123 Main StreetSportstown
British Columbia
V2A 1W3

May 16,

2011

Mr. Kleats
Basketball Coach
123 Main Street,Sportstown, British Columbia
V2A 1W3

Dear Mr. Kleats,

I am the father of Joey Joyce, one of your players on your basketball team. First of all, I would like to thank you for putting the time in to be these boys’ coach. I know that I cannot set a lot of time away from my work to be with the team so I fully appreciate your role as their coach.

Unfortunately, this does not express the meaning of this letter. As a relatively frequent attendee of your team’s games and practices, I have noticed some concerns that relate to the performance and attitude of your team.

I realize that you have other responsibilities outside of basketball, but I have noticed that you are often late for games and practices. The concern I am voicing is the fact that this doesn’t encourage integrity and responsibility in the young players. I have also noticed that practices are fairly unorganized and don’t focus on the players’ technique. I’m sure that this is just because of the lack of time to set up constructive drills. Perhaps you could find an assistant coach to help you with time management and help organize practices. This would help relieve the stress of having to rush other responsibilities you may have.

Another concern that has brought itself to my attention is the way in which you address the aspect of winning. Do you think since these kids are only grade 7 that it is important to set them up for the future with a positive outlook on not only the objective of the game, but of the fluidity of a team environment? These kids need to learn about sportsmanship and gain a healthy competitive attitude. Also, I have seen that certain members of your team play more frequently than others. As grade 7 players, it's important that they grasp the concept of integration and a humble sense of pride for their potential future athletic careers in high school. I recommend that you ask the players how they feel about sports and work to build their genuine spirit of the game by establishing all the players as equals. They all deserve a chance. 

As a father yourself, I’m sure you understand these concepts. I just wanted to let you know that these concerns need to be addressed.

I look forward to speaking with you in the future and continuing to assist you in any way I can.

Regards,

Joel Joyce    

An Illusion of Success - A Corrupt Education System

Every year, grade 12 students are embraced by post secondary opportunities. Every student waits in silent anticipation for this glorious moment for it indicates their readiness and maturation as adults in a vast world. Through rigorous academic trials, lessons on life skills and global perspective, senior students are pounded with the abilities and knowledge to thrive and prosper in the distant future.

Senior students at Princess Margaret Secondary are so well prepared for their upcoming university and college challenges they need not to pay attention in class. For many, indulgence in their doodled and drool covered papers is a vivid sanctuary of their lives to come. Everyone is just so intelligent. Give them a due date and they’ll hand in their cunning reports of having a doctor’s appointment, having to drive a younger sibling to school to make sure they excel as they have, or perhaps that they needed to finish a level on they’re latest video game to maintain the functionality of their reflex arcs. All in all, these seniors are ready. They are above trivial high school politics. They think, no, they know that the ludicrous attempts teachers make to discipline students are futile. For what do they need to be disciplined for? They obviously don’t need to be, they’re almost adults! They can take care of themselves. If they can convince liquor store clerks that they’re 19, they can convince the education system that they’re ready to graduate.

On the other hand, to test this theory is a different story. The vision of graduation is an illusion. That’s the point of school deadlines really. Fundamentally, that’s what they’re doing, creating a mirage of educational success whereas it’s actually a barren desert with absolutely nothing but cold sand blowing over the horizon. Teachers create this hallucination by creating loose deadlines where students can easily get away with not doing their work and put it away for another day. This course of action ultimately sets universities up perfectly financially and students up emotionally. Students pay thousands and thousands of dollars to further build up their ridiculous egos only to flunk out in their first semester. This process is effective because it allows graduates to see the world for what it really is in an abrupt fashion, quite like a punch to the stomach; they’re not going to forget it.

Corruption in the education system is working. Students are raised and educated inefficiently because of mainly, lack of discipline. This allows post-secondary institutions to open graduates' eyes leaving a lasting scar that will teach them a lesson. This is what young adults are emptying their wallets for, life lessons. Money well spent.