The Super Bowl and America’s Priorities: Time to Invest in Education

Every year, millions of Americans gather around their TVs on Super Bowl Sunday, indulging in food, drinks, and the excitement of the biggest sporting event of the year. The Super Bowl isn’t just about football—it’s a reflection of our culture, our spending habits, and, perhaps most importantly, our priorities as a nation.

But here’s something to consider: Every single player on that field got their start in school. Whether it was on a high school football team, an after-school league, or even just a gym class where a coach saw their potential, their journey began with education. Without schools, without teachers, and without dedicated coaches, none of these athletes would be on that field chasing Super Bowl glory.

The Spending Gap: Super Bowl vs. Education

Let’s look at the numbers:

• The average amount spent per student K-12 in U.S. public schools is on average $17,700 per year or $50 a day.
• The average amount spent per student at the public post-secondary level (or college) is on average $30,230 per year or over $200 a day.
• On Super Bowl Sunday, the average family spends over $80 on food, drinks, and party supplies—just for one night.
• In total, Americans spent over $17.3 billion on Super Bowl-related purchases in 2024.

The contrast is staggering. We pour billions into a single event, yet K-12 schools across the country struggle with outdated textbooks, underpaid teachers, and underfunded programs. Imagine if we invested even a fraction of our Super Bowl spending into education—what kind of future could we create for the next generation?

Teachers: The Real MVPs

Ask any Super Bowl player who made an impact on their life, and you’ll hear stories of a coach who pushed them, a teacher who believed in them, or a mentor who helped shape their path. Yet, despite their crucial role, teachers often face low pay, dwindling resources, and a lack of respect in our society.

What if we used the Super Bowl—this massive, culture-defining event—as a platform to highlight the importance of education? What if, instead of just selling cars and snacks, Super Bowl commercials also celebrated teachers, promoted literacy, and encouraged investment in schools?

Reconfiguring Our Priorities

Football is a beloved tradition, and there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the Super Bowl. As a former high school football coach for 21 years, a fantasy football addict, and a professional college football tailgater -- I'm guilty as charged. But as a nation, we must ask ourselves: Are we giving education the same level of attention, funding, and respect?

This year, as we cheer for our favorite team, let’s also remember where these athletes came from. Let’s advocate for better school funding, support our teachers, and ensure every child has access to the education they deserve.

Because when we invest in education, we’re not just shaping future Super Bowl champions—we’re building a stronger, smarter, and more successful America.

Works Cited:

U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics, July 2024

National Retail Federation: Super Bowl Data Center

BUILD a Box of 21st Century Learning

Guide your students to BUILD a "Box of Learning."

Each lesson and unit of instruction you plan is spread out across a wide range of mandatory teaching topics; including the necessary curricular content of Common Core State Standards (CCSS), State and local learning benchmarks, as well as, standardized tests that evaluate not just their knowledge but our teaching ability. As a result, hours of time are spent meticulously managing each curricular item and learning benchmark to ensure that it's incorporated on the surface area of the instructional unit. Your plans are written, developed and these items are checked off. When it's all done your lessons cover every curricular need and learning benchmark -- proud you are and proud you should be. Your due diligence has allowed you to embed curriculum across your content. But after some careful self-reflection you realize these lesson/s and/or those of the past are missing depth or mastery of the material and are perhaps uneventful activities. Are you tired of your lessons falling flat on their face like a piece of cardboard? Are you looking to expand your teaching style?

Flat card board lesson planning is many times the result of our fear -- the fear of not covering everything. As educators we become cognizant of the fact that standardized tests contain certain, bench-marked items. Therefore ALL of this earmarked material must be covered or students will perform poorly on the "test" and then we all "fail" -- figuratively and literally.

Let's overcome our fears; let's transform our flat card board lesson planning into a 21st Century learning opportunity. We all start our planning with a flat piece of card board. It's necessary to know the learning benchmarks and the curricular content -- this is the most grueling and time consuming part. Here's our goal: take that flat piece of card board (aka your old lesson/s) and work with students to demonstrate or show them how they can fold it, change it's shape and make it into a box that will hold their knowledge until it can be released, used and then restored again. ALL teachers have card board, the question is how are you presenting it for their learning?

