The Math of the Game

Lauren Katz, Anjali Huynh, Gracie Rechkemmer, Pareen Mhatre, WSS Interns

Throwing it back to 2004: a new girl smitten with the popular high school jock asks him for the answer to a math problem. Although he gives her the wrong answer, she thanks him profusely, her enthralled face beaming. This particular jock’s intellectual ability, or lack thereof, is not something to be concerned about.

Mean Girls may not be the best example of what a realistic high school is like, but there is some truth behind the exaggerated scenes. From dumb jocks to clumsy nerds, the high school environment is overwhelmed with stereotype after stereotype regarding athletics and academics. West High is no exception.

Varsity swimmer Rachel Ding ’19 has observed this unspoken categorization.

“At first glance, [others] wouldn’t think that I was particularly athletic,” Ding said. “I think they see that I’m Asian and automatically think, ‘Oh, she’s really smart.’”

Other students have noticed different stereotypes present relating the two categories. Track athlete and baseball player Logan Sims ’17 believes that athletes are not considered as intelligent as others due to involvement with a sport.

“I feel like some people may generalize athletes as maybe not doing as well in academics,” Sims said.

This may be due to an athlete’s division of focus between school and sports instead of 100 percent attention on school, according to basketball player Brianna Faulkner ’18.

“The more athletic people get told that they’re not as smart as less athletic people just because they’re focusing more on working on their sport. [Others] assume that [athletes] are average at school,” Faulkner said.

Pressure from parents and coaches also divides student attention between the two categories.

Spanish teacher and former student-athlete Dave McNair said, “There was pressure from [both] my coaches [and] my parents. My parents pressured me more on the academic side to spend more time with academics. While the coaches didn’t necessarily say, ‘You shouldn’t study,’ there was a lot of pressure to practice longer, harder, more often, and in doing so, I [wasn’t] going to be performing on the academic side.”

Although stereotypes like ‘dumb jock’ may seem harmless, those linking athletic performance and academic ability have been proven to be detrimental to the teenage brain. This brings the “stereotype threat” issue to light. Research from Stanford University shows if a student-athlete believes he or she is viewed as a “dumb jock,” this stereotype may grow to become truth: student-athletes reminded of their jock personas scored 12 percent lower on Graduate Record Examination tests in comparison to non-athletes.

However, despite the existing jock stereotype, student athletes may not be any more academically challenged than their fellow non-athletic classmates.

“As a teacher, I see these kids’ [grades] so I know what their academic performance is, and they’re no different,” McNair said. “Athletes don’t necessarily perform any better or any worse than anybody else that is not an athlete.”

In addition to common stereotype trends, preconceived notions about certain athletic groups exist within the halls of West. The West High POMS team faces discrimination from fellow students due to misconceptions about what they do.

“Every single year, the new girls that are part of the team are automatically put into that [stereotype] and because this is my first year, [others have said] ‘You’re going to change, you’re going to be like them,’” said varsity dancer Belle Parker ’18. “But what’s ‘them,’ like what’s wrong with being one of them?”

Teammate Elle Bode ’18 agreed, saying, “I guess with dance team, not everybody’s into it. We always get made fun of and with other sports, people go to their games. They just get more appreciation than us.”

Significant steps have been taken to eradicate the presence of stereotype threats. Such steps include ensuring that athletic and academic performances remain high. West High requires any students involved in a school-related activity must maintain a C- or higher throughout all their classes in order to continue participation, ensuring that athletes maintain academic standards in addition to athletic performance.

“A lot of our coaches and people we work out with always tell us that we’re student-athletes, not athletic students, so always put your school work first,” Faulkner said. “I think that’s always important to remember.”

So-called nerds are also branching out to become rising sports stars as well. Ivy League teams in various sports were once dismissed as easy-to-beat, unathletic nerds, but are now upsetting powerhouse athletic programs–most recently when Yale dominated Baylor in the NCAA tournament.

There are several methods that can be used to halt stereotypes. Varsity swimmer Amy Yan ’17 believes that working together as a team has helped defeat any potential stereotype threats.

“I’ve never felt judged by my classmates and friends who are strong academically for doing a sport, nor have I ever felt judged by my teammates for sometimes prioritizing other things above swimming,” Yan said. “We help each other out and in a way, we’re a team inside and outside of the pool.”

Overall, West seems to have a positive influence on the elimination of stereotype threats.
“I think that [stereotypes] are going away more just because of how talented West High [students are],” Faulkner said. “I can’t say for other high schools…[but] I think it’s going away just as West High goes because there’s a lot of smart people that are able to do both [athletics and academics].”

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In other words, athletes are more prone to identifying themselves as jocks than intellects.