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Elizabeth
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| Posted: March 22 2006 at 8:06am | IP Logged
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I completely agree about the politics. It's frustrating and time-consuming, but there is a silver lining. As children who are educated at home, our children are not exposed to the politics of a classroom and I think that's a good thing. One could reasonably argue, though, that they could grow up completely oblivious to the politics of the real world. They could never experience the disappointment, never have to learn how to deal with something unfair. My four older children have all run into politics at one time or another. And not a few tears have been shed in this household. But that's the crucible where their characters are molded, however harsh that might seem. My husband and I have never lacked for opportunities to teach strength and charity in the face of what can be downright cruelty. In the end, the love of sport prevails, and the child chooses to persevere depsite the injustice. They learn much more than mere athletic skills in a competitive sports environment. They learn people skills, time management skills, leadership skills, and coping skills. As much as good teachers like Montessori advise against competition, true preparation for life must include preparation for competition, even unfair competition. it's not that kids need to be taught to compete--they will compete naturally (or be eaten alive, unfortunately). It's that they need to be aught HOW to compete. I can think of no facet of adult life where one is completely protected from competition.Why would we not find some venue for teaching skills necessary for competition?
OTOH, I firmly believe that a child must also have some athletic skill that is a personal, lifelong skill, like biking or hiking or golf or aerobic dance. From my vantage point, I've seen countless former college athletes who have become overweight, out-of-shape middle aged men. And I think for them, the out-of-shape is even more harmful. They are used to eating like athletes. They are used to sleeping like athletes. And they are used to managing stress like athletes. When you take that level of exercise and fitness away, it can be disastrous.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: March 22 2006 at 9:47am | IP Logged
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I completely agree about the politics. It's frustrating and time-consuming, but there is a silver lining. As children who are educated at home, our children are not exposed to the politics of a classroom and I think that's a good thing. ...In the end, the love of sport prevails, and the child chooses to persevere depsite the injustice. ...As much as good teachers like Montessori advise against competition, true preparation for life must include preparation for competition, even unfair competition. ...OTOH, I firmly believe that a child must also have some athletic skill that is a personal, lifelong skill, like biking or hiking or golf or aerobic dance. . |
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Thanks all for sharing your thoughts and experience! No time to quote ALL that I'm intrigued by but will share a few quick thoughts...
Some temperaments NEED competition. This was a hard one for me to admit in my early years of mothering. I'm not competitive and saw the downside of competition with young children. Yet, my dh and dss have shown me their honest need for healthy competition. I'm not going to say this is just a man thing, but I want to say that women may want to consider treading this territory with a serving heart (I'm speaking to myself, here  .)
The politics of sports is a reality of life. We deal with it as neutrally as possible. It just is. But, we also remind our children that God is WAY BIGGER than politics and human self-serving yuck! Simply, if God wants you to (fill in the blank) then God finds a way for those trust Him and work for God's will. My dh and I have been blessed with, umm, political and human insight (some would say "street smarts") and we see the benefit of this type of blessing and do our best to share it with our children. Sports is a wonderful teaching ground.
One of the reasons that dss are excelling is sports, in addition to their talents, interest, and hard work, is their character. My first ds didn't start organized ball until age 8.5 (considered late by many) yet became his team's best player once he learned a few of the basics. He made the Minor Little League All Star Team, not because his coach recommended him (his coaches missed the meeting...politics again) but because an Umpire recommended him mentioning his character traits (team leader, respectful, focused, great spirit, etc.) Once on the All Star Team, he didn't play much (politics perhaps?) but by the end of the tournament, both coaches approached me about my son's character. Music to a mother's ears! Now he is well known in our League, is on a team with a great coach, and the head of the League chats with him whenever they see each other. Guess he's "in."
Another reason I'm convinced that dss are doing well is because my husband and I stay out of the way. WE behave well, respect the coaches, cheer on the team, and are a kindly presence. Believe me, this isn't always easy. There was an episode where my dh had to step in with charity and firmness but for the most part, this is our child's thing.
Baseball is something that our first son brought to the family. We all follow it now and enjoy it together. We even met some distant relatives this past weekend to watch a cousin play in a tournament, complete with pro scouts. My oldest ds was so inspired! Our next ds is a great athlete, a great ball player, but also wants to try basketball (ie, why I knew who Steve Nash was  .) Oh my!
Dh started off as a tennis player (through college) but was injured which ended his dream of playing pro. He switched to triathlons and still enjoys them. He feels that a love of sport can flourish in so many ways and benefit us in so many ways. I agree.
I'm the weak link here. Once I stopped practicing karate before JP was born, I just haven't gotten back into a groove. Since my dd is still in the class (has been in some form of karate since 8), she has now offered to help me at home. Yea for me!
So much for being quick!
