CNN news 2012-01-30 加文本

cnn news 2012-01-30

AZUZ: Derrick Brooks doesn`t just have a great throwing arm. He was a linebacker on that Tampa Bay title team, won a championship in college, too, when he played at Florida State.

While he was tackling quarterbacks on the field, Brooks was also tackling education off of it. I had a chance to talk with him not too long ago about the charter school he helped found in the Tampa, Florida, area, and his life`s mission to educate students.

AZUZ: There are a lot of different ways that athletes and celebrities choose to give back. What made you want to co-found a charter school?

BROOKS: The nugget for me that drew me more than anything was the opportunity to affect more than the 35 to 50 kids that were part of Derrick Brooks Charities, that we can expand that audience, and I`ll have the opportunity to be in one building, four years building a relationship with our students and really having the opportunity to produce the next best citizens I can.

AZUZ: What was harder to do, to co-found the charter school or to win the Super Bowl?

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKS: I always think each one has its challenges, and I would definitely say starting a charter school is by far, I would say, harder.

When you`re starting a charter school from scratch, you know, you have to overcome a lot of hurdles in order to do it. Just a simple application part of it, you know, we had to get approved. We went in with a academic agenda that we wanted to put kids in college.

AZUZ: And when it comes to the education that you encourage among students, I mean, you played at every single game with Tampa Bay. You started 221 times out of 224 games. Does that help you encourage perfect attendance?

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKS: To say the least.

(LAUGHTER)

BROOKS: Yes, well, basically, I guess the, you know, what it does allow me, my professional career, is show them a model of consistency.

AZUZ: Sure.

BROOKS: That, hey, you have to show up every day. If you show up every day, you`ll be rewarded.

AZUZ: There are -- there are a number of students in our target audience who talk to us about how they`re hoping to play professional sports, whether that`s basketball, baseball or football, and yet such a tiny fraction, such a tiny percentage has the God-given talent needed to play professionally.

What would you tell those students? How do you encourage them to have a backup plan?

BROOKS: I tell those students that they have a better chance of becoming a doctor and winning the lottery than (inaudible).

(LAUGHTER)

AZUZ: That`s the reality.

BROOKS: Yes, that`s the reality of what it is. And I don`t really look at education as a backup plan. And that`s another thing that I tell kids. Hey, sports needs to be your backup plan. Education is part of your number one.

AZUZ: I just want to know, in your words, what`s the most important thing about an education?

BROOKS: I think the most important thing about a education is you, the person, have to take advantage of it. And education, to me, is the one role that you can go down in life and become anything that you want, because what is a business career, a sports career and whatever you do, education is going to be on that road to success.

AZUZ: That`s great stuff. You check out more of my conversation with Derrick Brooks in the "Spotlight" section on our home page.

Now, before we go, we`re heading to an Ohio farm.

AZUZ (voice-over): Although based on how relaxed these cows look. it might be more like a spa. You may think these lounging ladies are just being lazy, but it`s hard to blame them for laying around all day, when they`re laying on this -- it`s a bovine waterbed.

The farm`s owner says the "moo-vable" mattress helps the cows produce higher quality milk. Might make their sleepover standards a little high --

AZUZ: -- because once they`ve slept on a waterbed, there`s no way they`re going to be happy crashing on the "cowch." You may think the idea of a mattress helping milk production is just "udderly" ridiculous, but it turns that farm into a cozy bed and breakfast.

You knew we were going to milk story for all we "cud." But it`s time for us to hoof it on out of here. We hope you have a great weekend. For cnn Student News, I`m Carl Azuz.