Should our Schools teach fishing as a sport?

Since our schools teach our kids the sport of football, baseball, basket ball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, golf and just about every other sport that one can think of, should our schools teach our kids the sport of fishing, one of the oldest sports known to man?

It really seems strange that our schools are "not teaching" this to our kids today! WHY NOT? If you think about it, it's one of the purest and oldest sports that a kid can learn or do. They can learn how to be completive; they can learn sportsmanship, and they can do it all without the need for using drugs to enhance their abilities to be really good at it! What more could a parent ask for?

It would help the kids to understand the "balance" between man, fish and nature and how everything relates to the "bigger picture" in life. Can anyone explain how the sport of football, baseball, basket ball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, and golf can do that?

If you think that fishing shouldn't be taught as a sport in our schools, will you tell us why?

So what do you think people, since we have several teachers on our board, it should very informative to hear their thought on this issue too (come on elkrun, we both can probably agree on this one )

No one should get too offended about this thread, because we all love our this sport so much!


Cowlitzfisherman

ya that makes sense we have overcrowded schools that are underfunded
but hey lets teach kids fishing
jeez
i suppose you think elementary kids should be taught how to roll their own too

Nice try cfm.... only fishing reports from now on.

Fishing today was great! My deer is cooling nicely in the garage, I just finished a fresh alder cooked salmon for lunch. Now I'm sitting back to watch the seahawks.

I hope everyone else has as nice a day.

CFM,

No, not as a required course anyway. If a school can afford to offer it as an elective, then that's fine. However, it's not the primary responsibility of public education to ensure that every child knows how to "play" every elective sport or game someone might think important.

The purpose of the public schools is to teach children how to learn so that they might make their way in this world as adult citizens. That no longer requires the specific skills of hunting and fishing, altho hunting and fishing are certainly attributes that enhance many lifestyles. As does football, basketball, etc. Public schools have already been saddled with many requirements that cut in to "learning how to learn" the basic skills necessary for successful living. Of course, that drags in the topic of critical parenting that doesn't get done on behalf of all too many kids - and become a whole 'nuther thread.

Then again, it would be nice to have an abundant supply of very young kids, with their excellent eyesight, tying those size 18 and 20 flies for us oldtimers who can barely thread them on a leader, even with coke-bottle reading glasses!

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo

I agree with you about it being a "required course"! But why shouldn't it be offered just like football, baseball, basket ball, tennis, volleyball, soccer, golf and just about every other sport that one can think of? It's not really going to cost that much more, but it would give the parents a chance to choose what sport they want their kids to enjoy with what money is there.

Cowlitzfisherman

I'd like it to happen. It would be the only sport that I would be able to kick a$$ at!

As an elementary PE teacher this is something that I've tried in the school system before but it was alomost ENTIRELY out of my pocket. I taught the class in the art of fly tying and basic casting. We went into jig tying and basic rigging set ups. Unfortunetly I couldn't arrange a field trip. Liability issues. I also taught this to middle school students. I now teach basic fly casting but it is on recess time only. When I taught fly tying I did get some local fly shops to donate vises and what not. You just have to get out there and hustle for donations. So, yes, I would love to see this as part of the curriculum. Lifetime hobbies would get more people off their hineys.

~steelymann~

Oregon State University offered a steelhead fishing class and a fly fishing class as recreational sports a couple years back. Don't know if that still stands. If I lived in Oregon, that would be a convincing reason for me to attend that school.

If it's in PE class thats fine. I don't think the taxpayers should be supporting any after school sports, even if it is fishing. We send our kids to school to learn. I don't pay my taxes so that 1/100,000 might make the pros for a year or two before they get hurt. Neighboring school district was talking about cutting out all extra-curricular activities if a bond/levy didn't pass. Good. They shouldn't be there anyways!!

There was a fishing class in the highschool I went to 20 years ago... It was an after school deal but at least it was offered to us young uns..

So I am in 9th grade and I go to Leota Junior High in Wooodinville. I think it would be awesome to have it avaliable at school. Wheather it be an elective as a fine arts class maybe?? or an after school club. Maybe with fishing they could mix in outdoors and hiking and survival in the woods or something to divide them up into semesters or trimester i.e. fishing the first semester hiking/survival the second semester. I think CFM is correct in saying it should and that it would be good. Plus it might even take there minds off stuff (atleast it does for me) and help them relax. It would be aweosme to have it even avaliable. They have after school arts, drill team and even folk guitar as a credits class ( not folk music though) all they do is listen to music and play the guitar so why not let kids relax and fish. I think it would be an exelent idea....oh well thats my .02

i am with fisherman8989 on that one. it would be nice to actually learn something that you want too. and for the kids that dont get the chance to go do things like that it would be a way to finally do that. i am all go for the fishing in school idea.

