Monday, February 22, 2010

A Shallow Sea of Over-Scheduled Existence

In her poem, “Not Waving but Drowning,” Stevie Smith writes, “I was much too far out all my life / And not waving but drowning.” I remember reading this poem in high school and relating to it all too well. As a high school freshman, I was the classically overbooked student – I was a two-sport varsity athlete, homecoming princess, straight A student, LINK team leader, and class Vice President. Although I appeared to be waving, I felt like I was drowning in a shallow sea of over-commitment.

My biggest fear was free time and boredom. I didn’t know myself without my commitments or what to do if I didn’t have somewhere to be, or a private SAT tutor to report to. I defined myself by what I did, not who I was. The college application process seemed to reward this perspective. I was asked to report my grades and activities, and the general idea was the more the merrier! Even community service became an activity to take pride in.

It’s easy for gifted students to get caught up in a sea of over-scheduled existence. While it may seem appealing to participate in so many things, even gifted students struggle to find their paths to individual success and achievement. Unlike the student who has deficits in some subjects or abilities and excels in others, the gifted student succeeds at everything! So while some students can rely on interest or natural intellect to help them weed through the undesirable, the gifted students struggle to find their way amidst a fountain of innumerable successes - and while they may appear composed and directed on the outside, on the inside they are often silently struggling to figure out who they are and what they want out of life.

In light of my own retrospect, I challenge gifted, overscheduled, and overcommitted students to try something new for a day – Do Nothing. Take the hint from your peers who appear to be under-booked or uninterested and figure out what to do with yourself in the face of boredom. Put your calendar and intellect aside for a few hours, a weekend, or a few months this summer and depend on your creativity to fill your time. In a 2002 article from Newsweek titled “Doing nothing is something,” Anna Quindlen writes:

Downtime is where we become ourselves, looking into the middle distance, kicking at the curb, lying on the grass or sitting on the stoop and staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky. I don’t believe you can write poetry, or compose music, or become an actor without downtime, and plenty of it, a hiatus that passes for boredom but is really the quiet moving of the wheels inside that fuel creativity.

I hope that someday a college application will ask students, “What do you do when you have nothing to do?” Or that a business will hire recent college grads under the premise that they won’t live and die at their cubicles. The lack of free time has become synonymous with productivity and efficiency, and this culture of workaholics is trickling down into America’s youth. In a 2005 article in Education Week, Rhea R. Borja states:

In recent years more parents have started sending their 3 to 5-year-old children to for-profit tutoring centers to give them an academic edge in elementary school. Tutoring for tots has been spurred by increased academic accountability in schools, heightened competition to get into top-ranked colleges and new research that links early exposure to books, music and language to better academic performance in later years.

We are trying to give children as young as preschool the competitive edge, but at what cost to their creativity and introspective abilities? We need to strike a balance between academic enrichment and personal growth and development.

It may seem silly, but it may never be too late to learn the old maxim: “Go outside and play.” It’s the wisdom of many generations before us, and downtime may be the key that unlocks our best thoughts and our true creativity.


Works Cited:

Borja, Rhea R. "Growing Niche for Tutoring Chains: Prekindergartens' Academic Prep." Education Week 25.8 (2005): 10. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2010.

Quindlen, Anna. "Doing nothing is something. " Newsweek 13 (2002): ABI/
INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 22 Feb. 2010.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Dream School or Safety School - It All Works Out for the Best

The college application process can be pretty intense and in the moment, can sometimes feel like life or death. When I was a 17 year-old senior, I thought I wanted to study math or computer science at University of Virginia – so when I found out that I only got into my safety schools (even after years of SAT tutoring), I remember feeling like the reality of my “college dream” was very different from what I had months to imagine it becoming. It seemed brutal at the time, but I can tell you from my experience and the experiences of many friends – everything generally works out for the best.

As luck would have it, it turned out that I was most interested in studying business, and the school I ended up attending (Michigan) had the best business program of any school that I applied to. I ended up having an amazing college experience that I wouldn’t have changed for the world (Go Blue!).

A lot of life happens between the age of 17 (when you pick a college) and the age of 22 (when you graduate from college). As it turned out, some of my friends who got to go to their “dream school” (i.e. the highest ranking school they got into) ended up transferring after a year to their real dream school. Others went to a big school, only to realize that they wanted to be at a small school. Some went to school to study history, only to realize they wanted to study medicine. Some went to school to study business only to realize that they wanted to teach and travel the world. You get the point – choosing a college is not the final decision – it’s the first of many choices. Once in school the opportunity to make that decision feel like it reflects who you are will present itself over and over again. My advice:

1) Get a college counselor. A good college counselor can really help a high school student find a school that is truly the right fit for them and then help them get in. (I didn’t have one – but I wish I did.) The best counselors understand how much students change after they leave high school and help students select schools that can grow and change with them.

2) Have an open mind and a positive attitude. Not everyone has the college experience that they imagined when they were 17, but everyone who has an open mind and a positive attitude will have a great college experience. Like many things in life, things work out for the best when you’re willing to be flexible and approach new situations with optimism.

Friday, February 5, 2010

4 Tips to Learning a Foreign Language

Have you ever sat through a math class and felt like your teacher was speaking a foreign language? Were you dazed and confused? Well, in French and Spanish class, your teacher is speaking a foreign language. It is no wonder that you would feel perplexed and uncomfortable! Here are a few tips to make the most of your time spent tackling a new language.

Practice out loud and on paper
While writing skills are crucial to mastering a language, oral expression is a key stepping stone on the road to fluency. Foreign languages present a whole new range of sounds and, though it may feel awkward at first, reading out loud will train your facial and throat muscles to produce these new sounds. Making flashcards is a great way to practice. You will develop a visual memory of what you’ve written on the cards and an auditory memory of what you’ve read out loud, making this particular learning tool doubly effective.

Utilize available resources

When doing homework, take the time to get it right. Use a dictionary to look up words you are unfamiliar with. Refer to verb tables and grammar guides when necessary. Your textbook is always a good place to start when in doubt. In class, communicate with your instructor. Tell your teacher about any difficulties you are having, and be open to his/her suggestions. If you have a private SAT tutor, take advantage by asking questions you may not have had the opportunity to bring up in class. Being proactive in this way will only broaden your grasp of the language.

Maximize exposure

Immerse yourself in the language as often as possible. Consider watching a movie or television program, or listening to the radio (many foreign radio and television stations have streaming or archived programs online). If you encounter a native speaker, attempt to have a conversation with him/her. These exercises are especially helpful in developing an authentic accent. Don’t worry about not understanding everything you hear. Listening alone will increase familiarity with the language and ultimately improve comprehension.

Divide and conquer

This strategy is the recipe for success, regardless of your objective. As with physical exercise, long, strenuous practice sessions can often leave you feeling burnt out. On the other hand, short, regular sessions that lead to positive results are quite encouraging. Studies have shown that practicing a language on a regular basis for short periods of time increases retention. So, aim for small, reachable goals. Every goal achieved or hurdle overcome will boost your confidence and motivate you to learn more.

Remember, not understanding what you hear or read is a completely natural part of the language learning process. Rest assured that, with the right dedication and time, the foreign language you have undertaken won’t seem so foreign after all!