Post by marycaitrolph on Aug 7, 2011 17:00:00 GMT -5
David Brooks article, “The Organization Kid” seems to contridict itself in numerous places. The article begins with students telling how they must schedule time to be with their friends or lose those friendships, but continues to state how happy and well adjusted these students are. They are presented as the children every parent would love to compare to others; they are driven, focused, polite, goal-oriented, eager to please, and the list goes on. The contradiction is the students report they are overwhelmed and without significant relationships outside of their home.
The author’s description of the students makes them appear to be almost robotic in their choices and behaviors. However the article states that the United States produces and uses approximately 90 percent of the Ritalin in the world. Could this be the reason the students are so passive-they have been drugged into this state? The author refers to the “elite” students and we could assume their parents in professional occupations as the norm. What about the “non-elite” or the “regular” students with parents that work factory, restaurant, and dare we say teaching occupations, are they/we less than the perfect students presented? Are all parents most concerned with their child’s earning potential rather than their happiness or is this a characteristic of the elite? Does this article say children are getting better or parents are doing a better job of parenting?
A student that identified themselves as a “power tool”, someone who just process information seems to be missing out on the importance of relationship. Is there not a compromise of working hard to meeting your goals and developing relationships along the path? The ability to foster and maintain relationships is the most important trait an individual can possess. Anyone can purchase a lottery ticket, win several million dollars and meet their monetary goals; however does that same person have the ability to chose friends wisely? Without being given the correct advice and being able to tell who are your friends and who is using you for your money, your winnings maybe gone as quickly as they came.
I find the statement, accomplishment begins with the first breaths of life to be discerning. Are we not in control to some degree of our own destiny? Is every accomplished person from a two parent, Gap clothed home with dinner on the table at five? Every breath we take should in some manner move us close to our goal, but to say that accomplishment begins with the first breaths of life seems slanted. Most children are molded by their parents, good or bad, but many chose to break that mold and become their own person. What we live as children can determine the life we will have, but we have the ability to mark our own path.
I wonder what the tone of this article would have been if Mr.Brooks had interviewed students at a “state school”, would his findings remain the same? I believe that most students have many of the same traits that the students at Princeton do and their parents are equally as proud. Success is important and I agree that it is not the stick that drives us but the carrot. The end result of hard-work, sacrifice, dedication, but not losing who we are in the mix and remembering what is truly important. Our accomplishments are ours not our parents or teachers; although they have helped to shape the path we travel, we must be our own compass.
The author’s description of the students makes them appear to be almost robotic in their choices and behaviors. However the article states that the United States produces and uses approximately 90 percent of the Ritalin in the world. Could this be the reason the students are so passive-they have been drugged into this state? The author refers to the “elite” students and we could assume their parents in professional occupations as the norm. What about the “non-elite” or the “regular” students with parents that work factory, restaurant, and dare we say teaching occupations, are they/we less than the perfect students presented? Are all parents most concerned with their child’s earning potential rather than their happiness or is this a characteristic of the elite? Does this article say children are getting better or parents are doing a better job of parenting?
A student that identified themselves as a “power tool”, someone who just process information seems to be missing out on the importance of relationship. Is there not a compromise of working hard to meeting your goals and developing relationships along the path? The ability to foster and maintain relationships is the most important trait an individual can possess. Anyone can purchase a lottery ticket, win several million dollars and meet their monetary goals; however does that same person have the ability to chose friends wisely? Without being given the correct advice and being able to tell who are your friends and who is using you for your money, your winnings maybe gone as quickly as they came.
I find the statement, accomplishment begins with the first breaths of life to be discerning. Are we not in control to some degree of our own destiny? Is every accomplished person from a two parent, Gap clothed home with dinner on the table at five? Every breath we take should in some manner move us close to our goal, but to say that accomplishment begins with the first breaths of life seems slanted. Most children are molded by their parents, good or bad, but many chose to break that mold and become their own person. What we live as children can determine the life we will have, but we have the ability to mark our own path.
I wonder what the tone of this article would have been if Mr.Brooks had interviewed students at a “state school”, would his findings remain the same? I believe that most students have many of the same traits that the students at Princeton do and their parents are equally as proud. Success is important and I agree that it is not the stick that drives us but the carrot. The end result of hard-work, sacrifice, dedication, but not losing who we are in the mix and remembering what is truly important. Our accomplishments are ours not our parents or teachers; although they have helped to shape the path we travel, we must be our own compass.