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Somalian Immigrant steals gold

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pa___ul3 | 10:40 Mon 05th Sep 2011 | News
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Great to see Mo Farah winning gold for Britain in the 5000 metres. Yesterday morning I ran 5k in 21 mins, Mo finished his in 13 mins 23!! All this from a guy who came to Britain as an 8 year old barely speaking a word of English.
Apparently he was struggling academically in school and it wasn't until his PE teacher took him under his wing that he was given the focus he needed.

People don't generally consider PE to be a 'proper' school subject but this is an example of how if used correctly, it can bring the best out of a subject.

We see in the USA with sports scholarships that they have to pass academic exams as well before they'll be accepted.

With obesity supposedly becoming endemic of British youths, do you think sport in schools should be given more importance, not only as a means of creating a fitter, sportier, generation but to give focus and confidence to, let's say, more unruly children?
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For the sake of all our children, the narrow view that only 'scholarly' children are worthy needs to be radically overhauled.

If Sport is a way of engaging with, and providing focus for, vast swathes of our youth, it is an idea which should be grasped with both hands.
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my rugby club has a cricket team too, in our third team there's a deaf girl who apparently wasn't very academic either, not many friends outside of the club but finds her place and her confidence in the team. She useless with the bat but she gets a wicked spin out of that ball!!
Confidence is enormously important at that age and, I feel, confidence in one area can breed confidence in others.
I also you think they should ensure that pupils are acheiving academically before being able to represent the school teams at sports, although I think it should be relative to the individual as opposed to on a set level, but that could be difficult to manage.
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/// Somalian Immigrant steals gold ///

Nothing new there then.
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haha, like a mouse with a whiff of cheese AOG!

I wasn't directly referring to any particular sport, just in general really, but I see why you've mentioned cricket specifically, it does command a lot of focus and extreme sharpness of decision making. I know it's often been said that footballers are think (often unjustly but often very fairly indeed!), it'd be interesting to look at academic capacity of top cricket players given that it's, arguably, less divided than say rugby and football (I mean one would consider rugby players to have higher levels of education because they're more likely to be privately educated than footballers).
It gives a little national pride, which is nice.

Schools should cater for mind and body, but in my opinion the mind is the main focus. It is an academic institution. The body should be considered just as much as is necessary to ensure pupils get the most out of the intellectual lessons.

Would I prefer unruly fit pupils or unruly couch potatoes ? I think the latter may be less trouble. Besides sport doesn't give all pupils focus. Many are unsuited to physical achievement and resent it. I believe the emphasis they gave when I was at secondary school, was just fine.
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*thick not think! Oh the ironly!! That'll be the 5 years of Birkenhead Saturday League footy!!
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O_G, "many are unsuited to physical achievement" - if it's pushed at primary school level I think that would be less likely and, from my own experience, there are sports for everyone. Who is unsuited to physical achievement?
Many. Did you not have them at your school ?

I wasn't that apt at it. Hated the primary school joke of getting me to humiliate myself in front of the school on sports day for the amusement of all. I realised there were some very sick people around. But by the time I got to secondary school I realise there were many worse off than I.
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we had some 'larger' kids who were better at rugby, a gangly geek who was ace at the long jump, and then there was "lightening", who came last every year in the 800 and 1500 metres, the only open events, but would have the whole school shouting "come on lightening!", he loved it! The only ones who were really useless at everything, as I remember, were the lazy ones and I don't think there was anything physically stopping them.
I'm not saying it's an easy fix for everyone, there will always be some who just don't like it and will never be good at it, like any subject, but with added emphasis, support and good teaching then I think it could help some. There's got to be at least one cheesey American film to back up my theory!!
So lightening loved the patronisation ? Or did he just grin and die a little more inwardly ?
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he seemingly loved it, if he were 'dying inside a little' I don't see why he'd choose to run it, I put it down to a self-deprecating sense of humour.
pa___ul

Certain members of our little AB community would only ever join in congratulating this fine athlete if he were white.

Indeed, the only time their bony finger alight their keyboards is when they can refer to a story where black Britons are shown in a negative light.

It's because their racists I'm afraid.
Born in Somalia so why is he running for GB?
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He qualifies through residency Joe Luke. As do half of the England cricket team.
joeluke

Seriously? You REALLY don't understand?

Blimey.
Joeluke, he is British, somalian born, and if you want the other side of the coin, why does the cricketer Kevin Pietersen play for England.
Somalians have pirates and boats, why run?
Seriously pa__ul, I think its a brilliant idea. Schools should have scholarships and proper training grounds for young people to achieve these things. I was always in the sports days, relay racing, high jump and hurdles, not to mention the school netball team and rounders. We stayed after school to train, and we were fit and healthy children. Children need the power of achievement at something and teachers should be there to bring in out in them.

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