Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - Wordle Gummidge

[BennyHiFi]

[QUOTE=Solksjaer!;n1727588]At the end of the day (football cliché) it’s footie on the TV . That's one way of looking at it, for sure. Perhaps the most simplistic. It's also one of the biggest sporting events in the world, an opportunity for people of races, creeds, nationalities etc.. to come together. It's one of the shining beacons of capitalism, a commercial jamboree worth billions and billions of direct and indirect revenue around the globe. It's a maker of legends, stories, dreams, jobs, creative endeavour and a thousand other things. So reducing it to just football on tv, while not wrong, does everyone a disservice as we all know, intrinsically, the World Cup is so much more than that.


I’m looking forward to to when it gets super competitive and the English hearts are broken once again. Aren't we all, obviously?

I fail to see how me turning off the football will benefit anyone apart from the missus and the kids. Ah here... you understand the power of taking personal responsibility in order to change things. Better than most I'd have thought. Of course one person won't make a difference but collectively... well isn't that how everything changes?


Zero point in moaning about it now in November 2022. I'd suggest the exact opposite. FIFA is a weeping sore and Qatar remains a tyranny. Any opportunity to address this is one that should be taken. Particularly now the media is fully engaged.

It is what is is. A shrug of the shoulders... not my problem eh? Fair enough, we all have enough problems I'm sure and we can't all commit to every instance of injustice but this is a pretty easy, painless one to take a stand on.

Enjoy the footie or don’t. Absolutely. People have plenty of battles they can fight and do everyday. Choosing your battles is fine. I found not supporting this tournament and its sponsors a relatively easy one for me. Thankfully I'm not a migrant worker or gay or a woman in Qatar. Or, indeed, a footsoldier at FIFA, unable to look at myself in the mirror in the morning.

The time for protest was when it was announced. There was outcry aplenty. But protest on this scale was near impossible until the eyes of the world are coalescing around the event which is why the volume has been amplified and protest ramped up in recent weeks (and months it's probably fair to say). In order for protest to be successful it needs an audience to be moved by it, to create a critical mass of alternative understanding. And i believe that's there now. Plenty of people's perceptions of FIFA and Qatar and the broader issues at play here will be changed for the better forever and that's a good thing.

And hey, maybe they can still watch the football and be OK with that. I couldn't but if others can? Fine.

I've plenty of other battles of my own to fight and won't be getting my knickers in a twist about it.

[Raoul Duke III]

Speaking of her school, they had a fella in to give a talk a few weeks back to the TY pupils. A mildly famous chap called Bono who attended the same place.

Neither my daughter nor any of her buddies had ever heard of him.

The school don't seem to put much store in the fact that U2 were formed there. Suspect they must have asked them for a donation and got knocked back.

[zuutroy]

I went to school across the road from there. Jammy gits not having to wear a uniform. There was a lot of oddly vacant looking characters going through those gates in the mornings...I didn't know what to make of them!

[Solksjaer!]

So many battles to fight Benni (autotune for example)

I’m not for one second defending the World Cup being held where it is. However we assume in the west that we are the custodians of all that is right and true. We are not. The Gay thing is of course an annoyance however it is their culture . I find their attitude to it abhorrent BUT again it’s offensive to them. Their culture (we don’t respect it fair enough) They need to develop morally as a country but that’s a WHOLE different story .
The bigger BIGGER picture is where ever the world cup takes place the poor will always be exploited at the expense of the rich. This is prevalent in pretty much every country in the world.
I understand your collective weighing point however does that really apply here. It’s not like a vote, it’s too late to effect anything by not watching it as I collapse by the TV in the evening. In fact I’d probably crack up if I missed a great game due to taking a stance I find illogical for me. The media protests about this occurrence will probably hit home to FIFA and perhaps the future hosting of the Event will have more stringent restrictions . Perhaps a % of the money raised/donated/bribed should be given to countries like Somalia where kids are dying from hunger (many battles to fight)


So who’s on tonight then?

