Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Pretty amazing that you're still saying there is a separate slow track for athletes. What's in this for you? You are beyond annoying.
Maret is not transparent about what it has done -- it's good this is coming out, even if it annoys some of the loyal Maret boosters. It also helps explain the decline in the numbers of National Merit Semifinalists at Maret in the past decade.
Anonymous wrote:Pretty amazing that you're still saying there is a separate slow track for athletes. What's in this for you? You are beyond annoying.
Anonymous wrote:Reality is that almost all MAC/IAC schools recruit and relax academic standards for boys' basketball. It brings media attention to the school, makes the school look diverse, and unlike football just a couple kids in each class is enough to make a big difference. A lot of these schools make heavy use of their ability to allow kids to reclassify when transferring--SS/SA is ranked top 20 by the Post and their top five scorers are all transfers.
One of Maret's recent star basketball players had to do a prep school year followed by two years of junior college before playing NCAA ball. That had to be pretty embarrassing for the school.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If you define "Jack" as:
1. Prize winning children's literature author, or
2. Former Miss America (also AA in volleyball), or
3. Former Fed Governor and CEO of TIAA-CREF, or
4. Leading actors on TV series (Saburgatory, Deadwood, Royal Pains)
5. Director of the CIA, or
6. President of the University of Chicago
then you are absolutely correct. The problem with Sidwell is that it prepares students to compete in such silly pursuits as arts, literature, public service, economics, academia and not just the stuff that counts like sports and business.
Sure, Sidwell has produced some great students who went on to great things just like every public HS has students who go on to do great things but the reality is that compared to the elite schools around the country (Brearly, Collegiate, Horace Mann, St. Pauls, etc.) Sidwell falls short. To be honest, I don't think Sidwell compares favorably to STA, Madeira, NCS or Holton Arms. Sure, Sidwell has a few students warming the bench at Brown and Cornell, but the culture is not a competitive one (Sidwell does have runners at Stanford).
Based on your final comment, you either never played a sport or don't have kids that are active in a sport. Ask Susan Rice (NCS alumna) if playing basketball gave her the drive to compete during her career (Stanford, Rhodes Scholar, US Amb to the US, NSA to POTUS. I for one am grateful that we have someone who knows how to compete advising the POTUS on national security issues than some liberal tree hugger who attended Sidwell and was on the curling team.
BTW, You left Gansler (AG Maryland) off your list.
Anonymous wrote:If you define "Jack" as:
1. Prize winning children's literature author, or
2. Former Miss America (also AA in volleyball), or
3. Former Fed Governor and CEO of TIAA-CREF, or
4. Leading actors on TV series (Saburgatory, Deadwood, Royal Pains)
5. Director of the CIA, or
6. President of the University of Chicago
then you are absolutely correct. The problem with Sidwell is that it prepares students to compete in such silly pursuits as arts, literature, public service, economics, academia and not just the stuff that counts like sports and business.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:PP, You sound foolish and is probably why Sidwell has a great reputation for producing great HS students who go on to do jack -- They don't know how to compete outside of their little, protected world.
Actually, about 25% of Sidwell students graduate with 6 or more varsity letters. Recent grads are competing as D1 athletes in several sports, including soccer, basketball, and XC and track and field. Additionally, there are many recent grads playing D3 sports, including several NESCAS schools, and on club teams.
Anonymous wrote:PP, You sound foolish and is probably why Sidwell has a great reputation for producing great HS students who go on to do jack -- They don't know how to compete outside of their little, protected world.
Anonymous wrote:I am a parent at Sidwell Friends and for the record, I would be thrilled if the school dropped its football program. It sucks a disproportionate amount of resources from other sports and activities and produces a lot of pressure from certain parents to recruit kids who will provide a winning football season (for their player kids).