Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.

It is exactly this. “Only the best will do” for them so they move where the “great” schools are, and then are *shocked* to find out that everyone around them is competitive.

I laughed aloud about not being able to make a JV team. In my area, girls were being sent for free to a camp to learn to play field hockey, just so the high school had enough girls who knew how to play to field a team. They took anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

There are more D1 basketball players who go pro from the Midwest than the DC area. So they must be doing something right. Same with Hockey where cold states like Michigan produce a lot of the pro hockey players. The Southern states dominate football. D1 baseball players come from all over and pro baseball has a lot of Dominicans and Cubans who did not need specialized training. Just incredible talents.

No need to be crazy competitive about sports. If the only goal is to play high school sports how much time, commitment and money is really needed? The student will probably play in high school and probably not in college. Relax and let the kid enjoy it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.

This is a really good question!

If you think about it, more competition and pressure will make you into a better student/athlete. There is a big difference between the number one tennis player on the varsity team at Langley HS vs. the number one tennis player at Justice HS. The number six tennis player at Langley HS can probably double bagel the number one tennis player at Justice. The same goes with academics. If you go to a low-level performance school like Justice vs. Langley HS, you are likely not prepared for college.

The flip side of your tennis scenario is that lots of kids who would never even have a chance of stepping on the court at Langley get a chance to play at Justice. And just having that experience can be life changing for a kid. Kids should be able to try things out and do them just for the sake of doing them. It’s shouldn’t always about winning and being the very best.

As for your assertion that kids coming out of a lower performing high school are unprepared for college, you’re just plain wrong in a lot of cases. Kids who have the raw materials and the desire to excel will do fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

That’s not true.

I live in the South and people hire professionals to help their kids navigate through high school just so they can get into a middling state university here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

That’s mainly a function of huge county public school systems with 500-800 students per grade.
Most of the country is township public schools and a high school class is 150-400 or so.
Some states, like Texas, will just build another school pyramid once the grades start approaching 500 students. But 500 is the norm so that’s a 2000+ student high school to file a varsity team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

THIS - or mountains. East Coast metro is the worst for rat race competitiveness.

If you’re speaking about sports, the DC area isn’t exactly known as a sports hub. It’s also not an area where a lot of pro athletes come from. The travel sports are similar to cheerleaders traveling to compete. It can be a fun activity for the whole family to involved in. But there might be a handful that can play in college, maybe 1-2%. Same with grades, 1% of students will get SATs greater than 1500.

So is it really competitive? You can’t give your child the genetics necessary to be a super athlete. He can only be the best he can be with what he has to work with. Same with academics. So students aren’t really competing against other students, they are just working on being the best that they can be. Parents need to be happy with that.

It is competitive enough where you need specialized training from a young age to make it to the high school level. It isn't like in the Midwest where anyone can sign up for any sport they want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.

When we moved to our county, we looked for the highly-rated high schools, and then we moved to the school zone with a very good but not "best" one. It was intentional. I asked around and did my research online as well, heard concerning things about the best public schools. I did not want my kids around crazy competitive parents, maximum stress and to not be able to do school sports due to strict selection. I am really happy we did this, as my kids are thriving, very good students, able to do two varsity sports each, and without intensity or a large contingent of annoying parents. There are still people who want to be the best or on top, but as a whole it's just not the culture of the school. People tend to be supportive and root for each other.

"I am not competitive. I intentionally sent my kids to mediocre school so they can be #1"

No, I sent them to a good school, and they are VERY far from #1!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s because the middle has fallen out of the middle class. To have a comfortable life and be able to afford to have agency you need to be in the top ~15%. It feels competitive because it IS.

I know some wonderful people who have opted out. They have big families, live in PG, go to Catholic parish school or homeschool. Life has a nice pace. For the most part, their kids aren’t going to highly ranked colleges. Some are, but it isn’t the norm. Will their kids be able to afford to buy homes and support families in the future? I’m not sure.

Do poor people have kids? Sure. How is that population doing in school? Not well. What is their quality of life? Poor.

If we had a more robust middle class then it would alleviate the problem.

This is absolute nonsense. The world is not poor people then the country club lifestyle with great schools, 3500 sqft house, two cars, travel sports, tutors, european vacations, hawaii christmases, etc. Parents do this. Not kids. Not society at large. It is 100% mom and dad. When mom & dad get a grasp on reality this will get better.

Vacation?!?

We haven’t been on a family vacation for years. All of our travel is for volleyball tournaments every month.

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

Yeah move to Texas and the south.

They’re not nut jobs about sports.

At least here the focus is on scholar athletes. In the south it’s 24/7 sports and a family affair to get out of poverty or go do one of the 350 D1 schools for sports sports sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s because the middle has fallen out of the middle class. To have a comfortable life and be able to afford to have agency you need to be in the top ~15%. It feels competitive because it IS.

I know some wonderful people who have opted out. They have big families, live in PG, go to Catholic parish school or homeschool. Life has a nice pace. For the most part, their kids aren’t going to highly ranked colleges. Some are, but it isn’t the norm. Will their kids be able to afford to buy homes and support families in the future? I’m not sure.

Do poor people have kids? Sure. How is that population doing in school? Not well. What is their quality of life? Poor.

If we had a more robust middle class then it would alleviate the problem.

This is absolute nonsense. The world is not poor people then the country club lifestyle with great schools, 3500 sqft house, two cars, travel sports, tutors, european vacations, hawaii christmases, etc. Parents do this. Not kids. Not society at large. It is 100% mom and dad. When mom & dad get a grasp on reality this will get better.

Anonymous wrote:It’s just the dc area. Move to the south or Midwest

Anonymous wrote:So it appears that people living in ‘great’ school districts are facing more competition and pressure because everyone has money and wants the same colleges and sports etc. If you go further away or to an ‘okay’ school district there will be less competition and less pressure.. big fish little pond..
So why do people keep moving to better/best school districts? Are they seeking competition? Or do they think that by being in a better school district will help them in some way? But clearly its harder for those kids who compete with others like them.