February 27, 2009
On the Return: Reflections from the Boston College Trip
So, one week has passed since the Boston college trip and although I was initially planning on writing a daily log of our events, the days were long and the cold was debilitating. Ordinarily we left the hotel in Cambridge in the mornings around 9:15 (breakfast consumed) and off to our first college tour and meetings of the day. We went from college #1 to lunch and then to college #2, typically, each day we were there. Overall, we saw eleven colleges and universities, which sounds like a lot- and really, it is a lot- but in Boston it's not that unheard of. We met up with some of my old students and they hosted a great dinner for the boys and talked to them all about living and going to school in the city, the transition to college, the difference in responsibilities, etc . . . It was a great evening. We also met up with another one of my students from Boca who was in Boston for Harvard Model Congress with some of her classmates. Serendipitous. The boys were on great behavior the whole weekend and really gained an understanding of what type of campus it is that they're looking for and what the major differences are between academic programs from school to school. Of the group, three of the guys decided that going to school in Boston was precisely what they wanted. The other one learned that going to school in Boston was precisely what he did not want. The weather was much too cold. For him, this was a very productive trip, as well, just because the whole point is to identify locations that you do want to go to college and a big part of that is identifying those areas that you do NOT want. The guys have now all sent/are sending this weekend their follow-up Thank You emails to the various admissions folks who really went above and beyond for the four of them. That is a big part of these trips, to make sure that the students continue to grow and learn through inquiry and experience, while exploring themselves. It was a good trip. Happy almost March!
February 17, 2009
Boston: Day 1; Cold
I am in Boston with four great young guys. We arrived this morning to find that our luggage did not follow us here. It was disappointing, but also a good lesson in patience and customer service. The initial response was- as it always must be- frustration. But this was funny how absurd it was. All five of our bags were missing. When they found out that the lost baggage amount of compensation is $3,000 they all started to hope that the bags were lost in the ether, somewhere. It's extremely cold here. This is the whole point of a trip during the winter, to experience what ends up being the real weather during 4 months of a 9 month college year, sort of eliminates any fantasy about what "college in Boston" will be like. But regardless, it's still a wonderful place, with so much energy and so many young people. The guys were a little apprehensive, I think, as they were expecting some amazing shock of college life when they got off the subway and entered the city. But it's just a normal, dynamic city that has the hustle of a metropololis with the community of a college town. We had some good food. We walked the commons. We walked through the Jewish Memorial near Faneuil Hall, which was really moving. Then they got cold and started whimpering so we came back to the hotel where I made them write for a little while- they'll get used to this. More later.
February 9, 2009
Wired High Schools: Increasing Access and Decreasing IQ's
I admit that I have not always been a fan of the idea of laptops in the classroom, especially in affluent areas where students have access to that technology on a regular basis, as it stands. However, several recent experiences and some new students who I have come across, have lead me to assess "why" I dislike the idea of a 'laptop school'. This post will not be very long, because I'm afraid that I could write far too many ideas that are neither supported through independent research nor really legitimized by a truly random sample. That said, what it is that I have witnessed from my experiences with students who attend schools which do utilize laptops as a part of the daily curriculum, is their savvy in navigating youtube, wikipedia and google is greatly enhanced. It stops right about there. Sure, they can troubleshoot a computer problem much quicker than I probably am able, but the majority of their time spent on the computer is spent trying to figure out a way to beat the firewall or entertain themselves with the infinite amount of ether-tainment available in the wide world of web. I have students who have found (and do send me) some of the most obscure videos from youtube or will, without thinking twice whether they've heard of an author or tried to dig in the recesses of their minds for a common reference, do a wikipedia search, read the first line of the bio and then move on, as if they have now learned, associated and retained the information. Like I said above, there is something valiant about providing technology in a more vocational aspect- especially to schools where the demographics indicate that the average student might not have the same opportunity and access outside of school. But is it really necessary for students who do have access to be hiding behind a screen all-day long? What will happen to their creative writing? When will they have the chance to feel a book in their hands or turn the page of a newspaper? I'm not saying that google search is not a better tool than a library. But I am saying that it would be nice for every student in high school to be able to walk into a library and know how to find a book that they might be looking for. It's technology. It serves a wonderful purpose and provides great hope for a more well-connected and informed society. Though I just can't help but wonder whether, with these laptop schools, it isn't providing one aspect at the expense of another?
