Charlene Wittstock's Education & Swimming Career

[Zonk]

The purpose of this thread is to discuss the education and swimming career of Charlene Wittstock, fiancee of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.​

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[Zonk]

Let's try to have a civil discussion PLEASE.

We can talk about what the Palace has said about Charlene's education, what we have found out, the discrepancies, etc. As long as it is done in a civil manner, and please provide sources to support your view point.

Having such a thread will remove the ongoing discussions in the Current Events and the Relationship thread.

Thank you!

Zonk

 

[NGalitzine]

I suppose we should differentiate between academic education (diplomas) and life lessons learned.
Generally speaking becoming a national champion and an Olympic athlete takes years of training and in addition to having a lot of natural talent it also takes intelligence,dedication and discipline. These lessons can take you many places in later life.

 

[hibou]

I suppose we should differentiate between academic education (diplomas) and life lessons learned.
Generally speaking becoming a national champion and an Olympic athlete takes years of training and in addition to having a lot of natural talent it also takes intelligence,dedication and discipline. These lessons can take you many places in later life.

Fair enough to separate the academic from the other. Different sports require different types of thinking processes. So may be we should look at what type of thinking process is involved in swimming? It's quite different from say skiing or equestrian sports.

 

[CrownPrincess5]

Can someone give me an update on her education background?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Charlene Wittstock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Her wiki site was updated by a member of this forum, Lady MacAlpine I believe.
They personally found out the information and corrected the wiki article.

 

[Wisteria]

in addition to having a lot of natural talent it also takes intelligence,dedication and discipline.

While I understand that it takes dedication and discipline to become a swimming champion, and let´s not forget strength, but why does a person have to be intelligent? As hibou said, what thinking processes are involved?

 

[rosana]

Is it not a thread about education? What does a sport have to do?

CW has not finished high school, period. I don´t think there´s much to be discussed. She will represent a country, in which way? time will tell. Some princesses are only pieces of decoration. Others are involved in causes, even though, i would never call that a job.

 

[Wisteria]

Is it not a thread about education? What does a sport have to do?

.

Well if this is about education and she never finished hers and all articles about her say is that she was a swimming champion then what can we say about her, she wears nice clothes? A bit difficult actually to find much to say, and it has been said that she doesn´t even speak French. So really what is the use of a thread based on her education?

 

[Renata4711]

My feelings exactly, Wisteria.

The fact that we know so very little about her educational background does not inspire confidence !!

 

[iceflower]

The reason for opening this thread has been the fact that several members
have felt the need and interest to talk about Charlene Wittstock's education,
we already have pages filled with that. But as these posts didn't fit into the
relationship-thread or any other thread we've had so far, this thread has been
opened as an extra offer. Those members who are not interested in it or have
already read enough about it in the existing threads - which is equally
understandable - should leave it out respectively ignore it.

 

[Wisteria]

I can´t be classed as not interested on the contrary I am very interested to know what can be said about the education of someone who it is said did not finish her education, this should prove to be very interesting indeed. Sports seem not to be classified as education so here I am on tenterhooks waiting to see what comes out of this Charlene´s education thread.

 

[Renata4711]

Same here ! Being an educationalist myself, any discipline interests me, including sport.

I'm very happy to wait for news about anything which concerns CW's education in whatever subject(s).

Many thanks to you, Iceflower, for making this thread available.

 

[hibou]

Is it not a thread about education? What does a sport have to do?

CW has not finished high school, period. I don´t think there´s much to be discussed. She will represent a country, in which way? time will tell. Some princesses are only pieces of decoration. Others are involved in causes, even though, i would never call that a job.

Some sports require very fast decision making which is a type of critical thinking skill. The ability to analyze and react quickly is a brain process. There is a book called "Blink" which discusses why some of us can do this and others of us can't. Worth reading. Equestrian sports require just this skill. If your horse makes a mistake down a line of very big fences as we've seen Charlotte jump, you only have one horse's stride to make a change in the game plan. The same is true for skiing and fencing for example.

Charlene said in her very first interview that she left school at a very young age to swim. There are documents that indicate that she never attended college. The wiki portion containing her education is accurate. Not completing a college degree does not may one dumb but it does make one uneducated. For those of us who come out of rigorous academic training, I have found that it enhances one's life experience because it widens your horizons and if you have good professors, it can make you change your view on many things in life.

 

[Zonk]

This title of this thread has been changed to include discussion of Charlene's Swimming Career and/or Achievements.

 

[LadyMacAlpine]

Charlene Wittstock - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Her wiki site was updated by a member of this forum, Lady MacAlpine I believe.
They personally found out the information and corrected the wiki article.

I received the information from Rocco Meiring after contacting the University of Pretoria to find out when she attended the University as the Wiki page implied. Plus people were arguing she was a school teacher because the Palace said so. The official Palace site said she was a youth worker not school teacher. The press took youth worker and turned it into school teacher.

As far as her dropping out of school I haven't seen it verified and I can't find an article that says more than she left home at 17, at which age she could have graduated. In one of her mothers recent interviews except I can't tell you where I read it at this point she said Charlene had to learn to walk in heels for what I thought might be the same as our graduation. Charlene said she didn't do well in school and all she cared about was swimming. Personally, I have become bored with Charlene and all the bickering over Albert being a deadbeat Dad when I know it isn't true. Unless my health improves I'm not going to attempt to hang over the computer to do more research on her education. This is a partial list of schools in SA if anyone wants to do the research instead of speculating and arguing over it. More

 

[Renata4711]

Great images, Lady Mac - many thanks !! Hope you get better soon.

