In our schools, competition for access to elite preschools, for grades, for social status, in sports, over positions of leadership, and for admission to exclusive colleges transforms one of our most basic institutions for fostering community, ethics and learning into competitive, individualistic corporate training-grounds. In these settings, the importance of competitive sports becomes paramount, for both financial and training purposes, and the artistry of cheating (see this year's Stuyvesant High School cheating scandal) and rule-bending (see Joe Paterno) revered. Such intense competition encourages the professionalization of parenting -- through tutors, highly-educated nannies, prep courses, and professional training camps (such as investment camps). You can imagine the deleterious effects these trends have on the ethos of care and moral responsibility in our families and schools, a critical buffer against bullying and violence in the lives of our children.
Peter Horsfield on 03 Sep 13Kerri Walsh Jennings is a professional beach volleyball player and philanthropist who is most famous for winning the gold medals in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games with her partner Misty May-Treanor. Along with Misty, Kerri has been proclaimed by many volleyball critics and commentators to be the greatest beach volleyball team of all time, and has been the first team in the history of the sport to win three consecutive gold medals in the Olympic Games.
