The Daily Mail...At It Again!
I'm sure that most of us are over the moon about Britain's flipping marvellous showing at the Beijing Olympics.
...most of us, but not the Daily Mail.
In an awesome piece of 'journalism', they've found a way to attack the state school system/Government and quelle surprise - political correctness!!!
Now, I don't have kids, but my young nephew is at an independent school and I know that school sports day is a really big thing.
It it true that kids in state schools are really discouraged from taking part in competitive sports?
And is this down to the fact that we have too many female teachers (I kid you not - this is what the article alludes to!)
If this is the case, how comes we seem to be able to produce so many world class football players (not traditionally a sport of 'the middle classes')
Could there be other reasons (kids have so many more outlets for their interests now).
Your thoughts please. Am I barking up the wrong tree? Has The Daily Mail hit the nail on the head with this one, or is this an example of skewed reporting, written to justify a political agenda?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-104661 5/Is-coincidence-Olympic-champions-privately-e ducated.html
sp1814 Tue 19/08/08 16:21
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At my granddaughter's primary school, they are not allowed to have "independent" races, they have to be part of a team and run for that team. My grandaughter won one of her races but was told that she won it for the team. not for herself!! When my grandson at the same school won his race, he gave a "Nadal type fist" in celebration and was promptly reprimanded for being triumphalist!! he is 5 years old.
Seems the Daily Mail have got it about right.
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I wonder if it's occurred to the Mail that whilst you no longer have to have significant independant means to reach the top of many sports it doesn't half help!
It's hard to get enough training time when you're committed to a factory job and show jumping and sailing don't exactly suit those with shallow pockets.
So having money isn't necessary like it used to be but it really helps your odds.
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Question Author
Good lord...!
That's terrible. So that means the team can only do as well as the worst person?
Which would foster the kind of resentment which these local authorities are allegedly trying to stamp out.
Which is weird...if they are trying to discourage sporting prowess, why not do it for academic prowess?
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Question Author
carolegif...
...ahem...what the jiggings is a 'Nadal type fist'????
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Not all Olympians go to private schools or have independent means, that's why we always did so badly before we had lottery funding. Some sports do like rowing and the equestrian events, but the cyclists, athletes and swimmers etc depend on sponsors and funding and this can take time to raise when training for the event should be the priority.
If you want winners then you have to have competition and that seems to be a dirty word nowadays - we have that "it is the taking part" ethic. No it isn't, it is all about winning and that is all that counts - no-one remembers who came 2nd or 3rd. Other countries have had this in the past which is why they beat us.
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You clench your fist alongside your body not above your head, like "Yes!"
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Question Author
carolegif
Aha!
You're talking about the tennis bloke.
Got it.
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The counter argument is that, by telling kids there's merit in the taking part and not just the winning, you don't drive late developers away from sport.
Otherwise, kids that consistently lose (and receive no praise for it or who are constantly overshadowed by the praise lavished on the bigger, faster, stronger kids) have less incentive to keep plugging away and getting better.
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To perform at the top level and do well, you need two things. First one is natural talent as few people are born with it. That is mainly seen in sports where not much money is needed. Running, football etc. Second thing is good facilities. Or I should say world class facilities. There are so many games in the world now where as Jake said that the people with Shallow pockets can only sit and watch. Just for the sake of it I will give one example. But sorry that the example is not of Britain. Pakistan almost ruled over field hockey during seventies and early eighties when it was played on natural grass. Since Astro turf was introduced now Pakistan hardly reaches to Semi finals. Reason, well there are only three grounds in Pakistan with that stuff and they are national stadiums where you only have a chance to play when you have already been selected. Most of the players struggle in running on it through out their career as they are not used to it.
Sorry if I bored you……………….
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Need to be a bit careful about cause and effect.
As well as having talent, to excel at any sport an individual has to be highly disciplined. In my experience, children attending independent schools generally tend to be more disciplined than those attending state schools. This is usually because their parents insist on supervising their discipline to a greater degree than the parents of children attending state schools. (Yes, I know there are exceptions in both sectors. I’m talking in general terms). This is almost certainly because parents want value for the hard-earned they are shelling out and they see strong discipline as a way to help achieve that value.
So it could be that more people from independent schools excel at sport because they are generally more disciplined, not because they attend independent schools.
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As always the Daily Mail have got it spot on.
The real answer lies in the anti-competitive ethos that prevails in too much of the state sector. Equality of outcome is the central theme of the politically correct British state.
As a result, genuine sporting activity, which has raw competition at its core, has been remorselessly downgraded in state schools, too often replaced by pathetic soft games where no one loses, but no one learns how to stretch themselves.
Another is the sale of playing fields to make way for lucrative housing developments.
90 per cent of primary school teachers and 60 per cent of secondary teachers are women - a development that again leaves many sporty boys unchallenged
And, of course, we must not overlook the malign influence of the health and safety brigade, which wants to cover all children in cotton-wool and stifle their spirit of adventure.
I challenge anyone to prove any of the above 5 excerpts are wrong.
Another problem is, what chances do state educated children get to shine at Rowing, Sailing, Horsemanship etc?
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tbh I dont think schools play much of a part in getting young footballers on the path to professional football. Its more a case of young kids training, playing and getting spotted by talent scouts outside the nurturing of the school team.
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thank heavens New Labour's promotion of sport has finally reversed years of underachivement driven by the Tory government (in case anyone's forgotten just which lady prime minister oversaw the sale of school playing fields to make way for Tescos). Let's rename Team GB as Team Gordon Brown!
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We need more centres of excellence, especially for athletics. We have seen the results from building the velodrome in Manchester and the swimming centre in Nottingham. The two main universities act as the same thing for rowing, however most athletes train for their local clubs. We only have Loughborough University for some athletes and we need somewhere else where they can live and train.
By the way, not all sailing is elitist, I liveon the coast in the south west and twice a week people come and sail their small boats (think Finn and Ygling etc), not fancy gin palaces!
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It could also be that these athletes are trained by NON British coaches, who instill discipline before honing technique.
In this country we have had sporting coaches from NZ, Australia, Germany, Zimbabwe, Sweden & Germany, not all have been successful, but have made their mark.
Or is this a rant about the English rather than the British winning medals.
ps The Battle of Waterloo was won on the fields of Eton, b0ll0x, since when were canon fodder allowed to pass through those gates
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Question Author
AOG
Well, I went to a state school, and we took horse riding lessons every week.
...except, they weren't horses...they were Dobermans.
So many of my school chums are no longer with us because of that particular local education authority policy.
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Question Author
But do we really think that the number of female sports teachers is really an issue?
That's a new one on me!
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Can you please tell me where all these world class footballers you mention have been hiding for these past few years !
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Question Author
Okay, I'm no expert, but I believe that Beckham was considered a pretty fine player at his peak (before he married that walking xylophone, aka Victoria). Also, isn't Frank Lampard pretty well regarded? And Rooney...and that Welsh lad who looks like a cyclops?
I forget his name.
I'm very vague on football, but I'm told by the lads with beer bellies at work that our league players are "up amongst the best in the world, unless they're playing the best in the world".
Does that ring true?
I'll be honest, when talk turns to football, I tend to tune out and go to my happy place.
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Question Author
But over and above all this, I think we should celebrate the fact that we've done flipping well at the Olympics. The only two countries who are currently ahead of us are the US and China.
And they've cheated.
...probably.
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