Bleacher Report Has a Head Start On STEM Public Awareness Initiative

Sports is an integral part of the American lifestyle. It is an integral part of education.

There are about four broad purposes of sports, according to the American Sports data website:

• It provides children with "fun" and instant gratification;

• It fulfills what social psychologists call the "affiliative" need—friendship, and a sense of belonging;

• It offers the near-term prospect of healthier minds and bodies through physical exercise;

• For the longer term, its cumulative benefits hold the promise of those favorable "outcomes" associated with youth development.

Another website cites ten good reasons to engage young Americans in sports.

By participating in youth sports , the young athlete will:

1. Develop and become proficient at the various sports skills.

2. Develop skills needed to socialize with their peers as well as adults.

3. Develop independence and confidence.

4. Develop a sense of achievement, which helps develop a positive self-image.

5. Develop leadership skills and qualities.

6. Learn how to cooperate and compete.

7. Develop agility, coordination, endurance, flexibility, speed, and strength.

8. Develop the ability to make decisions and accept responsibilities.

9. Learn to understand and express emotions, imagination, and appreciation for what the body can do.

10. Develop an interest in continuing sports participation as an adult.

On a television screen in the Martin Luther King building of Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas, I saw President Obama announcing the Educate to Innovate initiative in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

I was impressed, since I was among the hundreds of professors and administrators who visited Washington, DC earlier this month to discuss ideas in the STEM professions.

Most of all, I am pleased that this major sports website has a page titled "Sports and STEM."

This page will help in creating public awareness about the use of STEM in discussing, interpreting, and analyzing sports data, among other important related issues.

So, in agreement with the national call to action by the President of the United States, and others, I urge you to become cognizant of this crisis.

I encourage you to write and post your responses, blending, when possible, your analysis, descriptions, and interpretations of sports in conjunction with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Recently, there was an article on neuromuscular dentistry and how developments in the area are enhancing performance of athletes at all levels. That's a Sports and STEM area.

One of the television channels has a Sport Science telecast, which so many students enjoy.

Now, with the addition of the Bleacher Report "Sports and STEM" page, there is no doubt in my mind that public awareness will be increased, and some people just may delve to increase their knowledge and understanding of the area.

There are reports tagging the times we live in as a "quiet crisis." Surely, we want to hear and respond to this call to action in education and public awareness.

What's more, our national security is connected to our competence in the STEM professions. So, don't turn a "deaf ear" to this call to action.

Get involved.

What can you do?

Well, you can begin to support many of your arguments and discussions in sports with supporting data from science, technology, mathematics, statistics, and engineering.

Try it! You might like it.

White House Press Release

Xerox Executive named to STEM Board