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: March 22 2006 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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Angie reminded me of another perk to homeschooling where sports are concerned: coach after coach will comment on how teachable homeschooled athletes are. They really understand learning for learning's sake and they don't arrive burned out.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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ALmom
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| Posted: March 22 2006 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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I really believe there is a place for competition and all that. Thanks Willa for the quote JP II said what I was trying to express in terms of need for our sons. I find it pathetic how competitive our rec league gets at 5 and 6 before they are even supposed to be keeping score. (This in an area that also has plenty of elite travel teams).
We certainly did not interfere with the coaches nor did we express this to our dc. We tried to be positive in our experiences, root for the team and had trained our son to take advantage of bench time to watch and learn from the game. We realize that skills are developed with disciplined practice - but as neither my dh or I have any experience we could only help so far.
We had a very interesting experience with our dd who wanted to begin softball at 13. She took a while to pick up the skills - but she did have coaches that were showing her what to do and she was then able to come home and repeat and repeat till she had learned a skill. There were things we didn't know - like choosing a bat (we initially got one that was way too heavy for her but had tried to follow the advice of those more experienced - holding it out steady - just no one told us to keep it out there for 5 minutes). Once the coach pointed this little problem out, we got her a more appropriate bat and her hitting took off. We did not and neither did she mind sitting on the bench while she learned skills - we expected that. The best coach she had was a travel ball coach who was using rec ball for his teams practice - the rec ball let him enter on the condition that he would play his rec ball players more than the minimum. Our dd was the weakest member of the team, but she played every inning of every game, the coaches worked with her - they even invited us to be on their travel ball team (something we could not afford to do and was not her prime interest) but they certainly taught her to be the best that she could be. Her coaches saw her effort and helped her to learn. By high school, for the girls, rec ball is just for fun (the seriously competitive are on school teams and travel teams). It was really a lot of fun for our girls, forced them to remain physically active and developed a love of sport. It was very positive. I am not saying there wasn't competition - there was, but it was at an appropriate intensity for the players that were in a recreational league.
I felt like our boys needed some outside help in learning sport, having some male comaraderie with dad (who always volunteered for swagging balls or whatever and tried to learn from the coaches). I know my boys have a competitive bent (in a positive way) so I'm not saying the teams shouldn't try to win. It is just that you didn't get the coaches that helped the skills unless you began at 6 - and funny thing is these coaches developed all of the boys into a team (working with all on skills, etc.) and by the end of the season they actually were the better teams and could play all their players about equally (a few that really stand out but that is expected as everyone developed a respectable level of play while the stars developed to their max as well).
I guess we need to move to Aus. I do have some up - recently heard about a homeschool group that does once per month sports and teams are formed by age and ability (for safety) with dad support and skills taught. Trying to find out where it is.
Janet
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saintanneshs
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| Posted: March 22 2006 at 8:27pm | IP Logged
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ALmom wrote:
- recently heard about a homeschool group that does once per month sports and teams are formed by age and ability (for safety) with dad support and skills taught. Trying to find out where it is.
Janet |
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How about here?  We have baseball, basketball and football (I think) just within our hs group and the kids get divided up by age. I think they practice 1 afternoon a week with a game directly following the practice. The parents have brought coaches in and I'm pretty sure it was a big success. Not too expensive either when compared to rec ball costs. I really don't know too much about it since my chickies are still so little...this is all what I've gathered through emails and such. It sounds like something we'd do in a few years (kids have to be 8 before they can be signed up). Pretty neat, huh?
One question...is there a sport or athletic activity out there that can encompass all of the children in a family, with practices and "games" at the same time for everyone?
The only one I can think of is swim team clubs (summer or year-round). Are there any others?
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Erica Sanchez
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| Posted: March 23 2006 at 12:26pm | IP Logged
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saintanneshs wrote:
| One question...is there a sport or athletic activity out there that can encompass all of the children in a family, with practices and "games" at the same time for everyone? |
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Kristine,
This is what I was thinking while reading this thread. Our kids are still young as well and we have purposely chosen not to go the organized sports route.....yet. The thought of all the practices and games overwhelmes me, and the idea of games on Sundays has always thrown me off! They have taken some homeschooling P.E. classes and there is a homeschool Jr. Olympics type event that happens once a year.
For us, at this time, we are just a very "active" family. Dh is an excellent mountain biker, so the kids have good bikes and have ridden since they were young. Now he has the three older ones on the trails. We walk/hike a lot, play basketball or soccer or baseball in the backyard, swim, swim, swim, stuff like that. I work out at Curves (not near enough!). So far, this has been enough and I hope we are setting the children up for a lifetime of "activity". These are all the things my dad did with us growing up and more! I have fond memories of over-the-line, football-in-the-street, and basketball-in-the-churchyard games, all lead by my dad.
I guess what I am trying to say, without diverting from the organized sports topic, is that if organized sports aren't possible or desired, just staying active in a variety of sports/activities could satisfy.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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Topic: Sports and Education
