OT: UGA Admin. Standards
I'm sure Georgia isn't the only one...especially when it comes to bending admission standards to get an athlete in a revenue sport into school.
I think UGA deserves credit for helping Mitchell learn how to read. He used to be illiterate before he sought out help.
Now he's publishing children's books and encouraging others to read.
Good dude. Who knows where he would be if he didn't have the opportunities afforded to him by UGA.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
He learned while he was out for the season due to injury.
I mean sure the school had a motive to make sure he did well, but it's not like he just did the bare minimum. According to the article below, it seems like he sure does have a passion for reading and educating others.
I doubt he would join a book club full of 40-60 year old women if he didn't actively want to learn.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:50 PM ^
March 21st, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
Alright, I know you're kind of a douchebag by the way you type, but I'll bite anyway.
In a perfect scenario in which colleges fulfill their duties to actively educate "student"-athletes, UGA would probably not be getting any praise from me for this. But since we don't live in that world and instead live in a reality in which some colleges recycle players solely for their athletic abilities, UGA had no reason to give a shit about this kid's educational shortcomings. They could have done what his high school and middle school did (and a lot of other universities *cough* UNC) and let him pass without any teaching whatsoever. It doesn't seem like that's what happened. So good for UGA and Mitchell.
Crediting the school =/= diminishing Mitchell's work.
Now go pick fights over minutiae somewhere else.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:01 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:19 PM ^
March 21st, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
Yeah damn those Bulldogs for admitting a kid screwed over by his high/middle schools and giving him the opportunities to better himself that he would not have had elsewhere!
March 21st, 2017 at 10:25 AM ^
March 21st, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
Did he not know how to read? It just says he never read a book on his own. I know plenty of guys like that who can read. They just don't like to do it.
Edit: Well shit, someone posted a link below saying he actually was illiterate.
Much to my surprise, turns out I was wrong, Malcolm used his words deliberately here:
Once illiterate, how reading led Patriots WR Malcolm Mitchell to the NFL and authordom
Thank you for the link - awesome story. Really cool to see that he's still giving back and has a passion about this. It's a nice reminder that sometimes when the world is bleak, or we're concerned with other things, there's always a bit of hope shining through.
Well I disagree. And stop asking for Shirley.
Not an excuse.
You should totally try reading a history book...
1944 - Jay Winik
1776 - David McCullough
Ah, but what are you doing right now ?
People may not read books as much as they used to, but I offer that perhaps we all read more than we used to.
March 21st, 2017 at 10:56 AM ^
Right. Most (some?) of my friends are very intelligent and haven't read a book since high school.
I mean, who knows what he meant. But by common usage, "never read a book on my own" means "I always had to have help to read one." I wouldn't read it as meaning he only read books required of him as opposed to books he read voluntarily. If you chose to pick up a book for the fun of it, would you say "you read it on your own"? Not really. Besides, in context, that makes NO sense. He's encouraging kids to learn to read. Why would he single out the first book he voluntarily chose to read? And lest we admit the obvious -- why would someone who otherwise reads requires books for school pick THAT book as the first one he chose to read "on his own"? Doesn't add up. Most logical inference is that, he simply always had someone helping him read (read: reading to him).
With his paycheck now, don't matter anyway. Whomever used to read to him, he can go hire that smuck and have him/her keep reading to him.
Agreed, your wife is hot.
who are just incapable of reading for the sheer enjoyment of it, which is probably a factor in the point of pride they take in their disability.
I don't find it surprising. Our culture values sales ($), boosterism, and extroversion more than it does intellectual development, thoughtful engagement with others, and introversion.
I don't mean for this to sound like a value judgment, and I described a couple of extreme points there, but the U.S. collectively doesn't value reading.
Well, in a number of European countries, you take a test at age 14 or 15 that pretty much determines your life's path - if you don't do well on it, you can't go to a college-prep high school, and have to attend a "professional" school instead.
America gives students a lot of second chances. Even if they aren't college-ready after finishing high school, they can go to a community college. (Not many other countries have community colleges.) We also normally expect our elite athletes to at least finish high school, if not also go on to college, whereas in many countries they turn pro as teenagers.
The tradeoff of all this is that we have a higher number of high school students who aren't very strong academically, since in other places they'd be weeded out before then. So it's complicated: we are probably less demanding than other countries in the classroom, but expect a greater proportion of our society to receive an education.
ugly wife. What does that mean?
March 21st, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^
It's a great tune!
Yes, but what do their administrative standards have to do with his reading ability?
His high school grades/test scores must have met the NCAA minimum, so he would have gotten admitted at a lot of schools. How he managed qualifying grades/test scores might be the bigger question.
In any event, from the linked article earlier in this thread, it sounds like he's worked to better himself and has learned to enjoy reading, so good for him. He took advantage of the opportunities college offered him.