January 27, 2009
Reading for the SAT and Life
Now is the time when many parents of tenth and eleventh graders- and sometimes, even the tenth and eleventh graders, themselves- are beginning to wonder if their student is "test-strong". With the PSAT scores coming back to most students either right before the new year or after returning from winter break, the shock of being in the middle 50% or, as some have found themselves, the bottom 25%, in an area as crucial to learning as "Critical Reading", the panic sets in. This is a time of the year when I, inevitably, get phone calls. The question always seems to be the same: "How can my son/daughter raise his/her score on the test?" My answer sometimes frustrates parents, especially if we are discussing an eleventh grader on the dawn of college applications: "There is no quick fix. It sounds to me like your student needs to be reading on a very regular basis".
You see, it's not that the SAT can't be taught or that there aren't strategies which can enhance the score a few percentage points, the simple fact is that the test is there to gauge where a student's long-term learning has placed him/her. For someone who has never even completed a book for school or otherwise, there are no shortcuts. Too many people are looking to be let off the hook. And this, in all honesty, is the one redeeming characteristic of the standardized exams: The fact that they do not let laziness off the hook. If you don't read well and don't read consistently, your score will reflect that. If you have never been asked to paraphrase an article or summarize an author's perspective, let alone formulate your own ideas and articulate them in a coherent way, you will probably not be too satisfied with the Critical Reading score you earn.
It takes hard work to compensate for those lost years when you should have been reading a few pages each night. I recently recommended to a student's mom that she subscribe to three monthly magazines for her son: National Geographic (he likes photography and intense images-- think Stanley Kubrick films); Men's Health (he's a teenage boy who goes to the gym and worries about his image); and one more. If I had my druthers (and I told her as much) it would be the magazine that attracts the attention of most teenage boys (and has for several decades), with some of the greatest articles and writers contributing to the outstanding -and often overlooked- literary aspect of this empire (I hope that you get my subtlety). Why? Because he'll pick it up! He had never read as much as a newspaper article until I began working with him last Fall. He needs reading to be something that he wants to do. Eventually, he will learn to find joy in the learning and discovery processes of literature. Until then, if he's drawn to pictures and reading ends up being a byproduct . . . so be it!
You see, it's not that the SAT can't be taught or that there aren't strategies which can enhance the score a few percentage points, the simple fact is that the test is there to gauge where a student's long-term learning has placed him/her. For someone who has never even completed a book for school or otherwise, there are no shortcuts. Too many people are looking to be let off the hook. And this, in all honesty, is the one redeeming characteristic of the standardized exams: The fact that they do not let laziness off the hook. If you don't read well and don't read consistently, your score will reflect that. If you have never been asked to paraphrase an article or summarize an author's perspective, let alone formulate your own ideas and articulate them in a coherent way, you will probably not be too satisfied with the Critical Reading score you earn.
It takes hard work to compensate for those lost years when you should have been reading a few pages each night. I recently recommended to a student's mom that she subscribe to three monthly magazines for her son: National Geographic (he likes photography and intense images-- think Stanley Kubrick films); Men's Health (he's a teenage boy who goes to the gym and worries about his image); and one more. If I had my druthers (and I told her as much) it would be the magazine that attracts the attention of most teenage boys (and has for several decades), with some of the greatest articles and writers contributing to the outstanding -and often overlooked- literary aspect of this empire (I hope that you get my subtlety). Why? Because he'll pick it up! He had never read as much as a newspaper article until I began working with him last Fall. He needs reading to be something that he wants to do. Eventually, he will learn to find joy in the learning and discovery processes of literature. Until then, if he's drawn to pictures and reading ends up being a byproduct . . . so be it!
January 12, 2009
10 Reasons to Not Panic
As the time draws near and the decisions of whether you will or will not get into x, y, or z school are imminent, I think it best to give all high school seniors good reason to settle down, take a breath and start thinking about other, more important things (that's right, I said MORE important things).
More...
1. In the scheme of life, there is, ultimately, nothing that can be done now that your applications are in, but wait. Waiting is patience. Patience is a virtue. Virtues are something you will learn much about in college (especially if you take a philosophy course). Get a head-start. It will be like you're already in college, but you're not . . . yet!
2. If you did your best on the college applications, good job. You have now learned what it takes to complete a task that will be judged by someone who really does not know you. This, my young friends, is a life skill.
3. If you did poorly on your applications and saved everything until the last minute, maybe this will be a good wake-up call as to why approaching things with maturity and preparedness is not just a trait of an adult, but a trait of a successful adult.
4. Everybody has waited this process out before you. It's just like the SAT's, you're still around to tell about it, right? Your anxiety is not unique and, therefore, not really necessary.
