Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. How do athletic programs impact the social life of your school and your community? In what ways are organized sports beneficial at the high school level, and in what ways problematic?

Teaching Suggestion: A discussion of the role of athletics in students’ own school can be tricky because most classes will have a mix of students with varied interests; it might be beneficial to widen the scope to include athletic programs in general. You might suggest that students use the article below or other internet news reports about high school athletics and the culture around high school teams. Students may bring up peer pressure, potential for cliques, and physical danger as potential problems with sports programs. Stress that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.

• This article describes some of the risks football poses for high school athletes and explores why some parents, teachers, and student athletes in a small Pennsylvania town believe the risks are worth taking.

2. What role does social media play in your school’s social life? How important are the posts that you read on social media sites? What would the social life of your school be without social media?