I am enrolled at Humboldt State university in Eureka, CA and I am planning on majoring in fisheries. any way we have two fishing related classes offered. one is called fishing the Great northwest. where diffrent guides from across North California come in and talk about the techniques they use for Salmon and Steelhead and Trout, the class also takes various fishing related field trips such as fiahing the Klamath River area for half pounders. It is an awesome class. The other class is begginning fly fishing don;t know two much about this calls as it was full when i went to register for it.

I taught shop for thirty years. The days of elective classes are all but gone in most school districts. The emphasis is on teaching to pass the WASL tests, and college preparation. As the elective teachers retire, districts close the pre-vocational and vocational classes. The best chance for a program like CFM mentioned would be through an after school club with a volunteer teacher (unpaid). I ran a fishing club, taught fly tying, rod building and would take the kids fishing on the weekends. Great fun, but had to end it because the district didn't want the liability.We even built a few muzzel loaders from kits and refinished gun stocks until someone decided that we were teaching kids how to make weapons in school. The good old days ...................!

Dougs got it right really...

However, I'll let all my fellow high schoolers on to something. If you can find a teacher who will volunteer their time a few hours after school, you CAN make a Fishing Club at your school.

Me and a few friends were thinking about it earlier last year, but what would we do? Tie leaders and teach knots? What about actual fishing time? I think if we put our heads together we could find a fairly simple way to make a time consuming (and fun) way to get actual fishing time AND have time to pick each others brains.

Time wise, it really just wasn't worth it, but we do take a lot of people out to local lakes and rivers for fun, trying to get as many people into the sport as possible.

So basically, its not like its illegal... It CAN happen. There just wasn't a point. Unless you get someone whos willing to teach like.. Fly fishing/tying lessons...

Curtis

I have got the answer to this dilemma. All of the conservatives out there, this is your chance to counter-act the influence of those liberal, unionized teachers. Volunteer to teach a class/club at your local school. Write up a class outline and present it to the administration. Make sure you include a field trip to Walmart so the kids can see were the Evergreen Freedom Foundation gets its money.

Teaching fishing as a sport? I don't think so, mostly because most fishing involves no competition. Moreover, it is a primarily solo activity, meaning no teamwork is involved. In my experience, the most successful high school activities will include at least one of the two qualities listed above.

Team sports such as football, volleyball, and the like attract the most interest due to being both competitive and requiring extensive teamwork. In the last few decades, even inherently non-competitive activities such as band and orchestra have been turned into competitive activities.

Despite fitting the dictionary definition of a sport, fishing will be relegated to clubs and interest groups (along with the Math Club and FBLA) because it is very difficult to convice school administrators that it has the necessary teamwork and competitive aspects that would fit in with the rest of the school's athletic program. Face it, despite our derbys and the attempt at competition in the bass community, the competitive aspect of fishing simply isn't for kids. The equipment needed to be competitive is simply too expensive.

There are community college classes available that teach the basics of fishing. Of course, there are clubs that people can join that do a good job of teaching about fishing. Our K-12 schools ought to concentrate on the basics like writing and reading and math as kids are coming out of them almost illiterate. Kids are learning alot about politically correct issues but not much about reading the newspaper or keeping track of a checkbook.

Here's the deal fellas. By the way, great question CFM..
My district offers teachers a small stipend for conducting activities with students during their "duty free" time in the day (lunch). A buddy of mine taught a class on fishing his first year of teaching. I've spoken with my principal and I'll be starting one in the spring. Several of the classrooms at my school are doing the salmon rearing/releasing project where we raise and release smolt into local rivers. Having a fishing class/fishing ethics class piggybacks the salmon fry unit perfectly. The first week I plan on teaching students the salmon lifecycle. Upon completion of learning about the fish we will move on to ethics. Students will learn how to read regulations, discern the difference between hatchery vs. wild fish, understand how quotas are established, etc..... The final two weeks will consist of fun activities such as casting, feeling a bite, reeling in a fish, different presentations, river vs. lake fishing etc.
I can't wait. I have always wanted to see more kids get hooked on fishing. Hopefully this class will get students pumped up about fishing and teach them some valuable knowledge as well. There's nothing like seeing a 10 year old kid reel in his first fish. It would be wonderful if more and more children could experience that thrill. Hopefully I can aid in that experience....
-Cuttie
Oh yeah, this course will be offered during students' recess time. No "curricular instructional time" is lost whatsoever. So to those of you that complain that our schools should be focusing on curricular activities, rest assured that I am still teaching kids to read, write, and do arithmetic.

"I hope you get plenty of help from the parents. When it's all said and done, it's still the parents who need to make sure that Johnny can read, write and do math. "

And fish, for that matter.

