Editorial - October 2003

Arguments against cheerleading idealistic

Published October 27, 2003

It’s one of the hottest issues school board member have faced all year — the return of middle school cheerleading.

The school board hasn’t taken a position yet, but the opinions are coming hard and heavy from all sides.

 All four Lincoln County middle school principals spoke out against middle school cheerleading during a Board of Education policy committee meeting last week.

“It needs to be inclusive, and you can’t make cheerleading inclusive. It’s the characteristics of the beast,” said Bobby Harkey, principal of Pumpkin Center Middle. The principals argue that cheerleading goes against the middle school concept that calls for a noncompetitive environment.

Their arguments reflect good and noble motives but are rather idealistic in the competitive culture we live in today. Our free-enterprise society purposely puts pressures on young people so they can succeed in a competitive world. You can see it at first-grade soccer contests and Sunday School bake sales. Who can do it best? Look at all the subteens in horse shows and “Little Miss” competitions.

When Lincoln County abandoned middle school cheerleading back in 1989, school officials had a new vision about the “middle school” that soon replaced “junior high” here and all across the state. The concept called for an inclusive environment that put every student on the same footing. But somehow athletic events for male students continued, and are thriving here and all across the state today. Cheerleading continues today in almost every other middle school in North Carolina.

School Board members who will decide the issue could certainly find a high moral ground to oppose cheerleading on the basis of inordinate pressure on young, delicate personalities. But that position would be at odds with the real, always competitive world of today.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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