we are seeing is young people on the fast track. They think they need speed to maintain their high-energy lifestyle. They're working 60-70 hours a week. And the way they do it is to stay lit."

Of course the students of the SMUHSD aren't all destined for this same fate. What we will see, however, is what we presently see in youth sports — an unhealthy environment that promotes outcomes (the grade) over learning, cheating over learning from mistakes, performance-enhancing drugs over second place and several more tradeoffs that these kids will live to regret.

Steve Sell is a teacher, coach, athletic director and Positive Coaching Alliance Trainer at Aragon High school.