5. At the end of the day you will be blazing the trail that you- and you, alone- created for yourself. Many a'student have gone off to their top choice school and been unhappy and then transferred. You, too, will find that no college is omnibenevolent and upon your arrival to whichever school you end up enrolling, you will be both extremely pleased in many regards and extremely disappointed in some regards.
6. Remember the old adage that most of the things we worry about never end up coming to fruition?
7. Don't panic because although this is a stressful process, you must learn NOW how to deal with such stress. Say you don't end up getting into any of your schools and you end up going to a junior college? Well, many, many successful people in the world today went to a community college first. Do you think they looked at this or any other instance in their lives, for that matter, as a setback? Or perhaps as a springboard?!
8. Take the time to write some friendly admission officer(s) at the school of your choice an email (or a phone call). Introduce yourself. Wish him/her a happy new year. Tell them how you're doing in your classes this semester (if you're doing well, only)! You know, interact . . . be a human.
9. Instead of using this period of waiting as a time for panic, utilize it as a time to reflect and be a bit introspective. Set a new year's resolution for how you will deal with the inevitable situation of rejection (maybe not for colleges, but at some point in life, right?). Try to think about your own personal reactions and responses when things do not go your way and how you treat those around you. Contemplate the idea of personal responsibility and being accountable to the process. Did you do everything that you could have to prepare yourself for success? Think about that. Seriously.
10. And, if for no other reason, you should try to not panic because you know all those other kids at your school who ARE panicking and you know that they really get on your nerves and seem to only be feeding their own anxieties, making it worse and worse by day. And this, to any person who has ever had to wait for something good as opposed to instant gratification, is the most frustrating behaviour to witness from a teenager. Bottom line: panic is NOT cool.
More...
1. In the scheme of life, there is, ultimately, nothing that can be done now that your applications are in, but wait. Waiting is patience. Patience is a virtue. Virtues are something you will learn much about in college (especially if you take a philosophy course). Get a head-start. It will be like you're already in college, but you're not . . . yet!
2. If you did your best on the college applications, good job. You have now learned what it takes to complete a task that will be judged by someone who really does not know you. This, my young friends, is a life skill.
3. If you did poorly on your applications and saved everything until the last minute, maybe this will be a good wake-up call as to why approaching things with maturity and preparedness is not just a trait of an adult, but a trait of a successful adult.
4. Everybody has waited this process out before you. It's just like the SAT's, you're still around to tell about it, right? Your anxiety is not unique and, therefore, not really necessary.
5. At the end of the day you will be blazing the trail that you- and you, alone- created for yourself. Many a'student have gone off to their top choice school and been unhappy and then transferred. You, too, will find that no college is omnibenevolent and upon your arrival to whichever school you end up enrolling, you will be both extremely pleased in many regards and extremely disappointed in some regards.
6. Remember the old adage that most of the things we worry about never end up coming to fruition?
7. Don't panic because although this is a stressful process, you must learn NOW how to deal with such stress. Say you don't end up getting into any of your schools and you end up going to a junior college? Well, many, many successful people in the world today went to a community college first. Do you think they looked at this or any other instance in their lives, for that matter, as a setback? Or perhaps as a springboard?!
8. Take the time to write some friendly admission officer(s) at the school of your choice an email (or a phone call). Introduce yourself. Wish him/her a happy new year. Tell them how you're doing in your classes this semester (if you're doing well, only)! You know, interact . . . be a human.
9. Instead of using this period of waiting as a time for panic, utilize it as a time to reflect and be a bit introspective. Set a new year's resolution for how you will deal with the inevitable situation of rejection (maybe not for colleges, but at some point in life, right?). Try to think about your own personal reactions and responses when things do not go your way and how you treat those around you. Contemplate the idea of personal responsibility and being accountable to the process. Did you do everything that you could have to prepare yourself for success? Think about that. Seriously.
10. And, if for no other reason, you should try to not panic because you know all those other kids at your school who ARE panicking and you know that they really get on your nerves and seem to only be feeding their own anxieties, making it worse and worse by day. And this, to any person who has ever had to wait for something good as opposed to instant gratification, is the most frustrating behaviour to witness from a teenager. Bottom line: panic is NOT cool.
