My Weekly Reads: Top 5

By Brittany MaschalMar 03, 2017

 

Awkward teens (and 20- and 30-somethings) rejoice. Study finds that it might take 63 years, but you will, eventually, shed all traces of your awkward middle-school self. (Fast Company)

Adderall usage by individuals without attention deficit is out of control. Fast Company reminds us we have the power to control our brains, sans meds. (Fast Company)

Diverse Hollywood, in NYC? Steiner Studio lot at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is surprisingly under the radar. It costs a third of most other film schools—$18,400 a year—and part of its mission is to admit women and minorities whose stories aren’t usually told. (New York Times)

And the award for the most unsatisfying industry to work in post-college goes to anything in finance (kind of). Meanwhile, in self-reported data from more than 13,000 recently graduated college students, such industries as technology, biotechnology, consulting, and arts, media, and entertainment top a list of “job satisfaction” ratings. Consulting -> we agree! (Poets & Quants)

Depression strikes today’s teen girls especially hard, and I see this firsthand in my work with high school students as they prepare and apply to college. Brains constantly “on-tech,” and in particular social media, may not be helping, but talking about it and identifying symptoms of depression early on can help teens get back on the right track. (NPR)

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Michael Bloomberg on How to Succeed in Business (and Life?)

By Brittany MaschalFeb 15, 2017

This is a fun, honest read. Particularly relevant to this blog is the first section, Choosing a College, in which he says:

Nobody remembers where you went to school. The first job they may ask, by the third job they won’t remember to. People put too much emphasis on that. It’s much more important that you go to a place where you fit in and which has decent academics. People say they can’t afford a college? My parents took out a mortgage, I had a job every summer working in a faculty parking lot. Then I got lucky, Sputnik was launched and the government created national defense loans.

Given the article’s emphasis on education, Bloomberg even goes on to comment on the MBA, and that it matters, but….:

The part that’s most important in an education is how to deal with people. There’s no job I know that you do by yourself, and I learned as much from the two guys I worked for at Salomon Brothers, Billy Salomon and John Gutfreund, as I’d learned at Harvard. In the end, it’s people skills that you need. Whether you remember that Columbus arrived in 1492 or not — a lot of the facts you memorize are immaterial.

Read the full article online!

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How Praise Became a Consolation Prize

By Brittany MaschalFeb 08, 2017

 

If you haven’t read Carol Dweck’s Mindset, then I suggest adding it to your to-read list. In it, Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talents that bring us success–but our approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem or even lead to accomplishments. In reality, too much praise works against us. A growth mindset, however, can foster resilience in students—something I have witnessed a lack of in many high schoolers today.

With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–personal and professional.

Anyway, I came across a great interview recently (via Adam Grant’s email list) with Dweck in The Atlantic. Grab the book and give the interview a read!

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How to Guarantee an Awesome College Tour

By Brittany MaschalFeb 03, 2017

Checking out colleges in person is an important part of the application process for many students. Check out the “pro tips” in this Reader’s Digest article by Erica Lambert (which I am featured in!) to get the most out of every campus visit.

Some key takeaways:

  • The best time to start visiting colleges is in the fall of junior year, and then again in the spring, and the remaining visits can take place at the end of the summer before senior year and into early fall (September and October). Visit when school is in session!
  • If you vacation, vacation where you can visit colleges. This is a huge time-saver.
  • Take the full tour offered by Admissions, including visiting residence halls, classrooms, and labs. And if the college offers you lunch in a dining center—take it! Don’t try to cut this part of the visit short. Let students immerse themselves in the true campus experience.
  • Do your homework. Read and research about the schools you are visiting before you go.
  • A few weeks before you arrive, reach out to the people you want to meet with and be flexible about setting up meetings.You might also reach out to student groups with whom you share an interest. Lastly, visit the advising center of your chosen major or college and speak to an advisor, and consider meeting with a professor in the department who has office hours on the day of your visit.
  • Talk to students on campus; go to the library, dining hall, etc.—see it all!
  • Visit and stay overnight with a friend if you have one on campus. It can be particularly important for getting a sense of the school’s social scene and vibe outside of academics.
  • Go beyond campus and explore the surrounding city, town or neighborhood.
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Make college admissions sane (and fair) again

By Brittany MaschalFeb 02, 2017

 

Great article in The Atlantic. Although I am trying to do the same in my work with students and families, in the grand scheme, this is a lot easier said than done. In a perfect world, the tide would change, but I do not see this happening until colleges alter how they evaluate applications and, accordingly, re-evaluate who they admit and why. Until this happens, I doubt we will see any huge shifts in how parents, and students, approach the college process. Give it a read!!!

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Text to Text: John Milton’s ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ and ‘Today’s Exhausted Superkids’

By Brittany MaschalDec 16, 2016

 

Right now, many students are entering the final college-application sprint. They’re wondering Are they enough? about their lists of accomplishments. Some may even be wondering Is it worth it? about college at all.

Centuries ago, the poet John Milton wondered how best to live his life as he went blind. In his sonnet “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” he contemplates his condition. While for him, the “light” he spends is literal — he was completely blind by age 42 — he uses it metaphorically to meditate on what it means to really live.

In this Text-to-Text they pair Milton’s poem with Frank Bruni’s Op-Ed “Today’s Exhausted Superkids,” which discusses the high costs of following the narrowly defined and proscribed path to an elite college.

This a thoughtful read for parents and students alike, or really, anyone working with adolescents today. Check it out here!!!

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Why College Is Not Home (And Should Not Be)

By Brittany MaschalFeb 08, 2016

 

The following is from a recent article about a situation this past fall at Yale that had crept back into the news and is still as mind-blowing as it was when they reported on it back in December.

Erika Christakis used (keyword here) to teach a course at Yale titled “The Concept of the Problem Child,” a discussion of child development and socialization in a historical and modern context. It was so popular she had planned extra sessions this semester to accommodate the hundreds of interested students. Then she sent and email subject line: “Dressing Yourselves” to students in the residence hall where she and her husband serve as masters. In it, she criticized a detailed memo from administrators advising sensitivity in their choice of Halloween costumes and activities. The essential point in the email was that the university’s memo infantilized the students. The term, in developmental psychology, refers to a parenting approach that uses a level of assistance and control more appropriate for much younger children; ultimately, such behavior can hinder capacities to develop independence and resilience.

Sounds logical, at least, it does to me. But what happens next is mind-boggling: An open letter denounced her views as degrading to marginalized people and garnered nearly a thousand signatures at the University, and a video of students confronting and verbally assaulting her husband went viral. What’s more, and worse, is that she will no longer be teaching at Yale.

This is just one reason kids today lack decision-making skills and resilience; this is why they are unable to accept, understand, or work through failure or setbacks; this is a problem.

“Instead of promoting the idea of college as a transition from the shelter of the family to adult autonomy and responsibility, universities like Yale have given in to the implicit notion that they should provide the equivalent of the home environment….To prepare for increased autonomy and responsibility, college needs to be a time of exploration and experimentation. This process entails “trying on” new ways of thinking about oneself both intellectually and personally, which is possible only if a certain degree of freedom is allowed. While we should provide “safe spaces” within colleges for marginalized groups, we must also make it safe for all community members to express opinions and challenge majority views. Intellectual growth and flexibility are fostered by rigorous debate and questioning.”

Get a grip, Yale, and everybody else who does not see how damaging this is. Read more here, here and here if this makes you as livid as it makes me.

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