The notion that anyone who plays competitive sports is a jock and cannot be a serious academic student is beyond pathetic. It's not an either/or proposition.

Interesting. Are we talking about the same notion if someone excels at academic and intellectual pursuits -is an absolute nerd? Is this an either/or proposition vis a vis competitive sports?

The notion that anyone who plays competitive sports is a jock and cannot be a serious academic student is beyond pathetic. It's not an either/or proposition.

I do not know the posters or their children. But, if an absolute nerd is a child that prefers academics, education and learning over a dull and dumb jock, I'll take an absolute nerd any day of the week.

Area D.C. private school parents are overly preoccupied with sports and using their children for vicarious relief of their own athletic inadequacy. Unfortunately, the formula doesn't work and by the time most of these parents realize this they have in effect ruined and blunted (retarded) their children's long range horizons. Next, come the accommodations and entitlement because these children are not academically competitive.

[quote=Anonymous][b][quote][i]The American preoccupation and idolatry with sports explains in part their downfall in academics, business and athletics.

The parents of kids attending D.C. area private schools are too preoccupied with sports in a fundamentally unbalanced manner. They try to live out their fantasies and athletic failures through their children forcing them to play school and club sports year round for self-gratification. [/i][/quote][/b]

Absolutely agree with this summary.[/quote]

Both of these posters are parents of absolute nerds.

[b][quote][i]The American preoccupation and idolatry with sports explains in part their downfall in academics, business and athletics.

The parents of kids attending D.C. area private schools are too preoccupied with sports in a fundamentally unbalanced manner. They try to live out their fantasies and athletic failures through their children forcing them to play school and club sports year round for self-gratification. [/i][/quote][/b]

Absolutely agree with this summary.

PP - yes, it's impossible to balance excellence in the classroom and athletic fields. No way any school can excel at both. It's impossible. Impossible.

Schools should not be teaching their students to strive for excellence at every opportunity. Instead, schools should only have sports that give out participation awards, not trophies for championships.

The American preoccupation and idolatry with sports explains in part their downfall in academics, business and athletics.

The parents of kids attending D.C. area private schools are too preoccupied with sports in a fundamentally unbalanced manner. They try to live out their fantasies and athletic failures through their children forcing them to play school and club sports year round for self-gratification.

I know kids that played with them. They enjoyed football (soccer) and played well.

Do you mean did Chelsea or Obama's daughters play football?

did Chlesa play football?

do obama's daughters play football?

What's wrong with lacrosse and throwing a little ball around with a bread basket stick?

Anonymous wrote:Kids play on both sides. Who cares what the score is? Sports in private schools is not about athletics.

Good point. Why not just organized games of tickling with feathers?

Anonymous wrote:I'm not ignorant of anything. Federal law pushed by the feminist lobby threatened colleges with lawsuits if they didn't start inventing women's "sports" teams. So girls are raised to compete in "sports" that cost colleges lots of money, get almost no interest, and are unnatural for them. Look up the concussion rates for girls' soccer players and the serious head injuries they are developing at young ages.

But when boys get concussions, it's OK? PP, your post is so wrong in so many ways, it's hard to know where to start.

Kids play on both sides. Who cares what the score is? Sports in private schools is not about athletics.