I don't see where fishing fits into the PE part of the equation. Physical education should (IMHO) focus on activities that promote teamwork, competition, sportsmanship, and fitness, the latter being something that seems to be lost in this discussion.

I wouldn't mind them offering electives, though, or a fishing club, and I'd contribute directly to that if my kids were involved..maybe even if they weren't.

It also wouldn't be much of a stretch to include some anadromous fish science in the biology and/or natural science curriculum, either.

This is a most interesting thread, but it lacks a little structure. Everybody is talking about introducing fishing to kids at the high school level, but through different methods. Each method would have different requirements and, hence, different hurdles in getting it implemented.

I see three different methods being discussed:

1. Sport. Like football, volleyball, golf, or track. An after-school activity where the "fishing team" would practice and compete against other teams--presumably from other schools. I see it being fairly simple to set up with the school, but fairly tough to actually execute. Obviously the school isn't going to have any part of boats so it would be a bank fishing show. The biggest obstacles, that I see, are timing the school's season to coordinate with a local fishery. If it is to be a fall quarter sport, the salmon fishing is good in the rivers up until mid-October--usually. Then what? If winter steelies don't happen to come in until December, do Napavine, Castle Rock, and Kelso bus their kids up to Hoodsport for Chums? Obviously there's way to work around these problems, but they're probably not optimal situations--plus these hurdles look even larger to a school administration when contemplating establishing a program.

2. School class. I like this option best. Offer a class (for actual credit) wherein the student would be taught and tested on various disciplines of fishing. Reading and following regulations; fish identification; selecting proper tackle; implementing various fishing techiniques; fish habitat and life cycles; and proper fishing etiquette (when casting lead at the boat that just anchored in front of you, use the lightest amount necessary to actually land in the boat, this minimizes the injury to boater--you don't want him unconscious, making him unable to move his boat). <--that was a joke. There could be classwork, and out of class assignments. You could easily formulate written instruction and testing to go along with actual fishing type work. I don't know what the law says, but it would seem if you offer it as a class, the school would have to make reasonable efforts to provide the equipment--like shop or Home Ec. Otherwise you're offering the class only to "the rich"--as the critics would say--because it would cost a couple hundred buck to get a basic setup, plus some tackle.

3. School Club. Easily the most practical and easiest to establish. Join or don't--it's up to you, but if you join you bring your own gear. A faculty member has to be the official advisor, but the advisor could recruit help--experienced fisher folks. There'd be a few insurance issues concerning the sharing of transportation. But, since the subject of fishing isn't a hotly contested activity, there shouldn't be any real opposition to setting the club up or using the school's paper and bulletin boards for announcements. Of course no hooks or filet knives would be allowed in classrooms but I'm sure there could be a safe place to lock those items up. Sheeesh, I can't believe I just said that--you can bet it will be a real issue if any school tries to set this up!!

Anyway, let the discussion continue! I would just suggest that you specify as to what type of a program you're addressing. Tight lines!

Not good, bad.

There's more to school than reading, writing, and arithmetic. School without football and basketball games? Bah!

I guess everyone could just sit around and smoke dope all afternoon........think of the money we'd save as taxpayers.

CFM,

Great idea. But why wait for the schools to do a job we can do? Why not take a kid fishing and let the schools worry about what they can do best? I may not be not much of a teacher but I can still share my enthusiasm and love of this sport with anyone who is interested. And from what I see, there are still a lot more kids interested in learning to fish than there are "fishermen" willing to teach them. Best part too is whenever I am fortunate enough to take a eager young lad fishing, by the end of the day I usually feel like I was the one getting schooled.

When I was in fourth grade I had a teacher that taught fly tying after school. That was pretty cool.

Grandpa you are way off base on this one. You need to put an end to those tired conservative clichés and get out to see what is happening in your local schools. Both of my kids graduated with honors from the public school system . My daughter is working toward a Masters in Architecture and my son has a double major in Engineering and Accounting. Both could balance your checkbook or do a brake job on your truck, thanks to an outstanding group of dedicated teachers. AuntyM has it right , the key to educating a child is parenting, with an emphasis on the importance of education. My only problem is my son is beginning to talk like a Republican, Oh where did I go wrong?

Yeticaster says;

"Teaching fishing as a sport? I don't think so, mostly because most fishing involves no competition"

I don't who you fish with, or where you fish, but most of the fishermen that I know are extremely completive! Why do you think that they get up at dark thirty to be the first one in the hole? Why do you think that they buy bigger and better boats, reels, and all the other toys that we use? Why do you think they go crazy about snaggers? The big difference is, fishermen don't need steroids, or dugs to be "completive" as so many of the other of the sports so often do.