As to CW's Curriculum vitae, I think the Palace and PA may have shot themselves in the foot by not releasing a proper CV.

They should have known that there would be a feeding frenzy about CW's academic and personal past.

 

[hibou]

Great images, Lady Mac - many thanks !! Hope you get better soon.

As to CW's Curriculum vitae, I think the Palace and PA may have shot themselves in the foot by not releasing a proper CV.

They should have known that there would be a feeding frenzy about CW's academic and personal past.

I agree Renata. Thanks for all your hard work LadyMac. It certainly clarifies fact from fiction. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[LadyS]

There was an article in The Star newpaper which gave the details of her schooling and also The Citizen newspaper had the interview with her mother. According to the articles [also articles in the You Magazine] she attended Tom Newby Primary school and Benoni High School. I think the websites might still have the articles.

 

[Wisteria]

Youth worker, well that clears everything up. As to arguing about it, it would have to be a more interesting subject to get me to that point. So far I find the whole subject boring but I was just interested to know how a thread could be about what seemed to be an inexistent subject, now that the name has been changed to include "and swimming career" it seems much better.

 

[Renata4711]

Yes, that sounds much better - it's what sports personalities tend to do.

They use some of their free time to do some real training, usually with disadvantaged kids and/or adults, and in return they get favourable media exposure.

I bet the system has been running that way since the Olympics in Ancient Greece....

 

[FanofMonaco]

I wish the Palace would post a resume, not only of Charlene, but also of the Casiraghis. I understand their wanting privacy, but this is basic stuff and would stop alot of gossip about flunking out of schools,etc.

 

[COUNTESS]

What's the difference. They are not interviewing for jobs, and, frankly, it is no one else business.

 

[Jaya]

Yes, that sounds much better - it's what sports personalities tend to do.

They use some of their free time to do some real training, usually with disadvantaged kids and/or adults, and in return they get favourable media exposure.

I bet the system has been running that way since the Olympics in Ancient Greece....

The Ancient Greek system demanded excellence both in the body and the mind and put the two together.One could not be an OLympian if one of the two was missing- this is a lost aspect of what the ideal was and has been subject to revisionsism. Mind you I cannot see how the philosophers could train and I cannot see how the athletes could sit at a Symposium.
You had to be both without detriment to either.

 

[Zonk]

Youth worker, well that clears everything up. As to arguing about it, it would have to be a more interesting subject to get me to that point. So far I find the whole subject boring but I was just interested to know how a thread could be about what seemed to be an inexistent subject, now that the name has been changed to include "and swimming career" it seems much better.

Charlene's educational achievements or lack of them have led to some lengthy discussions in other threads as Iceflower previously mentioned.

I think the issues regarding Charlene's education has been the confusion surrounding it. It has been reported that she is a high school and yet not a high school graduate. That she attended the University of Pretoria or just swam for its swim club.

Personally (and I say this as a college graduate) I don't have a problem with Charlene just being a high school graduate or a high school drop out as long as SHE is doing something with it (i.e. getting her GED). That would include letting people know that as a high school graduate or drop out she learned this or she regretted that or how its affected her post life (i.e. limited her ability to get a decent job. Please NO SNICKERS). Its worth noting that a lot of famous and well known people didn't graduate high school.

That being said, my whole issue with the education thing is the way the Princely House of Monaco (or the PR department) has handled. And I think we can agree that they could have done a better job...maybe its the same PR firm working for the Swedish Royal House???

There is nothing wrong in saying that Charlene didn't graduate high school because she focused on her swimming career. That is very common for a lot swimming athletes. They sometimes finish their educational careers after they are no longer swiming competitively.

I am hoping that this thread will answer the educational quesitons once and for all.

Well that is probably hoping too much...at least for a while.

 

[Jaya]

I wish the Palace would post a resume, not only of Charlene, but also of the Casiraghis. I understand their wanting privacy, but this is basic stuff and would stop alot of gossip about flunking out of schools,etc.

Charlene is not really accountable to anyone except PA is she? Asking for her resume is a bit much indeed.I understand CW has not finished high school and maybe never worked either but that is not my isssue at all and will probably not affect her now.When and if she feels theneed she may want to tell how it impacted her life but until then we are beating a dead horse to death.
I think we can clear the decks up once and for all that Charlene the athlete is not a Grace clone because Grace was not athletic at all and or in the least..as her dad said of her.She was no a sports enthusiast either. Instead was her sister Peggy that was the athlete and that is who CW has a vague resembalnce to.. imo

 

[Jaya]

What's the difference. They are not interviewing for jobs, and, frankly, it is no one else business.

Well it is everybody's business since CW is a public and now famous figure. But since they have been silent maybe we should use our discretion too. I hope Charlene works with older citizens as the world now has the first of the baby boomers coming into their pensions.

 

[Shelo]

I think the issues regarding Charlene's education has been the confusion surrounding it.

That being said, my whole issue with the education thing is the way the Princely House of Monaco (or the PR department) has handled.

I agree, Zonk. If there had been full disclosure by the Princely House of Monaco from the beginning, this issue would not have become an issue.

 

[Lakshmi]

Charlene is a high school dropout, by her own words in Paris Match interview in 2006, she stopped going to school when 17. She told in that interview that grades were never important for her but she was concentrated on her swimming career.

 

[Renata4711]

It depends how you interpret her comments about her schooling.

PA had his Philadelphia relatives as sportspersons whom he could emulate.

CW has her mother as someone to emulate and admire (for her diving).

It's another thing the two have in common - two family histories in which sport played a very large role. This is how they came together, and this is what will keep them together, I think.