What are some high schools thinking? Some high schools around the nation are lowering or have already lowered the Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements for their student-athletes, and some go as low as 1.6 (a “D” average). This is absolutely absurd to me. I watched a show on ESPN about this and it left me fuming. I cannot believe that schools are so lazy to teach their pupils. They are indirectly saying: “Students struggle so we are not going to work to get them better.”

Some schools will tell you that they are doing it to improve the graduation rate of the district, and others will tell you that they are doing it so that the students can play sports instead of being on the streets doing what could be criminal acts or joining gangs. I’ll tell you what I think: They are being lazy.

Look, I understand some kids would be out on the streets if it were not for sports, I am one of the biggest supporters in youth sports but high school sports only go so far in an individual’s life. I am also a big supporter in high standards of excellence in the classroom. After graduation with a 1.6 GPA what happens next in that student’s life? They cannot go to college on that. Most colleges hold a minimum acceptance standard of a 2.0 GPA with SAT test scores as well. The schools are setting up these students for failure after high school.

If the schools lower their standards on the students, then the students lower theirs as well. They are kids; the majority of them will not work harder than they have to.

Most of these athletes, especially after ‘graduating’ with a ‘D’ average in high school, will never play sports again. So what will become of their lives? Well, with that GPA, no college, and a minimum wage dead-end job most likely. The message the schools are sending to these kids is that they are too stupid, and the schools do not want to help them because they are lazy so they will just lower their education standards so they do not have to work as hard. This makes the school or district administrators look extremely lazy to me and they are not doing their jobs. Their job is to EDUCATE the kids. The majority of Americans want to see better education standards but this is NOT the way to show it.

If you really want to see a student succeed in life, get them in a library, have them study, and they need to show up to school every day. It is that simple. They need to have encouragement, HIGH goals, and a positive influence in their life. I get that a lot of kids have broken homes and it is very hard to get the kids to come to school but teachers need to be mentors inside the class for them. With the same token, the teachers cannot do it all, parents play the biggest roles and friends with a positive influence do as well.

This whole subject has made me think that I need to start a program right here in Carson City that will aim to get students to go to school and strive for high grades so that they will have an easier life when high school is finished. If a student succeeds in high school, it becomes much easier for them to make a successful transition to college and real life. It is wrong that a school can accept being below average.

We cannot forget that kids are the future of this country, and if we deem being “below average” as acceptable, then that is what this country has to look forward to: Below Average.

— Writer Chris Graham is a play-by-play baseball announcer for Western Nevada College. He can be reached at wncvoice@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter here.