Reply to Charter School Impact on Public & Private School Enrollments

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Charter School Impact on Public & Private School Enrollments"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Who's talking about making it big in sports?  It's not like Dunbar is in competition with Sidwell for athletics.    :wink:    This is about learning all kinds of skills - academics is a given, but for some of us it isn't enough.  Teamwork, sportsmanship, working towards a common goal, knowing how to be the best and still have the admiration and support of your peers - these are all valuable skills.  Fitness, athletic skills, and general attractiveness are also major advantages (in some cases, necessary ones).  Not everything of value can be taught in the classroom, even at a good academic school.  Again, that's why some families are focused on schools that offer excellence nurturing the whole child.  Our children don't all need to be Tiger Woods, but they do need to perform well in a wide variety of situations.[/quote]

+100. There's a reason that upscale American prep schools have emphasized, and generally required, participation in extra curricular sports for more than a century (and British ones for much longer,the Battle of Waterloo was of course won on the playing fields of Eton), along with Ivy League admissions.  Hint: it's not because athletics are a waste of time for adolescents with no hope of "making it big" via sporting endeavors.

I went to public school in a rural New England town, where I played two varsity sports a year, and, improbably, went on to an Ivy on a Pell grant, my team sports days behind me.  Even nerdy Singapore is trying hard to get the Tiger Mothers to back off so that kids have time for sports.   Public schools shouldn't be cram schools.  My kids are too young for Basis, but we're not feeling enthusiastic, grim as our IB MS is....[/quote]

This!

There are apparently some ambitious but under-informed Basis boosters who either can't understand this point, or refuse to.  Well-rounded children are multi-faceted.  Yes, that means even sports.  The same sports aren't great for everyone, that's why there are choices - but it is a broad array of choices.  A certain class of parent understands this, without needing to consider - much less stoop to - some sort of "dumb jock" stereotype that someone here wants to proprose.  Healthy and fit lifestyles are idealized - even among those who never bother to actually try to achieve them.  ;)  We're thinking Kate Middleton and you're thinking Washington Redskins Linebacker washout.

Frame of reference?

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics