Wrestling

[Lisa Prater]

Yes, he chose not to wrestle her earlier in the season, when it was a team competition like you said, Kay, and they could sub another wrestler. I have to give the boy credit for sticking to it. It would've been so hypocritical to choose not to wrestle her based on principle during the season, but to have done it at state when a title was on the line. But he stuck to what he believed and I think that shows some good stuff in him. Like I said, the players, parents and coaches are fine with how everything turned out ... all of the arguing has been going on in the media and the general public. (Not to imply anyone's arguing here ... just having a discussion.)

It has been an interesting couple of days, for sure! And if Cassy has anything to say about it, this won't be her last time at state!

[dairy mom]

I really don't understand the hub bub about this.  There were girls wrestling when my son was in high school and he graduated in 1998.  I don't think he ever had to wrestle a girl, but it was difficult at the time.  I do believe there was at least one girl back then that qualified for regionals if not state.  This is old news and shouldn't have been an issue.

There were even girls playing high school varsity football this year.

Personally I think it says volumes about the state of humanity when it becomes so important to any one to not accept the norms.

I don't think girls wanting to do these things that have previously been male domains (especially something as unimportant as any kind of sport) makes them cutting edge or leading to a better place. 

But then if I had my way there would not be sports in public schools.  I think it is a waste of taxpayer money and a distraction that kids don't really need.  I think I might also say the same for music, theater and art programs in the public schools.  If you child is so inclined and interested then perhaps the parents should be responsible for finding that outlet rather than the taxpaying public.

[Kay/NC]

To a certain extent, I agree that schools ought not have to do everything for every child...parents do have responsibilities to foster their children's talents.  We all spent on lessons, educational vacations, etc., and sat for hours on cold bleachers and in hot sunshine.    I loved just about every minute of it, didn't you?

There are good reasons for having sport and arts in the progrm aof high school, though.  I think we have turned too much away from vo-tech skills ed, too, at least here in NC and VA.  Some kids simply have no other area to shine except in physical competition, oir in painting or playign an instrument. 

Brains are made in so many different patterns...we are wired as uniquely as every snowflake is formed.  My kids all have different ways of seeing things...not a one of htem happy in a desk all day reading and writing.  They need to move and use their hands to open up their minds. 

My son can build anything and plays a guitar beautifully.  He could hear and spell any English word wihtout any problems, but Spanish on tapes was torture, due to his hearing loss. 

His baby sister could only learn French in college  (even after two years of it in high school) by visualizing the words' shapes...not surprisingly, she was a graphics art major.  Math whiz. 

Their sister in the middle cannot perceive phonics to save her life...and she is as bright as either one of them.  Her father can't hear phonetic sounds, either.  I had her tested as a second-grader to see if this was perceptual, and it was...so we opted to work with her on a whole-word approach in reading.  She had to work really hard to memorize things that other kids could just figure out by sounding out things they read.  In contrast, sports were easy for her, so her whole day was not a struggle.  Thank Heaven for PE. 

One size does not fit all in education.  You lose the kids who are not marching to the majority's drum, unless you offer some options. 

Some school systems here in NC have started  charging kids to play organized extracurricular sports.  Anyone who cannot it is subsidized..but, the news stories did not specify what means test is used to decide who has to pay to play.  I did not see a single complaint featured, if there was one, so maybe the policy was perceived as fair.   

There are ways to get things done, without throwing the baby out in the dirty bathwater. 

[mike se il]

I can see both sides of this.  I compliment both the girl who did well in a male dominated sport and the boy who chose to stand up for his beliefs.  I do not have to ageee with either to respect them.  I can't find fault with either one.

[Ruby Lou]

I don't know if you got your answer or not, But yes it is double elimination.  They each have to lose twice to be eliminated. 
Glad the tournament and the hub bub are over.  Did hear that alot of these kids that get to this point wrestle all year round at tournaments in and out of state.  So if you are fortunate enough to be able to do that, you have the edge. 

[Kay/NC]

When I was telling Mike about this discussion earlier tonight, on the ride out to dinner with friends, he said he'd seen it on the news here in NC...so, it certainly cast a wide net in terms of interest. In that respect, I think the media maybe made way more of it than there was, so to speak. 

I respect each child for taking a stance that will help them define themselves as adults.  Everyone does not have to agree in order to be agreeable in the end.  . 

[Kay/NC]

Thanks, I had gotten some explanation, but your input helped, too.  It was simply hard for me to accept that this is still an issue of such interest in 2011. 

As Mike and I talked about tonight, for many years from the sixties on, it seemed women opened so many doors, observed so mny firsts, it is hard to believe one this simple was still hanging out there to stir up such a fuss this late in history.  We were born in 1954, the year of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka.  For most of our school years, the emphasis was on integration, desegregation, and total versions of each. 

The racial assimilation preceded the gender-levelling process by quite some time, and was far more controversial in our region of the country.  Richmond, Va, was the epicenter of the national battle over busing kids to achieve racial equality in education then.  "Separate but equal' died hard in our adolescence, but it reared its ugly head again in open-minded, Obama-supporting Raleigh again this year...so, maybe not so settled after all.  

No one gave gender equality much thought with everything else that was goigng on, if they thought about it any at all.  Still, I figured this one had been given its run as the issue of the day, and we'd moved on.  Apparently not. 

Considering both situations, I suspect that most people want everything to be equal, just not necessarily in their own backyard, or when their own kids are involved.  It is easier to be equitable in the abstract. 

[Sundae1964]

Was driving home last night from DesMoines and got a call from the neighbor, his young kids wrestle 2nd and pre K, the youngest is a girl, she got her first pin and came in 3rd for the tournament, said it was the 1st time she made it through a meet without crying, they are not pushing her she just wants to do what her brother does.

My son, 9th grade, this was his 1st year to wrestle ever! he is way behind the others on technique and so forth but had a good time...he was pinned every time

When watching these boys and their aggression and some of the holds and grabs...I don't think it should be a girl/boy sport.  Kudos to all the woman and girls who have excelled in a mans area...but truly this should not be one.

We had 2 boys go from our school, 1 A, they placed 6th and  7th in their weights and my DD had a blast cheerleading!!! 

S.

[wt510151]

If Hillary would have won the nomination, the gender issue would have risen instead of the racial one. 2008 was going to be the year of firsts. With McCain, it was age issues, so it wasn't limited to one party.

[Lisa Prater]

Ruby Lou, you're right about the traveling. Even when my boys did pee-wee wrestling, we'd have teams clear from Nebraska coming to our tournament here in SC Iowa. And these were kindergarteners and elementary kids. The kids that came from a long distance were usually pretty had to beat. I just wanted my boys to have something fun to do with their friends during the winter, and get a little physical activity, but it just wasn't for us. (Or me, at least.)