Child being 'punished' for a choice I made

mumps

Dunroamin wrote: »

Which highlights one of the wrongs of modern education!

(And also why the UK has such a low level of success in competitive sports as well.)

We really have to do something about this lowest common denominator attitude to education.

Two of my kids are teachers and they tell me teachers are supposed to differentiate, they are assessed on this when training. If teachers aren't doing this it is wrong and this goes for all subjects. I think it is lazy teaching and really letting the children down.

Someone said maths and Enlish aren't competitive but that isn't true either, how many kids get entered in writing competitions or Maths challenge? Mine certainly were competive in everything from swimming to football and maths to music (believe me galas don't get near music festivals for competitive spirit.)

mumps

Person_one wrote: »

Are you sure? Because to produce enough athletes at the top of their game (and there were runners, swimmers and cyclists, not exactly 'minority sports') you need a big pool of very good athletes to find them in, surely?

I'm sure there are about a thousand ways in which sport in schools could be improved, but making it all about winning all the time isn't the answer.

But it has to be about both, we don't say to children who show great potential in science that they should "slow down" and we don't say that children who are poor at maths that they should just give up. Different children need help or challenging as appropriate.

Person_one

mumps wrote: »

But it has to be about both, we don't say to children who show great potential in science that they should "slow down" and we don't say that children who are poor at maths that they should just give up. Different children need help or challenging as appropriate.

I don't think school swimming is where olympic champions are made though, that's what the clubs are for.

School swimming is about making them safe and less likely to drown isn't it?

In maths and science you can stream the children more easily and cater to different abilities more effectively. There isn't the time or the facilities for that in school swimming.

mumps

Person_one wrote: »

I don't think school swimming is where olympic champions are made though, that's what the clubs are for.

School swimming is about making them safe and less likely to drown isn't it?

In maths and science you can stream the children more easily and cater to different abilities more effectively. There isn't the time or the facilities for that in school swimming.

Why isn't there time? The OP said the school has its own pool?

Is the school science lab where Nobel prize winners are made? So should children who are good at science not be catered for at school? Like I said before, "Every child matters."

Person_one

mumps wrote: »

Why isn't there time? The OP said the school has its own pool?

Because there are only so many hours in a school day?

The Rebecca Adlingtons of the world are up at 5am training for two hours before school starts. That'd be a harsh timetable for the ones who just want to enjoy it!

balletshoes

mumps wrote: »

Why isn't there time? The OP said the school has its own pool?


Is the school science lab where Nobel prize winners are made? So should children who are good at science not be catered for at school? Like I said before, "Every child matters."

I think the OP said they don't have their own teacher who does the swimming lessons though - he/she is hired in?

fedupnow

Sally_A wrote: »

I'm with Lifeisbutadream on this one.

Parent pays for outside lessons with a club that has a much better training schedule than a random teacher.

Child has a better technique than a "general sports teacher" could ever teach.

I applaud you for offering to help. There are too many parents that see after school clubs as a free/cheap baby sitting service.

I helped with daughters netball, from the last 2 years of juniors, and all the secondary school years.....quite frankly the teachers were glad to have me as a coach and umpire.

I had run ins with teachers that were trying to umpire in my half , but shot them down (parents in the crowd were baying for an umpire wrestling match :rotfl:) - they then did duff decisions to get their own back at "their end" :mad: My daughter played for a state school that knocked spots off of the local private schools, the private school teachers were mega miffed, as it seems their jobs depend on results - however the kids all knew each other from playing for the City Teams, so knew that good play won the game, and backed our "common" school after the private schools had been knocked out.

My only regret, is that there was one girl that would have been a superb Goal Defence, but her parents never had the money or the inclination to keep her involved - that was over 10 years ago, and despite me asking the City club if they had any scholarships or similar (no they didn't as they always pandered to the rich kids), I still feel I let her down - maybe that's why I'm not a teacher, I get too involved.

Netball is not the gentle ladylike game some people think it is, is it? My daughter was given a fractured eye socket, tore her ligaments in her ankle, to just name two injuries from a girls game of netball.

I think the thread has gone off track somewhat. My dd trialed for the country in netball and due to the intensive training had to forfeit the school team training and never got picked again. I saw no problem with this. She was no longer part of the 'team'.

The op claims there is no swimming 'team' from the school so I suppose it's a different scenario. But even so, if he doesn't take part in school swimming I do 'get' why he wouldn't be invited to represent the school.

I remember when both my dds were in the primary schools netball team. They played in several regional competitions and won them all. But there were also other county comps they didn't attend. I think it got to the stage where they were bound to win and so in the spirit of school competitions they didn't take part in order to give another team a chance.

School sports and international sports are completely different. In schools I would hope it to be as inclusive as possible. In clubs and wotnot, that's where it get's serious.

EDIT to add, of course when my dds went to school - swimming and sport lessons were compulsory. Whereas they competed by choice.

Dunroamin

Person_one wrote: »

Are you sure? Because to produce enough athletes at the top of their game (and there were runners, swimmers and cyclists, not exactly 'minority sports') you need a big pool of very good athletes to find them in, surely?

I'm sure there are about a thousand ways in which sport in schools could be improved, but making it all about winning all the time isn't the answer.

I certainly don't think that school sports should be about nothing but winning but I do think that this should be part of it.

Having a champion in a sport doesn't mean that the pool is large; Andy Murray may have won the Olympics and the US Open but British Tennis is still in a dire state.

Dunroamin

mumps wrote: »

But it has to be about both, we don't say to children who show great potential in science that they should "slow down" and we don't say that children who are poor at maths that they should just give up. .

Unfortunately, we often do exactly this. Many children who go to school already able to read do very little for the first year or so while the others catch up. This is one reason why so many teachers don't like this situation, because it's much easier to teach a class who are all bumbling along at the same level.

mumps

Person_one wrote: »

Because there are only so many hours in a school day?

The Rebecca Adlingtons of the world are up at 5am training for two hours before school starts. That'd be a harsh timetable for the ones who just want to enjoy it!

But do you think that Rebecca Adlingtons school said she couldn't be in the school gala? I would be surprised. I remember seeing the diver, Tom something?, his school were supporting him, didn't seem like they had a huff because he did his training somewhere else.