C-J Readers' Corner Letter today (8/30)

[Hasbeen]

No, every student and their family makes a very large financial commitment when they decide on Trinity. Open enrollment means that schools are a free market. Over 1400 young men and their familys have made the decision that in a free market, Trinity is worth that financial commitment. That says to me that the school has "earned" every one of those students. With regard to the central point of the discussion, of course a larger student body is an advantage. It just isn't an unfair advantage.

 

 

Allow me to preface what I'm about to say by stating that I don't live in an area where private schools are much of an option and probably have no business even being in this discussion. However, I have a little down time right now so let's have at it.

 

You state over 1400 young men and their families have made the financial commitment to attend Trinity, thus T has "earned" that advantage. I gather from past discussions not everyone had the financial ability to do so and that financial aid in the form of scholarships and work study are available for those who need it. I applaud that. But let's suppose that everyone in Jefferson Co. were to come to the same conclusion, that Trinity or St. X were so superior to the public schools that their child just has to be educated there. How could you possibly fund the thousands who would suddenly be applying without the financial ability to pay tuition? I doubt it would be possible for the church or the school's benefactors to overcome that type of fiscal drain and the vast majority would have to be turned away. Space and fiscal responsibility would dictate only the most well funded, the brightest, or the most gifted would be able to attend so I guess, in a way, one would have to "earn" their way in.

 

You know what? Now that I've written and reread this, I agree, it is an "earned advantage" and I applaud those who put forth the effort. However, it is nonetheless an advantage that not everyone who puts forth the effort can take advantage of and my only request is that it is recognized as such. There are public school districts within the state that have the means (large population centers, open enrollment, upscale communities) to be competitive with these schools. My suggestion would be we go with the six classes grouping schools with those of similar means together, acknowledge the advantages some have over others and tone down the elitist retoric coming from a group of your peers specifically the "we work harder" and "watered down titles" stuff. A little PR would go a long way.

[RockPride]

I don't know that the advantage is "earned" as much as it is exploited. That isn't meant to infer that the advantage is unfair, just simply an advantage.

Well no one had a problem kicking our tails in in our first 5-6 years playing football. Small school, small team, etc....Now we stayed the course, and "earned" the advantages that we now have.,

[Trinity alum]

You state over 1400 young men and their families have made the financial commitment to attend Trinity, thus T has "earned" that advantage. I gather from past discussions not everyone had the financial ability to do so and that financial aid in the form of scholarships and work study are available for those who need it. I applaud that. But let's suppose that everyone in Jefferson Co. were to come to the same conclusion, that Trinity or St. X were so superior to the public schools that their child just has to be educated there. How could you possibly fund the thousands who would suddenly be applying without the financial ability to pay tuition? I doubt it would be possible for the church or the school's benefactors to overcome that type of fiscal drain and the vast majority would have to be turned away. Space and fiscal responsibility would dictate only the most well funded, the brightest, or the most gifted would be able to attend so I guess, in a way, one would have to "earn" their way in.

 

To an extent, it has already happened. The amount of money available for financial aid never matches the documented need. So far, the solution has been to cap the maximum awards of financial aid and hope that the families can make up the difference. We have not had to turn people away due to lack of space. In the last few years Trinity has added about twenty-five classrooms and several science labs as the enrollment has gone from about 1050 to over 1400. In doing that, Trinity has also won awards. Last year the school received a local award for making the entire school accessible to the handicapped. This past summer, Trinity won a national award for its efforts to welcome and teach students of all levels of academic ability. This award was given by an organisation of over 1200 private high schools. I am more proud of that type of achievement than I am of the state titles in sports. I guess that what I am trying to say is that you don't have to earn your way into Trinity, but Trinity does do a lot to earn the kind of devotion and commitment that causes families to make the sacrifices necessary to attend. I hope that this pride is not perceived as arrogant. It is not intended in that way and in pointing out what I believe are things to be very proud of, I have made NO comments on the efforts made at other schools.

[Hasbeen]

 

I should have pointed out that I was not referring to you when I made that statement. I apoligize for that oversight. I'm sure you have seen the ones that I was referring to.