December 10, 2008
Risky College Essays
You have consulted everyone, right? You have asked your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, classmates, teachers, siblings, coaches and confidants, not to mention the amount of time you have spent racking your own brain about what you can do to make your college application essay(s) stand out. You don't know where to start, how to narrow your options, whether you should try to make it funny or academic-- or both. First of all, stop talking to everybody else. They will only plant seeds in your mind that will become the impetus for your eventual writer's block. I see it every year. This is a personal essay. It's you. The essay is the most important aspect of any application. You must execute it well. You may regret writing an essay that's too cute and has you sacrificing the grammar and structure. I have had students write poems, songs, dialogue, portraits. Everything under the sun I have seen. These are about creative freedom. But, if there are a few basic pointers that I can teach to any senior it would be:
1. More...Give yourself something to start off with. Invent a first line and it can be as boring as, "The paint on the wall hadn't been redone since I moved into this room . . ." or something more forceful, "I found myself in the middle of this party, alcohol was all around me and I had an interesting decision to make . . .". You can even start with a quote (although I would advise against using something a bit too cliche (i.e. no Robert Frost, Dr. Seuss, Benjamin Franklin, etc . . .). Just get started with something and see where that can take you. You may end up getting a great essay out of it and then scrapping the opening line in the final edits. Or, you may keep it. Who knows? Give it a shot.
2. Remember who is reading these essays. These are men and women who, more often than not, read application essays for a living. They are closer to your age than they are to your parent's. They are getting a little tired of reading the same old story about a broken leg teaching you patience or building a house in Costa Rica teaching you charity or a family member's death bringing you to the verge of crisis. Certainly these are all possible and they could work, but if that's your basic premise, you're in trouble. Although these events are certainly significant, many have broken a bone. Many, also, have volunteered. Too many have experienced tragedy. Strike them with something shocking, interesting, innovative, or even just a good story.
3. But to do any of this, you have to write it well. If they don't get your humor, sarcasm, dialogue or metaphors, you're likely to be in for a disappointing piece of mail. You must write it well. Try short sentences. Use your own vocabulary. Express yourself-- and do it clearly. I always tell students that I don't care if they write about staring at a goldfish swimming around in a bowl, just as long as they transport me with their words and ideas to help me imagine that I am staring there with them or am inside of their head at a critical moment or, perhaps, that I am the goldfish looking back.
4. Write formally. Do not write like you speak. Don't use "I feel" when you really mean, "I believe" or "I think".
5. Embrace the creative freedom that you are being given. Even on supplemental essays for some schools where they only allow you a very minimal amount of space, you can still create something entertaining and compelling. Don't slack just because you might think that the school might want something specific from you.
6. Which brings me here, if you try to write an essay for the person reading it, you're going to be just another one of the masses. Remember, your job is to explain why you're different from all those other applicants out there who share similar GPA and SAT/ACT scores. If you're writing to please someone else, that's going to be very obvious. This comes back to my first recommendation. When you're letting others read your essay and hear your thoughts, don't let them deter you with comments like, "are you sure you should write that?" or "Do you think they'll like that idea" or, my favorite, "that seems a little risky". Ahh, RISK! This is what the whole process is about: taking risks. Right? Now if somebody remarks that your grammar is poor or they are having trouble understanding what point you're trying to make, then you should reassess. But if risk comes through to those who read it, I think you're on the right track.
7. Get someone who has some relatively recent experience and who may not feel so personal to you to read your essays and help you brainstorm if you need it. You can always write or call me. Visit my blog, http://collegecounseling101.blogspot.com, if you're looking for some experienced, honest feedback!
1. More...Give yourself something to start off with. Invent a first line and it can be as boring as, "The paint on the wall hadn't been redone since I moved into this room . . ." or something more forceful, "I found myself in the middle of this party, alcohol was all around me and I had an interesting decision to make . . .". You can even start with a quote (although I would advise against using something a bit too cliche (i.e. no Robert Frost, Dr. Seuss, Benjamin Franklin, etc . . .). Just get started with something and see where that can take you. You may end up getting a great essay out of it and then scrapping the opening line in the final edits. Or, you may keep it. Who knows? Give it a shot.
2. Remember who is reading these essays. These are men and women who, more often than not, read application essays for a living. They are closer to your age than they are to your parent's. They are getting a little tired of reading the same old story about a broken leg teaching you patience or building a house in Costa Rica teaching you charity or a family member's death bringing you to the verge of crisis. Certainly these are all possible and they could work, but if that's your basic premise, you're in trouble. Although these events are certainly significant, many have broken a bone. Many, also, have volunteered. Too many have experienced tragedy. Strike them with something shocking, interesting, innovative, or even just a good story.