[Strewelpeter]

RIP Wilko

[Raoul Duke III]

I went to school across the road from there. Jammy gits not having to wear a uniform. There was a lot of oddly vacant looking characters going through those gates in the mornings...I didn't know what to make of them!

We live close to the back gate (Howth Road). You must have been in that institutional-looking place on the Malahide Road?

I think it has a fairly well-deserved reputation for being accepting of alternative sorts.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Grinds are vital imo. The now-11-year-old has been having maths grinds for the last two years and it has done her wonders in terms of confidence in school as she was starting to say things like 'oh numbers aren't my thing'. Its all about intervening in those early years to build up confidence.

The best thing that ever happened to me, education-wise, was being held back a year in second year in secondary school when we moved from Dublin to Ennis. I ended up naturally going from being a C student to an A student in the repeat year because I'd done the whole year already. But - and this is the kicker - I was too stupid to realise that the reason I was getting A's was because I'd already done all the material before. Armed with that false confidence I then embarked on the remaining school years convinced I could do anything. Albeit this only resulted in a mediocre leaving cert, but that's beside the point.

[Mellor]

One of the leeches that used to hang around mcgregor looking for millions for saying “you should do a whiskey”
hope he wins but at the same time what a gimp

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/...-42166294.html

No idea what the full story is, has to be more to it.
But I wouldn’t class Artem as one of the ones who leeched off McGregor (there are many who did).
Artem was his sparring partner long before he was a millionaire. Had his own journeyman career, benefited from some KOs on TUF and being a meme. Not an elite athlete, but did the work.

Unlike some random scrote cling-on that thinks he a prizefighter by association.

[Murdrum]

Grinds are vital imo. The now-11-year-old has been having maths grinds for the last two years and it has done her wonders in terms of confidence in school as she was starting to say things like 'oh numbers aren't my thing'. Its all about intervening in those early years to build up confidence.

The best thing that ever happened to me, education-wise, was being held back a year in second year in secondary school when we moved from Dublin to Ennis. I ended up naturally going from being a C student to an A student in the repeat year because I'd done the whole year already. But - and this is the kicker - I was too stupid to realise that the reason I was getting A's was because I'd already done all the material before. Armed with that false confidence I then embarked on the remaining school years convinced I could do anything. Albeit this only resulted in a mediocre leaving cert, but that's beside the point.

For me, below would be the 3 key things in order of importance for a child to get through the JC & LC to a decent level.

• Guidance
• Age
• Grinds

It’s easy taken for granted(not saying you are btw) but not everyone has someone who can help them discern what is the correct path to take, what you require and how you get there.

Some parents simply don’t know despite their best intentions because it’s not something they’ve experienced themselves.

I don’t think the knowledge gap is as glaring anymore but imo it was a big factor until relatively recently.

[Strewelpeter]

FIFA is a weeping sore and Qatar remains a tyranny. Any opportunity to address this is one that should be taken. Particularly now the media is fully engaged.

But then just cancel Fifa and sport and turn off the gas and oil we buy from them.


There is a very sniffy colonial attitude to much of the coverage especially the meat of what the Fifa boss was saying.

Does soccer only belong in developed Western Nations?



I wonder if the reaction would look quite the same if there were games in for instance:
UAE
Ethiopia
Mali
Nigeria
Russia
USA

Don't get me wrong I am convinced the sporting boycott had more influence than any other single measure in bringing change to South Africa but was never going to achieve diddly on it's own.

Qatar is a medieval monarchy but it is a fundamentalist religious society and entitled to have the laws and social mores it follows, it's a tiny country that has disproportionate wealth and influence. We need their energy and we need to do business with them.
The question here is do we want the likes of Qatar to change and if we do how do we bring that about?

[BennyHiFi]

Score!

Just bought this poster from the Paul Daniels estate (yes THE Paul Daniels) signed by the mysterious and sensational Murray himself. Only £90 - should have gone for x3 that. People be clowns.

Screenshot 2022-11-23 at 13.21.33.png

The missus Debbie is flogging off all his collection today and tomorrow. Some rad stuff to be found if you're into that kind of thing. He loved to collect.

