Posted on 01/13/2014 7:38:36 AM PST by Altura Ct.
A university learning specialist has received death threats and hateful messages after she exposed shockingly low academic levels among revenue athletes the University of North Carolina.
Mary Willingham found that between eight and ten per cent of college’s football and basketball players had a reading level of a third grader.
By studying eight years of test scores from University of Carolina’s revenue sports players, she found that a majority had a reading level between fourth and eighth grade.
‘We may as well go over to the elementary school up the street and let the fourth-graders and third-graders in here,’ she told CNN.
Ms Willingham looked at 183 revenue sports players at the UNC between 2004 and 2012, and found that between eight and 10 per cent read below fourth grade level and 60 per cent between fourth and eighth grade level.
Ms Willingham also discovered that up to 25 per cent of basketball and football athletes did not have the reading level to study at a community college, let alone at a university.
In the two days which have passed since her findings were published as part of a wider investigation by CNN, Ms Willingham has received four death threats and 30 'alarming messages'
‘Not people who disagree, people who put in the subject or body (of the e-mail) straight-up hate speech,’ she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
At least 20% of the population is functionally illiterate (can’t read beyond a fifth grade level).
’ Our sons were reading at college level by the time they were in fifth grade. I’m not sure why. I read to them, they have a high IQ.’
More diverse households don’t do that sort of thing.
$10 says not a single death threat was written in cursive.
Its not just at UNC... it is across the board
While in graduate school at a major university, I had a job, actually there were several of us, running a mandatory study hall for football freshmen. We never had a problem with them. We also followed their grades and arranged tutors when grades dropped. This was in the mid-sixties and there were no black studies or other make believe courses.
We ran a tight ship and I can guarantee you they could all read. Out of about 75 we only lost two or three that couldn’t do course work.
These are college students! Kinda tells me that they are not in college to study. They are there because they bring prestige and money to the school.
Do they get a degree? What’s it worth?
I’m betting the baseball players weren’t even part of the study. It’s not a revenue sport.
It is in college. Go Gamecocks!
Reminds me of the interview I saw after a Bull’s win. The subject of the interview was Steve Kerr, of the Bulls. In the course of the interview Kerr stated, “How could we lose when Michael and I combined for 60 points”?
Kerr had contributed 4 of those 60 points.
“..This was in the mid-sixties.....”
Correction: “This was in the mid-fifties”
my how time flies!!
Scratching the surface.
The last outfit I worked for underwent 2 different hiring phases for a ‘delivery driver’; it was an enlightening experience, to state the least. One gal actually came in and asked, “This doesn’t require a driver’s license, does it?” (the ad stated that little tidbit). She then went on to state she was suspended for DUII the month prior and walked out the door, leaving us completely bewildered (true story).
I’ve looked at the jobs reports for the past 5 years and wondered what the actual percentage of ‘jobs’ were actually ‘turnover’.
Color me jaded: I fully expect an addition to our collection of ‘anti-discriminatory’ offenses within the coming years...
‘Education Discrimination’.
It’s ‘not fair’, right? /s
There would be more threats, but most can’t write, so they’re stuck.
It’s called The Carolina Way.
When this stuff really hits the fan UNC will be (should be) forced to vacate about 5-10 years worth of football and basketball games. That would include two NCAA titles for the hoops team.
With UNC a media darling, especially ESPN, look for a cover up or a quick excuse from the NCAA that this wasn’t a lack of institutional control.
If this were any other school, save Duke, this would have already happened.
No one denies that the problem of poorly educated college athletes exists at almost every university (Stanford may be the exception) that participates in major college athletics but most have not been as hypocritical about the situation as had UNC. For decades the UNC Athletic Department trumpeted the claim that its student/athletes were far better prepared for college than those at other schools - say Clemson, for instance. Now, as events unfold, that claim was false.
It is one thing to admit poorly prepared students to your university but its another to claim you don’t and then be discovered as having done so.
A great many of them simply don't belong in a university classroom. One and done is the rage now, and while it makes a joke of the college-is-the-best-thing-for-everybody scam, it's what is best for most of those dullards who probably couldn't get a decent job anywhere if they couldn't bounce a basketball or carry a football.
Yes. The Golf, Tennis and Swimming athletes actually make pretty good students - of course they don't make much money for their schools but whose counting ?
Every time I hear a live interview with a star athlete, I cringe.
I went to a one room school in rural Wisconsin.
None of them can speak as well as all of us could at the end of the 3rd grade.
I’m assuming the death threats were verbal and not written.
Great schadenfreude over this UNC FAIL.
Baseball is the thinking man’s sport.
.
Image how many more he would have scored if he had completed college!
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