Academically excellent top skaters

lariko said:

Academic excellence implies good grades, and by the sound of it Hanyu and Zhou are the only ones who have grades to back up excellence claim.

in the States, the school system is so poor, that you can’t really judge on high school grades from home schooling.

And, well, the State’s bias towards athletics is proverbial.

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What do the grades of students who are home-schooled--that is, whose parents have opted out of the school system--have to do with the standards of public or private schools?

As an American university professor who has studied and/or taught in three countries' higher-education system, I can say that there is a very wide range of qualification, preparation, and achievement in many countries, not only in the US. And differences in educational philosophies and aims make comparisons across systems difficult and less meaningful than one might think. For example, in the UK, students focusing on the humanities will most likely stop taking math or science courses after GCSE (age 16, with two years of pre-college schooling remaining), if not before. They will not be expected to take any math or science courses in university--or indeed, many if any courses outside their degree/major subject. In the US, students hoping to go to college will have to continue taking some math or science courses through high school, and will probably have to satisfy some breadth requirements to earn their college degrees. At my institution (a public flagship in the middle of the country), all students have to pass a calculus course to graduate, whether they're majoring in math or English. So who is more academically excellent: the student with a deep but narrow knowledge of one or a few interrelated subjects, or the student with a somewhat less comprehensive knowledge of one subject complemented by some knowledge of a broad range of subjects?

[In case it isn't clear, that's a rhetorical question; my point is that there are multiple valid ways of defining academic excellence.]

Mao Asada graduated with a BS degree in Physical Education in 2015.

Update on Rachael Flatt, she is pursuing her PHD degree at University of North Carolina and aiming for helping athletes dealing with eating disorder and mental health, hoping to change the sport.

https://twitter.com/HereAtUNC/status/1113543974164287489?s=20

Rachael “is working to change the culture with regards to athletes and eating disorders. And she's using graduate school at Carolina to make it happen”

UNC article about Rachael and brief video

https://stories.unc.edu/?a-new-journey

She was also a speaker at TEDxUNC on Feb. 16 this year.
https://twitter.com/RachaelFlatt/status/1086344399401951232?s=20

US figure skating fan zone article from oct 2018

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...achael-flatt-embarks-on-doctoral-program.aspx

jenaj said:

Don't a lot of European schools track students into vocational, leaving only the best achievers in the academic track?

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Yes, it is a different mind set. The U.S. mantra is, "everyone should have a chance to go to college." I believe that this notion dates back to the GI Bill of 1944. The U.S. government passed legislation guaranteeing that any soldier who fought in World War II (regardless of academic qualifications) would be admitted to participating colleges, with financial support from the government. This was to reward the soldiers for their service and to make military service more attractive for future recruits.

The University of Michigan, for instance, was so overwhelmed with applicants when the war ended that they had to build new facilities in other parts of the state and farm the students out to other colleges in the area, just to keep up with demand.

As for vocational training, I think that this has fallen on hard times in the U.S. educational system. Sort of an unwanted step-child. Maybe this will change in the future as more people start noticing that plumbers and carpenters are raking in the cash while teachers and academicians -- not so much.

lariko said:

Academic excellence implies good grades, and by the sound of it Hanyu and Zhou are the only ones who have grades to back up excellence claim.

in the States, the school system is so poor, that you can’t really judge on high school grades from home schooling.

And, well, the State’s bias towards athletics is proverbial.

And, well, judging from Uno’s Interviews he does not exactly frequent his alma-mather

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Nathan and Vincent graduated from the same online high school.

Tatsuki Machida completed his master’s degree and is continuing his research as a PhD student at Waseda University’s Graduate School of Sports Sciences.

From Waseda Weekly part 1

https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/feature-en/2018/07/13/44678/

Part 2

https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/news/2018/08/06/45722/


Kevin Shum is doing well at MIT
http://news.mit.edu/2019/kevin-shum-champion-figure-skater-thrives-as-mit-student-0127

I don’t know her grades, but Karina Manta was just named one of the NYT's 4 nationwide finalist winners for modern Love College essay contest.

https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1128368162951630848?s=20

oatmella said:

Nathan and Vincent graduated from the same online high school.

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Nathan actually only attended 3 years of that online school. It is ridiculous to imply Nathan not having good grades. Nathan indicated in an interview before the Olympics that he would be very upset if he is not the best in class or in skating.

Ps, Karen, Alexandria Yao graduated from the same school, and Alysa is still studying there.

Alexandria is at Columbia right now and Karen is going to Cornell in fall

Mathman said:

As for vocational training, I think that this has fallen on hard times in the U.S. educational system. Sort of an unwanted step-child. Maybe this will change in the future as more people start noticing that plumbers and carpenters are raking in the cash while teachers and academicians -- not so much.

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The US higher education system is a complete mess. Too many young adults are taking on way too much debt for degrees that won't be that useful for them in the long run. While I think everyone should have an opportunity at an education and to study what they want, there has got to be a better way to achieve this without burdening them with six-figure student loans that prevent them from buying a house, starting a family, etc.

