Why has it gone so well ?
Well there is the winning.
The weather smiled during the first week
The
atmosphere, the collective mind set which like a virus, contaminated us
by the success of the opening ceremony. We had prepared for failure and
suddenly we could celebrate a remarkable event.
We were bewildered to be contradicted in such a positive way.
How
close to crying one became and one has to ask, why ? Why does emotion
produce such empathy with the athletes and the man and women, lining the
streets and filling the velodrome.
The success has come through "investment",
remember that word ! We invest so little in so many important aspects
of our collective life (apprenticeships, business set ups, up to date
industrial machinery, long term banking support) and yet when we do we
have the success we yearn for.
The investment spent on sports facilities and on coaches has been repaid with success on the world stage.
Unfortunately
and this is reflected in the split between the successful athletes and
the less successful athletes, it all comes down to the investment
in the facilities in our schools. We have a deeply flawed school
system, Public (Private) and State.
Look around the Private School and
you will see a wealth of playing fields, swimming pools, equipment and
full time coaches. From these schools come the winning athletes. The
school timetable that recognises the importance of sport. Saturdays set
aside for compulsory sport or study, these are the building blocks to
success.
Contrast
this with the State School. The bulk of the playing fields sold off to
balance the books. Teachers roistered to teach sport but trained for
other specialities and not properly equipped. A curriculum where sport
is relegated to two hours a week and can be cancelled. The kids
inculcated with the message "winning is not important" and that every
child will receive the same praise whether first or last.
When we mess around with young minds so much, it is predictable that mediocrity is the norm !!
Its
not that the pupils from the Private Schools are cleverer, its is that
they are taught to be resourceful, they are taught to plan, to
prioritise and set goals !!
The
four year plan of the athlete is brim full of commitment and endeavour.
Not for the faint hearted, not for the weak willed and not for the
young chap who is thrown out and expected to stand on his own feet
without reference to winning, receiving little or no praise, how ever
well he tries !!!
How
different it could all be if the system treated us all as potential
achievers and gave us the encouragement, the resources and the committed
plan to raise this country into a winning team !!!
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