Total Page : 320
Publisher : Plume
Publication Date : 2008 06 24
>> One of the most helpful books I ve read
This book changed the way I m parenting our 13 year old Our youngest son 8th grade picked 3 dream goals from the list given which actually helped me understand him better I found several great ideas in the book to help him work towards his goals including the Congressional Youth Award It s given us a framework for the next few years He feels like I m on his side and I see my role as helping him get from his point A to point B
Because of this book I ended up encouraging him to apply for a summer language program that will help him reach his goals Before reading this book I wouldn t have considered it since it s expensive But they offer financial aid so we re going for it
I wish I would have had this info for our older 2 They lucked into opportunities teaching in Tanzania and TASP which helped them get into Swarthmore and the ivies This process would have helped our relationships though
I just gave a copy to a friend s daughter after she heard me rave about how helpful it was I d also like to share the info with parents at our rural school the only one in the county that doesn t offer AP classes Our kids and parents need all the help they can get
>> Good parts and some info lacking
All this competitiveness can drive a person insane I ve watched my daughter in a private school that is very demanding slowly disintegrating She is a nervous wreck sleep deprived and unfocused The parents are pushing and pushing the kids cheat it makes my daughter nuts since she works so hard and is getting B s and C s while the other kids have copies of the tests saved by older siblings The school puts so much pressure on them to succeed and most of the kids well they ll get in the colleges of their choice because their parents are legacies and the parents are so filthy loaded they can give 10 25 000 a year to the colleges That s how it really works if you want to get real about it
There is some good stuff in the book but a lot of stuff has been left out especially for kids who want a performing arts career Interlochen is okay but I would recommend a place called Stagedoor Manor for real professional training in the summers Most of the kids who did that camp are good students as well but they have gone on to NYU Yale CCM Boston Conservatory Carnegie Mellon Univ of Michigan etc Having Stagedoor on the resume helped a lot
She also has some good programs in other areas which I didn t know about it so it was worth the purchase I m assuming she wrote the book after she got her own kids through their ivy league schools perhaps not to share the info with other parents along the way but that is how it is out there
Also kids do better in school when they can focus To focus you need lots of sleep especially teenagers It s fact The schools today give entirely too much homework If the teachers are doing their job in school there is no need to come home and do another 5 6 hours of homework yep that s what the school gives 7th on up in my child s school They say 20 mins per subject however my husband and I have timed the work and my child is a good student and it isn t Not by a long shot Each teacher thinks their class is the most important Many parents won t admit their kids spend that amount of time on homework and many don t realize their kids are up late doing it I know only because my child is up I don t go to bed until she s done and kids are asking for homework help Some kids have tutors and the tutors do their work It is insanity because the schools know this is going on and yet do nothing IF it is a child of a high contributor
There are so many parents afraid to speak up The schools all of them will make you feel like you re in the minority but at the parents luncheons homework is all they talk about It is wrong for schools to deprive children the right to do things after school to unwind It is wrong to give homework on every weekend depriving kids of family and worship Kids need to do chores and help out well at least some of them Why deprive them of responsibilities or just dare I say having fun They are only kids once And the way the world is today to have them stay young as long as possible would be a pleasure
I love all the new books coming out on the Case Against Homework and even the Wall St Journal wrote an article about a study that proved homework does nothing to improve grades I know that with my child and her friends it only makes them despise the work because the learning isn t fun Running on 5 6 if they are lucky hours of sleep is not good especially when they have subjects like math science or languages first up in the mornings These classes require cognitive thinking at its best
Run schools like google runs its company and you d see a lot more kids loving it I hate the fact that my daughter has to put in 14 hour days learning I hate that there are kids staying up till 2am and then setting their alarms to wake up at 4am to finish their work yep in this school so many of them do that in 8th grade this technique used to be reserved for college And I hate that one poor child stayed up till 3am and couldn t do her latin homework and the teacher said tough it should have been done Mostly I hate that schools carry dead weight teachers who just can t teach hello MATH TEACHERS OUT THERE and every parent knows it but is petrified to speak up So we pay all this money for private school and then what People have to spend a bundle on tutors That s the crying shame And it s no wonder our kids are burned out by time they are ready to enter college It s the parents fault for pushing so hard And why is that Because they want their kid to be the best NO MATTER HOW THEY GET THERE
I think it s time to homeschool
As for this book it is depressing in some parts if you don t have money but some summer programs offer financial aid and it should be heartening to know that even the so called best private schools DON T always have the best teachers In fact there is a double standard of discipline as well If you re a high contributor you can pay to make things go away if your child gets in trouble If you don t contribute be prepared to be sent to a shrink for analysis
I for one have just about had it with all this competition and I think the year between high school and college when kids used to go backpacking and see the world before attempting to conquer college Well I think it needs to be moved up to between middle school and high school
>> Way too competetive
There is a lot of good information in this book to help your child make the most of his/her high school years however it promotes an extremely competitive approach to extra curricular and summer camp activities
If You are looking for >>> What High Schools Don t Tell You And Other Parents Don t Want You to Know Create a Long Term Plan for Your 7th to 10th Grader for Getting into the Top Colleges find the best one here
