Chico,
Good points/questions. I know that we have a standing request for three officials for every varsity match, and many times we do not get the third official. I'm told by our assignor that this is due to the fact that he does not have enough available officials to provide three for every varsity match in his area. Now, as to whether this is a result of too few willing or too few with qualifications--or some combination of the above--I don't know. I keep hearing the lament that not enough people are involved, but I'm not close enough to the officiating circle to give a definitive answer; I'm just going by what the officials I've talked to have volunteered.
The brain surgeon/ditch digger analogy breaks down a little simply due to the fact that club refs and high school refs essentially perform the same function, just at different certification levels, and I think there are many HS refs who might take exception to the assertion that the difference between a high school official and a club official is as dramatic as that of a ditch digger compared to a brain surgeon. Gaining a medical license in brain surgery would have little if any benefit to someone's ability to dig ditches, and in fact, the calluses acquired in digging ditches would probably interfere with his ability to perform sensitive surgery. However, certification as an official for club would certainly aid in one's ability to perform the same function at the high school level, it would still be the same type of work that the individual had chosen to pursue, and I'm not sure if officiating high school games would impair someone's ability to continue to perform at club matches. So, IF a certified official happens to be at leisure to participate in a HS match--and I understand and agree with what you mean about a busy schedule--what would be the drawback to getting in a few more games, doing more of something presumably enjoyable, and bringing in a level of training and expertise to enhance the high school experience for the many who are playing at that level, often without the benefits of club play?
As for Mencken--and for the record, I love the quote; I have a soft spot for misanthropes, if we can't laugh at our own lot in life, we have no right to laugh at anyone else's--I would simply reply thus:
If you know that which is beyond the presumed knowledge of the common man, you can be perceived as intelligent...
But if you do NOT know what every educated man is presumed to know, you can really come off looking like an idiot.
Hence the importance of the lowly English teacher!