Education should be free at all levels. The high education system in N America is based on money, money, money. Young graduates end up with huge dept, they have to pay right away. Universities take thousand of student in the first year, second year only several hundreds remain, and in the end, sometimes less than 100 graduate.
All the students who payed for 1st ot 2 nd year, but don't graduate, remain only with the money spent, and no degree. It happens in most colleges and Universities.

drivingmissdaisy said:

The US higher education system is a complete mess. Too many young adults are taking on way too much debt for degrees that won't be that useful for them in the long run. While I think everyone should have an opportunity at an education and to study what they want, there has got to be a better way to achieve this without burdening them with six-figure student loans that prevent them from buying a house, starting a family, etc.

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I agree that students are taking on far too much debt. The reasons for skyrocketing tuition costs are complex but boil down to two basic problems:

1) A shift from state subsidies to tuition. State funding to public universities, both as a percentage of the universities' budgets and in dollar terms, continues to shrink. At the same time, the percentage and numbers if students who go to college has risen substantially. Universities have to educate more students with less money. They fundraise as much as they can, but tuition is the main source of revenue they can control.

2) The three As: administration, athletics, amenities. As universities come to rely on tuition dollars, they have to ensure that students enroll and stay enrolled. So they invest huge sums in athletic programs and student amenities, from fancy new dorms to recreation and fitness facilities, in order to attract more students (especially students from out of state, who pay much higher tuition). And administrators create more programs and offices to recruit and retain students, creating huge new cadres of middle managers who receive managerial salaries.

The skyrocketing cost of a college education leads many students to choose a major that they think will produce a return on their investment, which is unfortunate--they're not necessarily studying what they love--and potentially counterproductive--we often perform better in activities or pursuits we're truly passionate about, not those we think are most practical. And perceptions of what degrees are most practical aren't always accurate. The latest statistics show that, for example, while business/management majors enjoy low unemployment, theirs is the fifth most underemployed major in the country.

Sabrina said:

Education should be free at all levels. The high education system in N America is based on money, money, money. Young graduates end up with huge dept, they have to pay right away. Universities take thousand of student in the first year, second year only several hundreds remain, and in the end, sometimes less than 100 graduate.
All the students who payed for 1st ot 2 nd year, but don't graduate, remain only with the money spent, and no degree. It happens in most colleges and Universities.

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The attrition rates you describe aren't typical of US universities. Across all types of 4-year institutions, the graduation rate is just under 60%--which is still much, much lower than it should be, and leaves far too many young people burdened with very high debts, but it's hardly the 0.1% rate you're suggesting. At elite private and flagship public institutions, the rate is well in excess of 90%. So, to pull this back to skating, Nathan has nothing to worry about.

lariko said:

Academic excellence implies good grades, and by the sound of it Hanyu and Zhou are the only ones who have grades to back up excellence claim.

in the States, the school system is so poor, that you can’t really judge on high school grades from home schooling.

And, well, the State’s bias towards athletics is proverbial.

And, well, judging from Uno’s Interviews he does not exactly frequent his alma-mather

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So....has Hanyu graduated yet? Just curious.

shine said:

So....has Hanyu graduated yet? Just curious.

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Not yet. He is expected to graduate this year if he hasn't take any breaks during Olympic season.

Wynter said:

Not yet. He is expected to graduate this year if he hasn't take any breaks during Olympic season.

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I work in a university, his degree sounds like a 4 year fulltime/8 year parttime one, given what is expected of him on and off ice and the fact that he studies from overseas I wouldn't be surprised if he took some leave here and there, but that's none of my business of course

TallyT said:

I work in a university, his degree sounds like a 4 year fulltime/8 year parttime one, given what is expected of him on and off ice and the fact that he studies from overseas I wouldn't be surprised if he took some leave here and there, but that's none of my business of course

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His graduation seems to be a quite interesting topic lol. IIRC there's an interview with a Waseda professor about it and a Quora topic. )
The Quora one said that he is in his 7th year now and he can go up to 8 years (so could be this year or next year), but that is just a speculation because we didn't know whether he's taken a break or not. The boy likes to keep many things private.

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Wynter said:

The Quora one said that he is in his 7th year now and he can go up to 8 years ...

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Michelle Kwan always says that she went to college on the ten year plan. :yes:

Triple loop said:

Mao Asada graduated with a BS degree in Physical Education in 2015.

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BS or BSc?

Skater Boy said:

BS or BSc?

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Armin Mahbanoozadeh did very well is school. I believe he graduated from Dartmouth.

mrrice said:

Armin Mahbanoozadeh did very well is school. I believe he graduated from Dartmouth.

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I loved his skating. I wish he continued on.

Speaking of Dartmouth …


(Although a short-term thing, I had been meaning to mention it somewhere on on GS, and this thread seemed like a good place.)

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Katie McBeath has graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Cleveland State University.



Of note: "self-identity loss and retirement in elite figure skaters" was the topic of one of Katie's final academic projects (thesis or something similar, maybe?). [Per her Instastory a few weeks ago.]

[Lest anyone wonder: AFAIK, Katie herself has not retired.]

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ribbit said:

... my point is that there are multiple valid ways of defining academic excellence.

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:agree:

Valentina Matos studies industrial engineering at the Politecnica de Madrid (online). It doesn't sound as fashion as Harvard or Yale but as an engineering graduate at a spanish university I have to say... engineering in Spain is hell with triple twist and death If she finishes, she's an amazing student.