Is it necessary to have a "test" to assess learning? When we utilize diagnostic, formative and summative evaluations it doesn't need to be in the form of a pretest, quiz then a test. Project Based Learning (PBL) using a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), or if fortunate enough to be in 1:1 environment, is a more powerful mode of learning.

Don’t Stifle Learning Paths -- Open New Ones

Embed those curricular and learning benchmarks into an innovative BYOD-PBL Activity using a rubric and let students create from a flat piece of card board their own unique box. Allow students to demonstrate their learning in whatever mode they choose. Perhaps in the form of a screen-cast, a TEDx style presentation, a live puppet show, or they can publish their work to the internet in the form of a blog or web site, etc. Encourage students to collaborate with other students. Open it up not just to work with with those directly in class but perhaps with others across the world using social media. Leave open the option to work individually for those that choose such a route - don't stifle learning paths open new ones.

The goal of 21st Century learning is to allow students to develop career skills within our classes. Let students develop their arsenal within your midst. Unleash student creativity. Consider the box of knowledge to be their portfolio; something that will assist them at the next level and be built upon for years to come. Don't be handcuffed in your planning by curricular demands and benchmark prioritization -- allow students to delve into the content and extrapolate it through their own research, communication, collaboration and development of a product. Be the Lead Learner of Box Building.

Judging A Professions Greatness

Does Salary Determine Wealth?

In the 1700's, during the founding of what would become later the United States, the Puritans wanted to create a community or a commonwealth for future generations to emulate or look up to, a model society; one of the governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, would describe it in a sermon as a "city upon a hill." This society was hierarchical and going to church was a priority (one could write it was a "requirement"). Seating at church services, community gatherings, and political discussions was done by levels of societal importance. The closer to the front the more vital to the well being of the Commonwealth (of course one who was wealthy enough could buy their way closer to the front). So who do you ask sat in the front? The minister's of the church, the Governor, then came professionals like lawyers, doctors, elected officials, wealthy entrepreneurs, and also the schoolmaster. Yes, the "schoolmaster" -- the teacher was considered to be one the most vital cogs in the functioning and well being of the society. The teacher was so valued by the community that they were seated with all of the other "important" professions. So how does this relate to teaching today?

Perhaps today the location of where one "sits" at important community events no longer has relevance in advertising for the level of professional greatness. How then does our society measure the value and respect for a profession today? Is it the amount of money earned?

While individual wealth is something to look up to when it is achieved it is most certainly NOT the only factor in judging the importance of a profession. In society today the importance of a profession need not be measured in dollars earned. I submit that this may be one of the least important factors.

The true indicator of the greatness of one's profession is its impact on the well being of society -- not just in the moment but in the future as well. Professional success will always be judged by its contribution to the common good of its people. For example, the person that has the opportunity to affect the most positive change in the United States today is perhaps its President. This profession pays $400,000 annually yet every decision they make affects the lives of over 308 million people. Albeit the teaching profession is not on the same plane as that of the President of the United States in terms of its responsibility but in terms of the lives it can touch it very well may be greater.

On average a teacher in the United States earns $40,000 a year and may impact, depending on their class size(s) over their career, hundreds or perhaps thousands of lives. However, what if one of those students, during that teacher's career was Edward Jenner. Jenner conducted the first experimental vaccination. It was an inoculation with the cowpox virus to build human immunity against the deadly scourge of smallpox in the year 1796. At some point, Jenner was inspired by a "schoolmaster" to pursue his career in science. How many lives were impacted by Jenner’s Schoolmaster? We may compute that number to be ALL OF MANKIND since the late 1790's.

So when it comes time to choosing a career let us all be careful about determining it's worth in dollars -- it doesn't make "cents." Rather let us judge each and every job by its positive effect it will have on the community at large. So for those young adults out there, studying and contemplating what profession you will engage in, consider the GREATNESS of the profession by the quality of life it will create for others. When you find that profession do your job well and if you do your job to the best of your ability each and every day others will come to respect it, but more importantly they will respect you.

Credits:

Bremer, Francis J. John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father. Oxford Press. c2003

Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Family. Harper Press. c1944

Witham, Larry. A City Upon A Hill: How Sermons Changed the Course of American History. Harper One Press.c2007

Originally written 2/28/2011