3. But to do any of this, you have to write it well. If they don't get your humor, sarcasm, dialogue or metaphors, you're likely to be in for a disappointing piece of mail. You must write it well. Try short sentences. Use your own vocabulary. Express yourself-- and do it clearly. I always tell students that I don't care if they write about staring at a goldfish swimming around in a bowl, just as long as they transport me with their words and ideas to help me imagine that I am staring there with them or am inside of their head at a critical moment or, perhaps, that I am the goldfish looking back.
4. Write formally. Do not write like you speak. Don't use "I feel" when you really mean, "I believe" or "I think".
5. Embrace the creative freedom that you are being given. Even on supplemental essays for some schools where they only allow you a very minimal amount of space, you can still create something entertaining and compelling. Don't slack just because you might think that the school might want something specific from you.
6. Which brings me here, if you try to write an essay for the person reading it, you're going to be just another one of the masses. Remember, your job is to explain why you're different from all those other applicants out there who share similar GPA and SAT/ACT scores. If you're writing to please someone else, that's going to be very obvious. This comes back to my first recommendation. When you're letting others read your essay and hear your thoughts, don't let them deter you with comments like, "are you sure you should write that?" or "Do you think they'll like that idea" or, my favorite, "that seems a little risky". Ahh, RISK! This is what the whole process is about: taking risks. Right? Now if somebody remarks that your grammar is poor or they are having trouble understanding what point you're trying to make, then you should reassess. But if risk comes through to those who read it, I think you're on the right track.
7. Get someone who has some relatively recent experience and who may not feel so personal to you to read your essays and help you brainstorm if you need it. You can always write or call me. Visit my blog, http://collegecounseling101.blogspot.com, if you're looking for some experienced, honest feedback!
November 16, 2008
Obama on Education
Recently I read an article about President-Elect Obama's priorities, as he has stated them thus far. On his list, education and a reform of the system comes in at a heaping #5! (see article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/opinion/13kristof.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=obama+on+education&st=nyt&oref=slogin) This, at first, made me feel good. I mean, I am certainly aware of the number of challenges that will be awaiting this President as he enters office. Obviously he is, too. There are the obvious issues that were at the forefront of every voter's mind: the economy and the war. But then I thought, wait! Isn't education ALWAYS at the front of everyone's mind. Sure, right now, in this very minute, the two biggest issues facing our country (that our country isn't perennially facing) are a recessed economy and a blundered war. This is true. However, these are, hypothetically, temporary problems. I feel guilty just writing that. It's true that people have given their lives in the war and many have lost everything they've worked so hard for in the stock market and I don't mean to disrespect either of these facts. However, the truth is that they are short term problems. The war can be ended almost immediately if the President made that choice. The recession is a product of quantifiable and qualified elements and is a part of market volatility and historical trends. Right?
But EDUCATION! Education is something that we cannot ignore any longer. We have continued to show greater and greater lack of interest in our system. We still have no incentives for teachers. We regurgitate the same standards for students. We have no true recognition of the home life or the neighborhood and the impact that either has on the education and development of our youth. We are a country that belabors the idea of hard work paying off in the end, but parents still complain when their kids get homework or disciplined. I do not subscribe to the Rich Dad, Poor Dad hypothesis of potential, but I do agree that regardless of whether a young person chooses to work harder in the classroom or outside of it, there is reward for hard work. Sadly, it just seems like we continue to ask less of our students both in and out of the classroom and expect equal results while developing countries the world over are surpassing our classroom performance because they emphasize the fact that education, no matter where you come from or where you want to be, is the best mode of public transport. If we don't focus on fixing our education system in this country- from kindergarten through university- we will have greater problems than a recession. We will have a decline, across the board, in the quality of life of every single person in America which will see no end for lifetimes to come.
But EDUCATION! Education is something that we cannot ignore any longer. We have continued to show greater and greater lack of interest in our system. We still have no incentives for teachers. We regurgitate the same standards for students. We have no true recognition of the home life or the neighborhood and the impact that either has on the education and development of our youth. We are a country that belabors the idea of hard work paying off in the end, but parents still complain when their kids get homework or disciplined. I do not subscribe to the Rich Dad, Poor Dad hypothesis of potential, but I do agree that regardless of whether a young person chooses to work harder in the classroom or outside of it, there is reward for hard work. Sadly, it just seems like we continue to ask less of our students both in and out of the classroom and expect equal results while developing countries the world over are surpassing our classroom performance because they emphasize the fact that education, no matter where you come from or where you want to be, is the best mode of public transport. If we don't focus on fixing our education system in this country- from kindergarten through university- we will have greater problems than a recession. We will have a decline, across the board, in the quality of life of every single person in America which will see no end for lifetimes to come.
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