[westsider]

I guess that what I am trying to say is that you don't have to earn your way into Trinity, but Trinity does do a lot to earn the kind of devotion and commitment that causes families to make the sacrifices necessary to attend.

I have no doubts about that, and I suspect no one else does, either ... regardless of their personal feelings toward the school and the football program.

I hope that this pride is not perceived as arrogant. It is not intended in that way and in pointing out what I believe are things to be very proud of, I have made NO comments on the efforts made at other schools.

There is a difference between pride and arrogance. You haven't crossed the line between the two, but there are some that do on a regular basis, which contributes to some of the animosity toward Trinity (and St. Xavier, to be fair) shown on these message boards.

[Trinity alum]

Hasbeen and westsider, Thanks for the kind words.

[rock86]

:thumb:

 

I hate hearing how the private schools work harder, etc. It's rather pety to dismiss the efforts given by athletes at the public schools. Numbers do matter, it helps a lot if a team is able to go 2 deep at each postion, when some schools have guys playing both ways.

How many practices held by Jefferson County public schools have you seen?

I seen several over the years. Did the public school staffs get together at least weekly from January through May? Practically daily from June until now?

The efforts are not the same, at least locally.

Male and Manual run loose practices compared to their private counterparts. Waggener players used to ride around yelling taunts at Trinity while the Rocks practiced in the rain. Butler's staff knows they need to run a tighter practice in an effort to regain their competitiveness.

Simply drive by and observe. None of the practices are closed. It is an advantage for Trinity to have most of their varsity staff on the Trinity faculty.

I'm sure St. X enjoys much of the same. These two programs run their practices like a good college program. Every minute is planned.

I'll bet Highlands is a well oiled machine and Beechwood as well.

[H]

Male and Manual run loose practices compared to their private counterparts.

 

 

Please explain what you mean by "loose practices".

[strike-3]

How many practices held by Jefferson County public schools have you seen?

I seen several over the years. Did the public school staffs get together at least weekly from January through May? Practically daily from June until now?

The efforts are not the same, at least locally.

Male and Manual run loose practices compared to their private counterparts. Waggener players used to ride around yelling taunts at Trinity while the Rocks practiced in the rain. Butler's staff knows they need to run a tighter practice in an effort to regain their competitiveness.

Simply drive by and observe. None of the practices are closed. It is an advantage for Trinity to have most of their varsity staff on the Trinity faculty.

I'm sure St. X enjoys much of the same. These two programs run their practices like a good college program. Every minute is planned.

I'll bet Highlands is a well oiled machine and Beechwood as well.

 

Your right the public schools are just lazy. The coaches and players have no desire to win. I'm sure the public school coaches just show up at practice time with no plan as to what they hope to accomplish that day.

[50inarow]

There is a difference between pride and arrogance. You haven't crossed the line between the two, but there are some that do on a regular basis, which contributes to some of the animosity toward Trinity (and St. Xavier, to be fair) shown on these message boards.

 

We are tired of defending ourselves from small minded people that are full of accusations which contribute to some of the animosity toward public schools.

 

The arguments never change. The accusations never change. Privates are cheaters, have too many boys, have too many coaches, etc. It never ends.

 

While public schools call us arrogant, we in turn and call them lazy and whiners. Why? Because all we have done to gain our "unfair advantage" is work our tails off. Nothing has been gained the easy way. Publics assume we must be doing something “illegal” to gain our advantage. While defending ourselves from these accusations, we share with the publics what we have done in the past and continue to do to advance our programs (work hard, start an optimist league, etc). Public's reaction is "that's arrogant".

 

In our defense, we don’t know what else to tell you. Do nothing different and nothing will change. Or… publics can try to mandate privates out of “their” KHSAA. But we didn’t do anything cries the private schools! We simply work hard at… Those arrogant private schools, we’ll show them. Let’s take away all of “our” public school kids. But that means we can’t have “their” private school kids. Who cares! Next we’ll make them stop giving financial aid to their kids. But our kids don’t pay anything for school at all, so does that mean they can’t pay? Don’t be ridiculous! Next we will make them have districts, or else. But a lot of the public schools don’t follow districts. It’s actually better for academic choice. Be quite you, whose side are you on anyway?