Grandpa

I am not talking about taking time away from any student during school hours! This is all to occur after the normal leaning periods are over (after school). But maybe it will show to be the best, lets see what everryone else says about that one!

fromcuthroattosteelies


Wader
Excellent discussion!! Great points for discussion! I will add my thoughts after everyone else has made there own impute to this thread. You are really thinking like I am thinking, and I hope to add to what you have just said.

Mooch

Good comments, and I am sure you are doing all that you can do Buy I also know that we can do more! This is a good thread that bring fishermen together, and that should also have some good results when is done!

I know that we all we all want the best for our kids, so lets not knock each other on this one! This one is truly for the kids, and we need to think of it that way. I am not going to bait anyone up on this thread! This is truly to see what we can do for kids who can't get the chance to have their fathers or grandfathers teach them what we have been lucky enough to learn. Everyone's impute has been far batter that I thought it would be, so lets hear some more!

Thanks for keeping this one on line!!

Cowlitzfisherman

My son's biology teacher had a excursion to Pine Lake, giving the kids extra credit for trout fishing so they could disect fish, instead of frogs.... I had to assist on that one!!!

Doug P: I am all for kids fishing. Anyone who knows me understands how committed I am to that. I am all for schools teaching that fishing is good. I am all for schools teaching kids about fish and fishing. I have three daughters who are all very articulate and well educated (public schools). No offense to all the good teachers out there but test scores in Washington aren't very good to say the least. My kids were all taught that fishing is bad in the Shoreline school district. PETA people were allowed to come into the school and lobby against fishing. So if any school can put together any program promoting fishing as a good thing I am all for it. I taught all three girls to fish responsibly and also taught them to balance their checkbooks and they are all doing well in college. Parents are an integral part of education for sure. No conservative or liberal stuff here, just common sense.

Grandpa: The trouble with common sense is, it's not too common. But this time we are in full agreement. I doubt fishing will ever be a mainstream course, but it sure wouldn't hurt if it was. I dang near flunked out of high school, in part, because about all I could think about was fishing. I skipped several times to go fishing. Later, when I moved to a college near my favorite fishing area, I made the Deans Roll every quarter. What's my point? I think many a boy and girl might look forward to school a bit more if they had some classes they really looked forward to, like Trout Fishing 101.

I often feel sorry for the kids in Cherry Valley school. It sits on a hillside overlooking the Cherry Valley hunting area and, beyond that, the Snoqualmie River. Man how those kids must daydream while watching a field full of hunters and their dogs, on a fall morning.

I used to beg my brother and Dad to take me fishing when I was a kid and I think I actually convinced them 3 times in my entire growing up. Once I even got to float the mighty Skookumchuck!

In the last 4 years, thanks to my best friend taking the time to teach me, I fish a lot! I'm taking my son out and he's almost 7 and learning to fish and loving it.

He wants a rod and baitcasting reel for his birthday even. Definately time well spent together and he will be fishing for a long time to come. He even stomached several trips this summer to Westport and can brag that he never puked. LOL

They had logging as a credit class where I went to school (podunk Elma) not too long ago, so fishing isn't that far off. LOL

Would be a good elective. Fishing has taught me, among other things, patience, concentration, and determination. I still can't tell a rock from a fish, but I keep going out there and trying.

i didnt think anyone else did that, i almost flunked to.

Skywalker,
Fishing is very much part of what we teach kids. Old school PE is all about sports. In this day in age, our goal is to make kids less sedentary and fishing is a LIFETIME activity that gets kids out of the house and into the woods. We have enough community support that lends itself to the team atmosphere but what we need to keep our kids from being obese and SOMETHING they can do and like for the rest of their lives. Kids now a days have no hobbies that require any kind of movement. Fishing gets them going. On top of getting fishing going in our school, I'd love to get a rcok climbing wall.

~steelymann~

My grades have gone strait up since I started fishing actually.

I almost flunked out of JUNIOR HIGH! lol I just didnt care, got to stressed out to the point where I just stopped caring...

About 8th grade I got more into fishing and hunting, and my grades slowly started to go up. Now I fish (usually) at least once a week, and I'm maintaining about a 3.0... I'm going to college (using Running Start), and I'm shootin for a 3.5 or better.

But yeah, my point is that everyone has a hobby, whether they know what it is or not, that helps reduce stress. Mine (like everyone here), is the outdoors, and my grades went up the more I got into them.

I am all for a fishing class or extra-curricular club, and I think CtS's is the best plan I've heard so far. If you need any volunteers for that, I'd love to contribute.

Curtis

P.S. As for PE??? hahaha THATS A JOKE! In Freshman P.E. we had to take WRITTEN TESTS on the sports we played, no joke. It was the most BS. Me and my best friend were number one on all the sports we did, we ran the fastest miles etc... We got B's. The only time our grades went up in PE were our sophomore years, when we both did Cross Country.