Anyway, Magic Murray was some character. From Raffles Hotel to Peking and old Bombay, from Hitler's Germany to Cairo and finally Blackpool Pier - he wowed them all!

He took over where Houdini left off and had some tales to tell, plenty of them tall I'm sure but what a lad. Thanks millionaire Paul Daniels for saving this for me.

PS... bought another random lot of 18 foreign posters (eastern European, south American, Asian) from the 70/80s with some interesting designs and hope to sell some of them them off and keep some that are of interest. Will probably give some away as presents at Christmas too.

PPS... RIP Wilko, another magician of a different kind.

[Raoul Duke III]

Qatar is a medieval monarchy but it is a fundamentalist religious society and entitled to have the laws and social mores it follows

I never thought I'd see you defending a fundamentalist regime best known for being the financiers of ISIS. Do they have a few nags in boxes down the road?

[zuutroy]

We live close to the back gate (Howth Road). You must have been in that institutional-looking place on the Malahide Road?

I think it has a fairly well-deserved reputation for being accepting of alternative sorts.

A good old fashioned iron-fist CBS! Spent my entire school going years on Griffith Ave.

[DeadParrot]

I honestly don't know why they don't do the armband thing and rotate captains for each game.

Yellows are cancelled after the group stages anyway

[dobby]

Well, topically enough, I'd say she would be ideally suited to teaching. She did some work experience in a primary school in Mayo last week and absolutely loved it. Runs in the family too, quite a few teachers in there.

And she will definitely be doing her LC, and will definitely be going to college. Covid really disrupted their whole learning for the JC cycle (think they are the first group in 3 years to actually sit the exams) so it'll be interesting to see how they get on. No harm to get a fright at this stage anyway.

Sounds great. I'd be a huge advocate of the LC, I don't regret not doing it but it's just so much easier and opens so many more doors to have it. I'm sure she'll be fine then with people in the family to seek advice from and if she enjoyed the work experience, she's already half way there. Wp her

[Strewelpeter]

This is interesting, what it seems to me to indicate is that kids who have no interest of or understanding of recent history are buying the propaganda of SF/IRA hook line and sinker.

Anyone got the test of the Times article?

[DeadParrot]

[AndyFatBastard]

Konichiwa bitches

[Solksjaer!]

This is interesting, what it seems to me to indicate is that kids who have no interest of or understanding of recent history are buying the propaganda of SF/IRA hook line and sinker.

Anyone got the test of the Times article?

Makes you wonder about History doesnt it. I wonder what is being taught in Schools around the world. Especially UK .

[Solksjaer!]

This scandalous World Cup is delivering some EPIC minnow moments already.

[hotspur]

Sounds great. I'd be a huge advocate of the LC, I don't regret not doing it but it's just so much easier and opens so many more doors to have it. I'm sure she'll be fine then with people in the family to seek advice from and if she enjoyed the work experience, she's already half way there. Wp her

I thought it was kind of strange that you wondered if a child of RDIII would go on to do the leaving cert or not. I imagine in RDIII's mind the question may not have differed much from "Are you going to send her to sweep chimneys now?"

[dobby]

I thought it was kind of strange that you wondered if a child of RDIII would go on to do the leaving cert or not. I imagine in RDIII's mind the question may not have differed much from "Are you going to send her to sweep chimneys now?"

Yeah, my what does she plan on doing question was career related, not whether she'd drop out or not. I'd say that would be a fairly swift and frank conversation with her aul lad

[Solksjaer!]

I thought it was kind of strange that you wondered if a child of RDIII would go on to do the leaving cert or not. I imagine in RDIII's mind the question may not have differed much from "Are you going to send her to sweep chimneys now?"

I’m sure one of his kids will rebel at some stage in the future , declare rampant heterosexuality and become a Bohemians regular at Dalymount.
I’m not worried about my kids rebelling, they have done it since birth. One of my kids does reverse abuse. Takes a great delight in rubbing his ‘tallywacker’ into by leg knowing the reactions he get’s . I worry about him for sure. I now know how the girlies felt in my Secondary School. It actually IS gross ladies, sorry about that. Not my fault , I misunderstood what a grind was.