 

And on and on it goes. When it stops, no one knows. True theater of the absurd type of stuff. :lol:

[ladiesbballcoach]

Then why do the NKY 4A schools struggle so much with schools in the lower classifications?

 

Yes there is an advantage to having a larger enrollment but it is not the all encompassing reason for domination by schools like Trinity and X. If enrollment size was such a huge factor Beechwood, Highlands, CCH, Holy Cross et al. would never beat the NKY 4A teams.

A good number of people in NKY will tell you Highlands and Beechwood are more private school than they are public school in regards to athletics.

[ladiesbballcoach]

Perfectly plausible.

 

But, that really doesn't make it a public/private issue, inasmuch as it's an urban/rural issue.

Are you beginning to agree with me, too. :sssh: First in the P & R threads and now here. I am speechless.

[50inarow]

Are you beginning to agree with me, too. :sssh: First in the P & R threads and now here. I am speechless.

 

RM must be getting older and wiser if she is agreeing with you in P & R.

[ladiesbballcoach]

No, every student and their family makes a very large financial commitment when they decide on Trinity. Open enrollment means that schools are a free market. Over 1400 young men and their familys have made the decision that in a free market, Trinity is worth that financial commitment. That says to me that the school has "earned" every one of those students. With regard to the central point of the discussion, of course a larger student body is an advantage. It just isn't an unfair advantage.

Let me prefrace this by saying I don't buy into it but I do feel it is a mindset that is out there and one that the privates face.......Onto the post....

 

What you say here is true and is seen that really only the well-to-do can afford. (I know that is a misconception but it is out there.) So it comes across, NOT, as a we work harder routine that so many of the supporters claim but a rich vs. poor/middle class view. You have the advantages because you simply have more funds ($$$) and can afford the private lessons, the camps, the high quality equipment. Things that many, many in the middle to lower class that makes up a good % of public school families cannot.

 

Highlands and Beechwood are not included in a "normal" public school setting simply because the communities they draw from are at the top end of the middle class and on up.

 

Whether it is true or not, is NOT the point of my post. But it is the view that is out there. And a view that if the privates want to garner the support of those in the public school arena, they are going to have to dismiss this myth.

 

I can tell you that many, many public school supporters believe that it is NOT because you work any harder but because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

[ladiesbballcoach]

We are tired of defending ourselves from small minded people that are full of accusations which contribute to some of the animosity toward public schools.

 

The arguments never change. The accusations never change. Privates are cheaters, have too many boys, have too many coaches, etc. It never ends.

 

While public schools call us arrogant, we in turn and call them lazy and whiners. Why? Because all we have done to gain our "unfair advantage" is work our tails off. Nothing has been gained the easy way. Publics assume we must be doing something “illegal” to gain our advantage. While defending ourselves from these accusations, we share with the publics what we have done in the past and continue to do to advance our programs (work hard, start an optimist league, etc). Public's reaction is "that's arrogant".

 

In our defense, we don’t know what else to tell you. Do nothing different and nothing will change. Or… publics can try to mandate privates out of “their” KHSAA. But we didn’t do anything cries the private schools! We simply work hard at… Those arrogant private schools, we’ll show them. Let’s take away all of “our” public school kids. But that means we can’t have “their” private school kids. Who cares! Next we’ll make them stop giving financial aid to their kids. But our kids don’t pay anything for school at all, so does that mean they can’t pay? Don’t be ridiculous! Next we will make them have districts, or else. But a lot of the public schools don’t follow districts. It’s actually better for academic choice. Be quite you, whose side are you on anyway?

 

And on and on it goes. When it stops, no one knows. True theater of the absurd type of stuff. :lol:

Back to P & R, what you have detailed here reminds me SOOO very much of the Democrat/Liberal vs. Republican/Democrat debates.