名校，名校，值得嗎？

子女論壇有一位網友叫dudaan，據他自己講，在他的輔導下，不下１０個孩子都得以成功進入名校，而且他自己也有意寫一本書，來講述這些名校生的成才故事。既然咱比較留意這方麵的信息，而且這本書又是說咱華人孩子的，所以對這本書我一直報有很高的期望，希望裏麵能夠透露一些教育孩子的秘技。可惜，前不久dudaan發帖說，這本書的出版計劃擱淺了，具體原因嗎，出人意料，居然是他收集的學生自述與自己最初的想法相去甚遠。例如，有的孩子把能進入名校完全歸於運氣，說連自己都沒有想到能進名校，還有的孩子說進名校完全是操作和包裝的結果，更有甚者，一個孩子說招生過程充滿了拉關係和弄虛作假的顯現，學生為了上好大學千方百計討好中學校長和利用校外關係。很多獲獎的東西都有水分，有的甚至是家長手下的雇員做出來的。另外令人吃驚的是，這些孩子還透露了這些所謂的精英在高中的胡作非為。

dudaan: 出乎意外的24位頂尖大學學生自述

說實話，看了dudaan的帖子，我確實比較吃驚，因為一直以來我都認為美國大學的錄取比較合理公正，孩子得靠自己的實力來決定上那所大學，看來自己還是太天真了。

正巧，前兩天在Wall Street Journal上看到一片文章A Desperate Need for Acceptance，說的是美國大學錄取現在變得多麽的荒謬。拿申請人的背景來說,前Dartmouth招生官員Michelle A. Hernandez的話說，最有可能進入名校的孩子，“Neither of your parents attended college at all, your father is a factory worker, and your mom is on disability. . . . ”。困難最大的孩子是“Your father went to Yale as an undergraduate and then Harvard Business School and is now an investment banker and your mom went to Brown, holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and works as a research chemist.” Michelle現在是一家College Consulting公司的老板，也是暢銷書《Acing the College Application》的作者，建議說，在表明自己背景的時候要盡量模糊，例如如果你媽媽是醫院的神經外科主任，你可以說Medical。

另外一個暢銷書《What High Schools Don't Tell You》的作者Elizabeth Wissner-Gross說“A high-school student who gets good grades, serves as student body president and plays varsity football may be a remarkable person, but to an admissions officer his excellence may look rather conventional and diffuse. Better to cultivate a particular skill or enthusiasm. The ideal admissions-candidate is thus a prize-winning gymnast, a fluent reader of both Greek and Latin, a math champion, a successful entrepreneur or a violin virtuoso (all, ideally, with working-class parents, of course). ”正象這本書的副標題所說的，“300+ Secrets to Make Your Kid Irresistible to Colleges by Senior Year.”，她在書中提出了孩子要從Middle School就開始準備，而且要充分利用暑假，working in a local research lab, attending a math camp or trying to write the great American novel ，這樣才能早日實現名校夢想。可是孩子不是需要玩嗎？Elizabeth說，children who insist on hanging out with already known friends during the summer often miss out on wonderful opportunities. 是啊，buddies can be an obstacle if you care about getting into college.

名校，名校，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？

[羽風]

我就是喜歡名校!沒辦法,將來我孩子就是上不了名校,我還是說:上名校絕對值得!

[7452]

DUDAAN 這些例子沒有代表性, 不能作為分析的依據. 可能就是這些不是主流的少數名校生有感觸想寫. 其他的都沒有那個閑功夫.

[可為]

Following are my comments on the following paragraph,
“A high-school student who gets good grades, serves as student body president and plays varsity football may be a remarkable person, but to an admissions officer his excellence may look rather conventional and diffuse. Better to cultivate a particular skill or enthusiasm. The ideal admissions-candidate is thus a prize-winning gymnast, a fluent reader of both Greek and Latin, a math champion, a successful entrepreneur or a violin virtuoso (all, ideally, with working-class parents, of course). ” (source: Elizabeth Wissner-Gross, What High Schools Don't Tell You: 300+ Secrets to Make Your Kid Irresistible to Colleges by Senior Year )

It is interesting and making sense. The statement is the conclusion of some observations based on who have been selected by good colleges, apparently. The reason that leads to this results is also obvious. The kids described in the later part of the paragraph are much more unique than those in the former part, which is indicating their unique mindsets and their intelligence. Therefore, they could be those trendsetters (trendsetters are someone who are innovative in some areas, for example fashion or technology. It is what I read about in Tipping Points) and they may lead breakthroughs. The former kids would fall into the categories of mainstream.

The most important part of this paragraph is not what these kids are, it lies in how to educate or provide an appropriate environment for your kids (since most of the readers of this book must be seeking solutions on this aspect). It seems the author has not yet suggested any solution above. The most straightforward one is to pick some oddy things for your kids, cultivate the enthusiasm, and train them. Maybe, providing tutorial on Latin could be popular in the future.

However, buying this book to look for solution is already too late for the education if your kids are about to apply for a college. Besides timing, there is a problem with the focus.All in all, to deliver your love to your kids, it is not about what a good college want. It is about what your kids want. If he/she can't stand with a life without something different everyday, just let them explore different things. In such case, Latin must be much more interesting than Spanish (the language the largest population speak in the world). If he/she feel comfortable with following what others do, just let him/her be a football player if he wants to. He could excel. There are no absolute answers and you kids, you, and the other member of your family would be better off if the environment is tailored in such a way that everybody is feeling comfortable and inspired in one way or another everyday.

[搞你不懂]

說不值得的人，大概有兩種，一種是有能力，上了，故作謙虛。
第二種大概是上不了，反正對他來說，吃不到的葡萄都是酸的。
如果我的兒子上不了名校，可能我也說不值得。
不過無論如何，上名校的出路和不上名校的出路是不是都一樣，天下人都知道。
不過上不了名校，絕對不是世界末日，事實上，不上名校，也會有好的前途，不過上名校的，將來在社會上多占點便宜卻不容置疑。

[真的假的？]

假如有這個錢、有這個精力、有這個智力、有這個興趣、有這個愛心、當然應該去折騰名校這玩藝兒了，名校確實非常好的。假如你覺得沒這個必要，你肯定缺乏了上述某些東西了。

[6grizzly]

It's the process of living intensely and with discipline inspired by those schools; not the schools themselves. If your kid is motivated better by anything else to achieve in life, school really doesn't matter. After all, they are just man-made idols.

But most kids are not for one reason or another. So one can't really blame pursuing good schools.

[westmont]

也還是值的拉. 朋友家的女兒Standford尚未畢業,多家頂級公司就把Offer送上來拉.普通大學,你見過這些公司去招人嗎?

[yyma]

不值得。順其自然。

[ddti]

全人類的迷思------金錢，金錢，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？
男人們的迷思------美人，美人，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？
女人們的迷思------婚姻，婚姻，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？
小資們的迷思------名牌，名牌，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？
政治家的迷思------權力，權力，真的值得花這麽大的代價去追求嗎？

........


全是廢話！！