Comments on: Ivy League Athletics – Aiming too Low?

By: mary ellen pleasant

mary ellen pleasant — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:03:26 +0000

James Denito you are a racist. “Most other sports have smarter kids in them”??? And since when does private schooling=smarter? Having taught in private schools myself, the children are mostly of average Intelligence whose parents have bought them shelter from the rest of the (mostly brown) world among other things such as expensive toys, teachers, and grades. I finally had to quit teaching in private schools because my conscience would not allow me to continue participating in a system in which every semester i was asked to change failing grades of at least 5 students whose parents were major donors to the school. Look to your ex-president GWB for dumb people who go to Ivy Leagues and then go take some nutritional supplements.

By: Dr James Denito

Dr James Denito — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:40:58 +0000

The issue is mostly with football and basketball. Most other sports have smarter kids in them. I know because I treat or advise many in my practice. My speciality is gymnastics, and most of these kids have done private schooling throughout high school. My own daughter is currently in college on a track scholarship, and now MIT is interested in recruiting her for her Junior year. They generally come from higher socioeconomic homes, and the parents have spent a lot of money on private coaching, select teams and travel. They recoup most of this money with their scholarships in the end. The football and basketball players do seem to struggle with academics, and I see many ways we could raise their IQ with simple nutritional supplements and most importantly, getting the American diet out of their face.

By: IVY Parent

IVY Parent — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:42:08 +0000

The reason the Ivy League schools consistently rank in the top universities in the world is the insistance on academic excellence. Once they start making exceptions for stronger backs and weaker minds the intellectual talent pool will become ” dumbed down.” Most college athletes are not going pro in their sport, however most college grads will be going “pro” in their degree arena. A high power diploma simply has more recruiter alure than a great college athletic career when it comes time to find a job. All that said, keeping the power in the diploma requires keeping academic standards at their highest.