No Child Left Behind?

It's no secret that baseball is no longer really America's pastime.  Other sports have crowded their way in, and baseball is no longer played as a pick-up game at playgrounds by children.  I think I may have the answer to this disturbing trend.

My fourth grade teacher loved baseball, and actually incorporated it into our curriculum.  I do not jest!  We learned The Yaz Song (about Carl Yastrzemski), by listening to it first on a little record player, then by singing along.  Our teacher was genuinely disappointed in us if we didn't sing with ardent fervor.  I'll never forget the day we walked into the classroom to find a huge banner displayed around the upper walls, which read "Roberto Clemente, We Miss You!"  That's an education fitting for a fourth grader.  Also, my teacher doled out baseball cards as treasured rewards.  I remember asking for a card many times, but never being deemed worthy to receive one.  My teacher didn't think I really liked baseball enough, nor did he think I would take proper care of the card.  He was probably right.  It wasn't until a few years later that I began my love affair with baseball.

If you want to hear the Yaz Song,  click here.

Anyway, if all elementary teachers began teaching baseball as my fourth grade teacher did, we'd have a whole new generation of baseball-loving youth to rear.