[AndyFatBastard]

I have stolen your gif for my own purposes

[6starpool]

I never thought I'd see you defending a fundamentalist regime best known for being the financiers of ISIS. Do they have a few nags in boxes down the road?

By his logic, he'd have no problem with Ireland reverting to the Archbishop McQuaid / DeValera era of the church running things and controlling the morality and what can/can't be done.

[Wombatman]

I honestly don't know why they don't do the armband thing and rotate captains for each game.

Yellows are cancelled after the group stages anyway

Would be a horrible look for FIFA to sanction LGBTQ+ support. Some team should put it up to them.

[Strewelpeter]

By his logic, he'd have no problem with Ireland reverting to the Archbishop McQuaid / DeValera era of the church running things and controlling the morality and what can/can't be done.

That's some stretch.

[DeadParrot]

I have stolen your gif for my own purposes

This is the way

[Degag]

I honestly don't know why they don't do the armband thing and rotate captains for each game.

Yellows are cancelled after the group stages anyway

It just shows that all these token gestures in sport (and especially soccer) are a load of rubbish if you can't stand up to a small bit of adversity by taking a yellow card if you truly believe in something. Just lip service to appease sponsors etc. Taking the knew drove/still drives my head in.

Embarrassing climb down by England/Wales and co IMO.

[hotspur]

There is only one openly gay player in the top four divisions of English football. So exactly how supported would you feel by footballers wearing a rainbow armband?

[6starpool]

That's some stretch.

Not really. You are saying Qatar is a fundamentally religious society, as Ireland was to a large degree for a large part of last century when there were lots of restrictions on women and when being gay was essentially illegal also, because of the laws in place at the time, which you are saying a religious country is entitled to have, so (and I'm extrapolating here) you are OK with that. Same logic applies to Ireland at that time when shame and ruling from the pulpit were to the fore in Ireland.

[dobby]

WPT Ambassadors are ramping up the giveaways. Guess the combined score in an NFL game, win a package. Tag a mate, win a package. I've never seen giveaways like this in poker. It's insane.

[Wombatman]

The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute or Kaepernick speak to the fact that the marginalised can be represented by their sporting heroes.

Real opportunity here to put it up to FIFA and Qatar. Set of balls required of course.

[Strewelpeter]

Not really. You are saying Qatar is a fundamentally religious society, as Ireland was to a large degree for a large part of last century when there were lots of restrictions on women and when being gay was essentially illegal also, because of the laws in place at the time, which you are saying a religious country is entitled to have, so (and I'm extrapolating here) you are OK with that. Same logic applies to Ireland at that time when shame and ruling from the pulpit were to the fore in Ireland.

Thats a Hell of a lot of extrapolation

We changed for the better, they are still stuck where they are, nothing I've said can be taken as approval of their culture. But it is their culture and us thinking we have a right to force another culture on them against their will is cultural imperialism.
We can sneer, we can nudge for change, we can be an example of how democracy is better than autocracy but If we want them to change then we need a coherent plan to effect change, just turning up at a soccer tournament spouting platitudes that you are not even willing to follow through on is just bluster.

[Denny Crane]

This is interesting, what it seems to me to indicate is that kids who have no interest of or understanding of recent history are buying the propaganda of SF/IRA hook line and sinker.

Anyone got the test of the Times article?

Very evident on the internet.

There were hugely popular Irish Simpsons meme pages that were basically SF propaganda. Not

[Micknail]

Grinds for an 11 year old is a new one for me to be honest.

Think I'd prefer an average all rounder with friends and some sort of sporty proficiency/team exposure than going down the Japanese route of piling exam pressure on kids so much they have a mental break down.

I do understand that for some careers/courses it's just all about point points points but I think realistically the kids would be better off 'naturally' getting 400+ points rather than artificially getting 500 and then being under crazy pressure in college too.
I do acknowledge points != Course toughness too sometimes.

[Micknail]

Very evident on the internet.

