As a former private school parent myself (my son graduated from Avenues in 2020), I've gotten a glimpse into that world. Of course it's important to remember that not all families of such schools are in the 1% (mine certainly isn't), and not all students come to school in designer clothes. Like all stereotypes, that one is also problematic. However, it's clearly a highly competitive and meritocratic world, and the concern about college admission seems to begin surprisingly early. The kids feel this pressure acutely and often face serious challenges as a result. It's a tremendous irony that students receiving some of the most expensive education in the United States often struggle tremendously in these environments. Many of the kids in these schools are actually really hurting,. So, even though the title of Grossberg's book is certainly clever, it's also rather disrespectful to the students themselves. It's not the fault of these young people that their parents have vacation homes. The way I see it, children of affluence have the opportunity to grow up to make a huge difference in the world,
partly BECAUSE of their privilege. So, those of us supporting them have a chance to help them go on to become the leaders we'll need in the years to come. I agree, it's best to ignore the fancy homes and clothes, and just focus on the important job of helping young minds develop to their highest potential.
Thanks for this review - it sounds like the juicy gossip we crave and relate to but probably doesn't contribute much overall. Ditto on introducing me to the word "threnody" :)
As a former private school parent myself (my son graduated from Avenues in 2020), I've gotten a glimpse into that world. Of course it's important to remember that not all families of such schools are in the 1% (mine certainly isn't), and not all students come to school in designer clothes. Like all stereotypes, that one is also problematic. However, it's clearly a highly competitive and meritocratic world, and the concern about college admission seems to begin surprisingly early. The kids feel this pressure acutely and often face serious challenges as a result. It's a tremendous irony that students receiving some of the most expensive education in the United States often struggle tremendously in these environments. Many of the kids in these schools are actually really hurting,. So, even though the title of Grossberg's book is certainly clever, it's also rather disrespectful to the students themselves. It's not the fault of these young people that their parents have vacation homes. The way I see it, children of affluence have the opportunity to grow up to make a huge difference in the world,
partly BECAUSE of their privilege. So, those of us supporting them have a chance to help them go on to become the leaders we'll need in the years to come. I agree, it's best to ignore the fancy homes and clothes, and just focus on the important job of helping young minds develop to their highest potential.
Thanks for this review - it sounds like the juicy gossip we crave and relate to but probably doesn't contribute much overall. Ditto on introducing me to the word "threnody" :)
This is extremely well written: very clear, and flowing cleanly from idea to idea. A great read!
Also... You introduced me to a word I didn't know, and didn't know I didn't know: threnody. Who knew?! You did.
Looking forward to reading the next parts. Great read.