My brother has been searching for a dog-walker to take over summer strolling duties with his canines. And he forwarded me an email he received from a high school student interested in the gig. Everything, from the subject line, to the tone, to the information provided, was pitch-perfect. She introduced herself. She explained her interest […]
Read More >The best route?
Six months after moving to Seattle in 2012, I still didn’t know how to get anywhere. Other than the grocery store and a few places right in my neighborhood, I had almost no geographical awareness. And the reason was obvious to me. Before any departure in my car, I plugged the destination into my phone […]
Read More >For high school counselors: be selfless, and selfish
High school counselors are a selfless breed of professionals. One more hour of work, one more meeting, one more email or voicemail or question to answer—so often they cheerfully say “yes,” driven by the desire to help the kids they serve. While the uninformed outsider might make a flippant comment about those counselors getting “summers […]
Read More >For colleges: three ways to improve your FAQs
The ease of electronic communication makes it easy for interested students to fire off questions to college admissions offices, and most responders are happy to give good information in return (especially when the question comes from the student, not the parent). But it can become a grind for the staff when the same questions come […]
Read More >Constants emerge over time
David Epstein, author of the forthcoming Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, penned an opinion piece in the New York Times last week entitled, “You Don’t Want a Child Prodigy.” Epstein argues that the most elite performers, from athletes to musicians, didn’t specialize early. In their younger years, these elite adults sampled different […]
Read More >Protecting downtime
Julie Lythcott-Haims added her post, “Making Childhood Healthy Again,” to the website of the School Superintendents Association. There are a number of important insights here for parents and students, but this particular one struck me, especially in the age of overscheduled kids whose lives have become a constant state a busyness. “Downtime can exist only in the […]
Read More >Intuition and assumptions
Mark Kantrowitz’s latest post, “Is there an Income Cutoff on Eligibility for Financial Aid?,” contains some great information and advice, though I wish he’d chosen a different title. The question “Do we have too much money to qualify for financial aid?” can induce some understandable eye-rolling. But the article is actually about the inherent risks […]
Read More >He said it himself
From The Atlantic: “The new SAT does not tell students or anyone else how smart students are, or how capable they are of learning new things.” David Coleman CEO of the College Board (the company who administers the SAT)
Read More >Let the child drive the bus
Some parents resist the urging of both counselors and colleges to step back and let their kids drive their own college application process. And that’s why Patrick O’Connor identifies “Let the child drive the bus” as the six words about college that disappoint parents most. I understand the parental inclination to nudge, direct, and sometimes […]
Read More >When the high stakes aren’t artificial
A New York Times opinion piece this week, “Let’s Hear It for the Average Child,” was initially just my kind of read. What a great reminder that kids who ride the bench, or who try but still earn C’s, or who draw, read, or write poetry instead of completing all their assigned homework all have their own gifts and […]
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