There were hugely popular Irish Simpsons meme pages that were basically SF propaganda. Not

I don't even think the troubles were mentioned up to JC in secondary school, after which a lot of people who didn't want to write essays non stop for the next 3 years dropped as a subject.

[Lazare]

Thats a Hell of a lot of extrapolation

We changed for the better, they are still stuck where they are, nothing I've said can be taken as approval of their culture. But it is their culture and us thinking we have a right to force another culture on them against their will is cultural imperialism.
We can sneer, we can nudge for change, we can be an example of how democracy is better than autocracy but If we want them to change then we need a coherent plan to effect change, just turning up at a soccer tournament spouting platitudes that you are not even willing to follow through on is just bluster.

Bollox to the cultural imperialism bit.

Being gay is not cultural. These cunts are hosting a world event, and opening their doors to visitors. Their stance on homosexuality is no different to racism.

Imagine the following scenario. Scandinavian countries are hosting the WC or the Olympics.

Scandinavian countries (in this hypothetical) have exrreme state sanctioned cultures of Islamophobia.

Although they promised governing authorities they would allow outward displays of Islam, allow the hijab into stadia, they went back on their word and refused entry.

Muslims are afraid to travel there. A reporter wearing a hijab is hailed as brave on social media.


Would you consider it a fair argument to suggest Muslims travelling to Scandinavia are partaking in cultural imperialism, forcing their culture on a misunderstood people?

Replace Muslim with Black.

Fuck Qatar.

[Strewelpeter]

Fuck Qatar.

OK so we can only have sports that don't involve Islamic countries until they give up their 'oul religion. That's not very tolerant is it?

[Lazare]

OK so we can only have sports that don't involve Islamic countries until they give up their 'oul religion. That's not very tolerant is it?

You could probably stretch to Qatar with that reach.

[Lazare]

Could have been an amazing and joyous WC in Afghanistan or Iran in the 70s.

[Mellor]

This is interesting, what it seems to me to indicate is that kids who have no interest of or understanding of recent history are buying the propaganda of SF/IRA hook line and sinker.

I’m not really sure that’s it’s about propaganda.
Younger people who were alive at the time are less likely to be aware of the full history, less likely to understand the troubles, or the GFA - as the survey shows.
Following from that, it’s prey logically that they don’t understand the implication of “up the ‘ra” or understand what it all means.
I think the same would apply to any major conflict and millennials vrs boomers.

And I’d also suggest that the 55+ cohort would have different results if the poll was taken in 1965.

[Solksjaer!]

i'm agreeing with SP . This passes through our milky way every 50 years . (Music doesnt count)

[Solksjaer!]

Could have been an amazing and joyous WC in Afghanistan or Iran in the 70s.

Or England in the late 70s/early 80s when the fans out scumbagged the government .

[Raoul Duke III]

Could have been an amazing and joyous WC in Afghanistan or Iran in the 70s.

Both ruled by vicious dictators at the time.

[Lazare]

Both ruled by vicious dictators at the time.

As were the Argies in 78.

Far more liberal and open I would suspect than this shitshow.

Funny, I was thinking this the other day. What current ME society could host an un protested WC right now?

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Grinds for an 11 year old is a new one for me to be honest.

Think I'd prefer an average all rounder with friends and some sort of sporty proficiency/team exposure than going down the Japanese route of piling exam pressure on kids so much they have a mental break down.

I do understand that for some careers/courses it's just all about point points points but I think realistically the kids would be better off 'naturally' getting 400+ points rather than artificially getting 500 and then being under crazy pressure in college too.
I do acknowledge points != Course toughness too sometimes.

I think you are wrong.

Extra lessons at a young age is what gives kids the confidence to go out and unlock their natural skillset when the pressure starts eventually piling on, rather than get bogged down in a cycle of negative thinking that other kids are naturally better.

Its a primary school teacher who comes in to give the class, once a week, spends most of her time praising the kid and building up the confidence levels. Confidence is a hell of a drug. Plus those primary school teachers are so well trained they really know how to get the best out of kids.

