Reply to Sidwell Basketball Article

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think this problem arises often when a student is in a new environment whether it is private to public, public to private, or 1 private to another private.

You sort of need to learn the rules of the game, the model of the school, the new teaching methods.

I know a straight A student, all through his years K-8, scored very high on the high school entrance exam and then got straight C's with a threat of a D after the first few weeks his freshman year.

After a little mentoring and after school help from teachers he was well on his way to being a successful student.[/quote]

Total lie.[/quote]

I am a teacher at a DC area independent, not Sidwell, and I have certainly seen this sort of "stumble out of the blocks" followed by a major turnaround.  Fairly frequently over the years, in fact.  I'm not sure why the previous poster finds this so hard to believe.  The jump from middle school to 9th grade, even at a K-12 or 4-12 school where the student is just changing divisions, is a big one, especially if the child is doing a sport in the fall season (the time demands rocket up) -- and expectations do indeed change from school to school.  A smart kid who gets by by listening in class and dashing off a few sheets of homework before breakfast can miscalculate/be overwhelmed initially at the high school level.

I have also seen unbelievable amounts of mentoring, extra help, and care going to kids who were never going to see the light of day on a varsity field or court.  I don't think my school can be the only one where there are caring professionals and parents in the community, so while I agree the newspaper article gets written about the sports star, there is every likelihood that resources and empathy go to help the struggling non-athletes at Sidwell find their feet as well.

Lastly, I understand this thread, and the newspaper article, hit a lot of hot buttons but, speaking as a teacher, I would like to ask everyone to try to refrain from getting personal about the boy in question -- would you want people on the internet talking about your child's grades, study habits, etc?  Particularly for those at Sidwell who might feel they have "inside information" from their kids or other parents, please think twice before you post.

Thanks.[/quote]

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