Sidwell Basketball Article

[Anonymous]

Sidwell is no different than Gonzaga in terms of lowering standards for athletes. Except that Gonzaga gets great athletes across the board and does well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pathetic article. The school should be embarrassed.
How often does a headmaster retract a dismissal?
I wonder about the other academically qualified applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds that got bumped by this kid's acceptance.
If this was happening at Maret, GDS or STA, all you Sidwell boosters would be crying foul big time.

Look, at least this article beats the last Wa Po article...oh that was the one where it was reported that the school hired 11 armed guards (and is looking for more) for protection...tha is in ADDITION to the Secret Service protection already in effect.....

[Anonymous]

I take it yours was one of the kids punished for drinking at the prom?

[Anonymous]

It reinforces that both Farquhar and Sidwell are a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It reinforces that both Farquhar and Sidwell are a joke.

+1000

[Anonymous]

It is not uncommon for Sidwell to "counsel out" students who are not making the academic cut. This happens every year. Query - how often does such an occurrence result in a groundswell of support resulting in a deluge of emails to the head of school asking for reconsideration, parents rushing to provide one-on-one tutoring and ultimately a head of school reversing the decision? The answer is obvious. If the Sidwell community decided to provide this support to every student who might have needed it, this article could be inspiring and heartwarming. Instead, it's depressing. Es tu Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

He is going to Villanova not Syracuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

He is going to Villanova not Syracuse.

Thanks for the correction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

If this kid wasn't a basketball player, do you really think the community would have rallied behind him? Sidwell's academic reputation takes another hit.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I do. I am mentoring a kid that will not be a D1 player. You mean if he was amazing violinist? Yes. I think they would have.

If he was a under the radar kid nobody ever knew or heard about because he went to school, went home and nobody really knew who he was, who was not involved in any afterschool activities and he was dismissed, then probably not.

It hard to understand when you just meet that kid that has something you can't teach and you see that potential and you want to help. It really amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

If this kid wasn't a basketball player, do you really think the community would have rallied behind him? Sidwell's academic reputation takes another hit.

[Anonymous]

Well saiid PP! Thanks for bringing a little sanity in this "debate"

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this story is isolated or that it only happens at Sidwell. There was an article in the news paper about a parent who took a student under his wing and provided mentors so he could be successful a few weeks ago for another school. I have done this for a boy in yet another school and that story will never be in the paper.

The Washington Jesuit School does this for all their students.

I think the lesson should be that yes we should foster kids that are not "making the grade" instead of getting rid of them. This should be a lesson to all schools and it should not be categorized as "lowering standards".

It takes a lot more than just being able to put a ball in a basket to be a basketball player recruited by Syracuse, but few understand that. It takes dedication, a passion for something, hard work, leadership skills, etc.

People in DC just don't like to hear that an athlete is successful.

It is disgrassful that annonymous adults are specificially calling a child out and saying they "lowered their standards". Just becaues he is black, plays basketball and grew up in Wheaton. You are pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I do. I am mentoring a kid that will not be a D1 player. You mean if he was amazing violinist? Yes. I think they would have.

If he was a under the radar kid nobody ever knew or heard about because he went to school, went home and nobody really knew who he was, who was not involved in any afterschool activities and he was dismissed, then probably not.

It hard to understand when you just meet that kid that has something you can't teach and you see that potential and you want to help. It really amazing.

Spin city. As a PP mentioned, it was the other basketball families who put this campaign together. Farquhar has no spine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If this kid wasn't a basketball player, do you really think the community would have rallied behind him?

Yes, I do think the community would have rallied behind any good kid with lots of promise who was struggling. But I don't think you would have read an article about it in the Post if he hadn't been a top basketball recruit.

[Anonymous]

You mean it was families that knew him, that saw him on a consistent basis, ones that felt this child was an integrated part of their children's lives. No surprise there.

I don't know if Farquhar has a spine but it seems he/she (I am not a Sidwell parent) has a heart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I do. I am mentoring a kid that will not be a D1 player. You mean if he was amazing violinist? Yes. I think they would have.

If he was a under the radar kid nobody ever knew or heard about because he went to school, went home and nobody really knew who he was, who was not involved in any afterschool activities and he was dismissed, then probably not.

It hard to understand when you just meet that kid that has something you can't teach and you see that potential and you want to help. It really amazing.

Spin city. As a PP mentioned, it was the other basketball families who put this campaign together. Farquhar has no spine.