There also isn't really a 'natural' level of points. Any kid is easily capable of a 200-point swing depending on how they are set up. Lack of support and they probably fall away, having the confidence to think that if they put the work in they'll get the grades, could be 200 points the other way. But its not even about points, its about feeling you can achieve things and growing up with that sense of anything is possible.

They probably won't go to an Irish uni anyway as the points are stupid for even ordinary courses - probably a Dutch uni - and there isn't any points for that system.

[Lazare]

I'm with Micknail.

A kid shouldn't start thinking about being an adult until they're almost an adult.

They're only a kid for a short time, they're an adult forever.

Grinds for grades, grades for uni, uni for a career. Fuck all of that for an 11 year old kid.

Let them play.

[Emmet]

OK so we can only have sports that don't involve Islamic countries until they give up their 'oul religion. That's not very tolerant is it?

https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-...y-3f1f83ce4e15

Tolerance of intolerance leads to some very weird places. Wouldn't rank myself a huge Taleb fan but this is a great point imo.

[Micknail]

I think you are wrong.

Extra lessons at a young age is what gives kids the confidence to go out and unlock their natural skillset when the pressure starts eventually piling on, rather than get bogged down in a cycle of negative thinking that other kids are naturally better.

Its a primary school teacher who comes in to give the class, once a week, spends most of her time praising the kid and building up the confidence levels. Confidence is a hell of a drug. Plus those primary school teachers are so well trained they really know how to get the best out of kids.

There also isn't really a 'natural' level of points. Any kid is easily capable of a 200-point swing depending on how they are set up. Lack of support and they probably fall away, having the confidence to think that if they put the work in they'll get the grades, could be 200 points the other way. But its not even about points, its about feeling you can achieve things and growing up with that sense of anything is possible.

They probably won't go to an Irish uni anyway as the points are stupid for even ordinary courses - probably a Dutch uni - and there isn't any points for that system.

Let's eh bear in mind I have no kids for a start, so take whatever I say about kids with a hefty pinch of idealism thrown in.

The extra maths lessons here sounds like a remedial teacher rather than private weekend grinds which is what I had in my head, so apologies.

And I probably should have put 'naturally' in italics rather than using it in the technical sense of the word.
I just meant what the student would get without help vs. non stop grinds for points.

There was a chap in my secondary whose parents paid for him to do 2 extra subjects privately for the LC.
I think it was with a plan of he'd really find it easy in that course in college (engineering or something, can you take that at LC level?).
This was on top of the school doing 7 subjects so basically you could really f up in one and it wouldn't really matter.
Poor bollix didn't get the points in the end for his first choice course as he was spreading himself so thin, did really well in the two extra subjects tho!
I think he eventually had to do a hopscotch from an IT into his uni of choice.
He was defo captain no craic for 2 years in school.

[hotspur]

He was defo captain no craic for 2 years in school.

He was captain of the no craic team though right?

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

I'm with Micknail.

A kid shouldn't start thinking about being an adult until they're almost an adult.

They're only a kid for a short time, they're an adult forever.

Grinds for grades, grades for uni, uni for a career. Fuck all of that for an 11 year old kid.

Let them play.

Meh maybe its different in our case given its a French school where there is largely no homework (as a general policy). There's definitely no shortage of play

[Micknail]

On a similar thread to Hitch's,
My sis in law wants my niece to do secondary school through Irish. She hasn't done this in primary school.
Says it's because you can get 30% extra in the leaving.
I'll be quite honest, nobody on the family is fluent in Irish.

Am I right in thinking wtaf?
In this case it's surely better to get grinds in English to bring the grades up if needed, rather than be labouring through 6 years of a dead language?

[BennyHiFi]

Grinds for an 11 year old is a new one for me to be honest.

Think I'd prefer an average all rounder with friends and some sort of sporty proficiency/team exposure than going down the Japanese route of piling exam pressure on kids so much they have a mental break down.

I do understand that for some careers/courses it's just all about point points points but I think realistically the kids would be better off 'naturally' getting 400+ points rather than artificially getting 500 and then being under crazy pressure in college too.
I do acknowledge points != Course toughness too sometimes.

