An investigation into suspected grade card altering at Darrell Arthur’s Dallas high school continues.
It’s the subject for tonight’s “On the Mark”. Arthur’s Algebra class has turned into a drama that is a product of ambition, misguidance, and retribution. Its’ basis is that because Arthur was failing, he was bailed out, and upgraded.
Tonight, Arthur is a high profile center piece caught in the cross hairs of a disgruntled teacher, a former principal, and an alluring television news report. If Duh-Rail Arthur was an academic risk, it should be pointed out that from all accounts, he accomplished all he was asked to do at Kansas.
He is one of a very few who has blended his winning skills with others to claim a high school state championship and then a college national championship. No lawsuit will pay back the residue left from what is a tough lesson about celebrity. There is no way Kansas should be stripped of a national title, unless the same scrutiny is given to every high school transcript in the country. While fingers are being pointed at a district, a system, a program, and an association… let’s consider the role of athlete, parent, counselor, coach, teacher, principal and superintendent.
I think the Dallas Independent School District investigation will reveal an often-repeated mistake when it comes to elite athletes. And, I think there is a correctable solution.
Academic accountability can be managed as a personal responsibility only when it is perceived as equal to athletic achievement.
That should have been defined long before Arthur stepped into that Algebra class. That’s “On the Mark”.