Actually these “thoughts” do not include the stuff that affectionate alumni or Human Resources guys might say. Never mind.
A famous blog I follow is that of Penelope Trunk (her pen name) for her advice on career and Life In The World. She’s also famous among home schoolers, as I know from a local writer who homeschools.
Bad news: Her son would have got in to Juilliard (like in the movie and TV series Fame) for playing the cello, BUT he suffered a severe brain injury in a car crash. I thought he would have a destiny of restaurant work, where his Spanish, due to his brain injury, would come and go.
Good news: He has been accepted on scholarship to Duke, one of the top ten universities in the US. Such a surprise to me and other readers. His mother, Penelope, was one of the top ten beach volleyball players in the US back in her day. So I guess she isn’t surprised at what people can accomplish. I say that because one of my comments on her blog mentions sports.
A quote in her voice: And I also need to tell you one more thing. This is a message for everyone who told me I should have just sent him to school instead of spending way too much money on tutors: fuck off. He got a full scholarship. It’s true that I spent a huge amounts of money on homeschooling, but Duke’s tuition is $250K.
Link to her latest post: https://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2024/04/01/how-my-son-got-into-duke/#comments
I have no essay today; I thought I would take it easy and merely cut and paste my comments on Penelope’s last blog piece. She knows my name and has been to my web site.
Here goes:
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I suppose that last paragraph, (about using ChatGTP) “My son said…” is him joking because of his self confidence. When I joke it helps to wink or wave a tiny flag or something so people know.
REGARDING STUDENTS
In my region the university requirement for a compulsory English test for freshmen—that they have to pay for—began about when people were graduating high school, including their English courses, without years of a second language, after that requirement had been dropped by the university. Coincidence? But they still needed algebra. I got out of paying to take the English test by showing my newspaper clippings to the registrar. (For algebra I took a campus remedial theory course with optional Saturday help classes)
So I think your son is fine. Say, a local media trades course screened out young high school graduates from even applying by having them do an essay as part of their application. A student told me. How sad, but again that wouldn’t apply to your son, praise the lord.
I would add that if he is having trouble around midterms then “go see a counsellor,” (most students don’t) without waiting until finals. Too many students think they “just have to try harder” when in fact there are skills they don’t know: Such as scheduling recreation time. Also they may attribute themselves as being too fearful or too lazy. A better word is from sports: “too pressured” and of course there are classic fixes for that, as you would know, with your sports background.
REGARDING ChatGTP
Another thing a machine can’t do is humour, as opposed to professional jokes. I think that if a professor was asked (frame it as avoiding ChatGTP) then he would allow a personal humour voice to an academic paper, if only to break up the prof’s monotony. I do so, for real world presentations and essays, because otherwise “The readers might not be bored, but I sure would be.”
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I get annoyed at the middle class saying that university is normal and expected. According to science, only a minority will have an above average I.Q., and so, to me, only a minority could go on to post secondary. (Unless standards are lowered to help people escape conscription)
Dajana above mentions Swedish free education and resumes. Here in North America, visionary Jane Jacobs said in her last book that we have arranged our society to have a degree be a free screening device for Human Resources. I thought: Oh, so that’s why our parents say it doesn’t matter what your piece of paper is in.
I suppose the thinking is that anyone too unsuitable for white collar team work just won’t make it through to graduation.
Penelope, I think your son, used to real world restaurants, will be surprised by how many “children in adult bodies” will flake out on group work. It is never too early to think about how to handle such fellow students.
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Speaking of Duke and costs, today a Canadian retired teacher told me that a Canadian friend from Duke told him (verified by my web search) that Duke no longer offers an Education ( teaching) Degree because there is not enough money in that field to pay back a student loan.
Wow, the economy has sure changed since my day.
To a Canadian like me, it’s weird how the US undervalues and underpays school teachers. In Canada, schoolteachers don’t have to moonlight like the childless hero on TV’s Breaking Bad does, working in a car wash. Or maybe that’s just Hollywood.
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Sean Crawford
In the Great White North
April, 2024
Defensive Footnote: Other written sources, not just one TV show, have indicated that folks in the “good old U.S. of A” bizarrely disrespect their teachers.
In Canada, US recruiters show up around graduations for teachers and nurses. A teacher told me you have to be careful, saying you might find out the job is on the Tex-Mex border in an unhappy community.
Update: Someone answered my comment on Penelope’s blog. Turns out the country is getting what it deserves by not having enough teachers in the pipeline.
I love the “what it deserves” (is fit for) concept, so useful to salve one’s conscience when bombing Nazi Germany or blockading Imperial Japan.