When I moved to the south 25 years ago I'd never heard of grinds. Didn't know about the concept or how common there were.

They just weren't a thing in the north or, as far as I was aware, in Britain. The only person I know who took extra classes outside of school was the underachieving child of doctors. He still failed the entrance exam to the grammar school so the da paid for him to go.

I agree with Micknail and Lazare - can't comprehend the widespread hothousing of kids, especially at a young age. Seems like a lot of projection of parental ambition onto someone so young.

Maybe I'm just naive, honestly. But it would never really cross my mind, perhaps unless a teacher said, 'your son has a real talent for x (music/maths whatever) and would probably benefit from some advance study that I can't give him'.

Now of course that might change in years to come, driven by MrsHiFi probably, should there be a glimpse of slacking off or a target not getting met, who knows.

But I know even the threat of extra classes outside of school - thus depriving me of riding my BMX, hanging with my gang, being in a band, discovering girls, pretending to be in the IRA (only joking SP) etc... - would have fairly made me buck up my ideas.

[shrapnel]

Meh maybe its different in our case given its a French school where there is largely no homework (as a general policy). There's definitely no shortage of play

that policy goes out the window in secondary school and ramps up quite significantly as you progress up!!

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

that policy goes out the window in secondary school and ramps up quite significantly as you progress up!!

Ah cool. She's in sixieme at the moment, but still no sign of homework

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Seems like a lot of projection of parental ambition onto someone so young.

There's naturally a direct transfer from parental ambition to kid's growing up with ambition. Its not a bad thing, its the thing that gets you up in the morning wanting to do things.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

I won't link to it, but I see our legal eagle in the paper today.

[BennyHiFi]

There's naturally a direct transfer from parental ambition to kid's growing up with ambition. Its not a bad thing, its the thing that gets you up in the morning wanting to do things.

Oh I get that (I totally want my son to be a cool BMX riding, guitar wielding, sex bomb like I was), what I mean is that this doesn't seem to me a natural or particularly healthy manifestation of it.

Not knocking ambition... nor indeed all types of extra curricular learning, just wary of knee-jerk parental responses to slamming kids into more classes (which I'm not suggestion you or anyone else here is doing either BTW!).

[Goodluck2me]

Grinds for an 11 year old is a new one for me to be honest.

Think I'd prefer an average all rounder with friends and some sort of sporty proficiency/team exposure than going down the Japanese route of piling exam pressure on kids so much they have a mental break down.

I do understand that for some careers/courses it's just all about point points points but I think realistically the kids would be better off 'naturally' getting 400+ points rather than artificially getting 500 and then being under crazy pressure in college too.
I do acknowledge points != Course toughness too sometimes.

I’m not sure I’d agree with you, it would be a bit like saying listen I don’t think I should allow my kids to go to football practise as it’s unlikely they’ll ever be a professional footballer and that’s too much pressure to put on a child, so they’ll end up not wanted to play any sports and have a mental breakdown (Strained analogy)

I agree with Hitch that it’s only when you are under performing in something that the confidence really gets hit, and what child/adult doesn’t enjoy the feedback loop of doing well in something, so if grinds are the way forward towards that then great.

Where I would have more of an issue is where parents force their own ideas of a career on a child, most commonly it seems with children of doctors. Some kids just simply don’t have the desire/ability/work rate to follow in their footsteps. You see a similar version of parents demanding their child goes to college regardless of ability or suitability to the course they are doing.

I came from a family of tradesmen and went to college and so I’ve seen both sides of it, I definitely think the work I put in that they didn’t during school has made life easier for me later on, so I’d always advice children to go down that route, where capable, but also acknowledge that if you are driven towards something else then just do it very very well and success will follow regardless of the field. I’d be totally agnostic as to which route they chose, I just hate the idea of half-assign anything. I think it was Jerry Flannery who was talking about playing rugby with Paul OConnell and they used to compete to be the best in all things that required no skill. I think that’s a great mindset.