Wait listed

[Hockeydad]

You can look back (4) years to see what happened:

On March 31st, 2012, the USNAClass of 2016 Appointment thread was at 84 Appointments , the last updated entry was at 87 Appointments on April 6th, 2012.

On March 31st, 2013, the USNA Class of 2017 Appointment thread was at 115 Appointments , the last updated entry was at 121 Appointments on April 4th, 2013.

On March 31st, 2014, the USNA Class of 2018 Appointment thread was at 96 Appointments , the last updated entry was at 104 Appointments on June 9th, 2014.

On March 31st, 2015, the USNA Class of 2019 Appointment thread was at 76 Appointments , the last updated entry was at 85 Appointments on May 10th, 2015.

Things do happen that don't make it to this forum. We met a Plebe this year who didn't get her appointment until July 1!!

 

[Hockeydad]

Amazingly, my son was waitlisted although he has nearly perfect SAT scores, straight As at his competitive high school, star all-state runner, taking calculus BC and AP Physics 2 this year and earning As; wants to study engineering; lots of leadership and extra-curricular activities, TWO nominations from an extremely competitive pool; no medical or any other issues....makes me wonder who the heck they are picking!

The problem is most of the applicants have accomplishments similar to these. My son was also waitlisted and has similar credentials to your son.

 

[OHmom16]

The problem is most of the applicants have accomplishments similar to these. My son was also waitlisted and has similar credentials to your son.

So true. I felt the same way last year as HopefulforT, but I think with those stats it would be hard to pass over twice! Good luck to him!

 

[brovol]

I'm hoping that was tongue in cheek as I didn't draw any conclusions. We recognized going in it was a numbers and shells games. We might not ever know why some candidates that walk on water are turned away and others who are mighty fine swimmers but not water walkers get in. As someone who has conducted job interviews for years it is sometimes that immeasurable something, that feeling you get in your gut that sets someone apart.

I don't pay much mind to the sensitive types who think everyone deserves a trophy. It only diminishes true accomplishments. I commend those who got appointments and wish them well. But I also won't diminish the accomplishments of those who didn't. To quote my son's college counselor "You need to recognize your plan B, C and D are some kids dream schools, something that most cannot achieve. You need to acknowledge that your years of hard work have given you the luxury of choice." I'm guessing that the candidates that made it this far before getting wait listed or a TWE are all pretty remarkable! Under a different panel the results will always vary but these are the results for this class, the results we move forward with. But, I would not say they were necessarily better or worse candidates, and don't apologize if it makes someone angry.

As I've said, my DS had phenomenal plan B's and he will do great! We are blessed and fortunate!

I agree with all of what you said, and my comments were sarcastic of course. It was prompted by the earlier thread discussing whether women are being admitted under a lesser standards than men. Even asking the question brought on emotional objection.

I see that it is a bit of a shell game, and understand that there will be a subjective element to the admissions equation, but I certainly wish that the objective constituted 95% or more of the formula, and that there was more transparency. This is not a question of who interviewed better, as not everyone even gets interviewed, and the interviews that are conducted are being done by bgo's who only interview their own candidates, so it's not the same person interviewing the candidates. Even teacher evaluations are unfair as not every twelfth grade English, math or science teacher are created equal, and some may have biases, or simply may have a tougher scoring standard than another. I really hope the academies don't put an unreasonable weight on these things. I do fear though that there is too much subjectivity, and basing these important spots on some subjective assessment can naturally breed resentment. Questioning the methods shouldn't be met with such antagonism.

 

[Always hopeful!]

Agreed. Don't most MOCs submit an unranked list and then let the academies rank? I am not sure about this.

My DD (appointed in December to USNA and USMA) has great stats, just like those of everyone else on this forum. Above 700 on all sections of the SAT, 4.0 unweighted GPA, lots of AP classes, etc. We don't have a lot of money, and we have no political connections whatsoever, though - we live about as far away from the state capital as possible, and she goes to a public school comprised most of low-income students. She is a multi-sport athlete and a musician with a perfect attendance record throughout high school. Tutors and is an eBay seller for cash to pay for her iPhone and gas for when she uses the car we share. She did her entire application and connected with her BGO via Skype by herself; handled her nominations interviews on her own. I provided transportation and postage stamps. What was her "wow" factor? I don't know for sure, but I think one factor might have been that she is a very good speaker - she has been involved in Debate and similar activities since middle school and she comes across as friendly and confident. That makes a big difference in situations like interviews when kids are nervous. It helps her build a rapport with people that she is interviewing.

While she was going through all the hoops, I told her that if it was meant to be, it would happen, and that she had to take everything one step at a time and to do her best in everything that was under her control. She does have a backup plan in case of injury during her spring sport. As a parent, my heart hurts for those who have received the TWE or are anxiously waiting on the waitlist. From what I have seen, even the candidates who have received the TWE are fantastic students with tremendous potential. I hope that each one of your candidates ends up in a great place.

I am very happy for your DD, She sounds fantastic! May I pat YOU on the back?
I can see by your reply that YOUR level headed, loving influence helped get her there. It shows. Heart felt congratulations to you and yours !!

I’m new here and to ALL of this. Our DD will be going to NAS for a week and she is so excited. She has allot of the things you mentioned but not all. She would have loved a debate activity but it wasn’t offered at her school and we couldn’t find anything local for that. It’s missing allot of activities that I would find to be more useful that what is offered. Ye, we’re not “rich” either. LOL! Or “connected”. LOL!!

One thing I can say with confidence is MANDARAIN and ARABIC are highly sought after foreign languages in the military. We didn’t know that when she was taking Mandarin. DD took Mandarin, oral and written for 7 years, for three hours on Saturday mornings. It was a regular school year and run by our local Chinese community. They rented out a high school on the weekend and offered it to kids and adults. Yes with hundreds of kids running around it was like a Chinese fire drill! It was volunteer run by parents and school teachers but you had to pay a fee for books and other things... We don’t speak it at home so it was a challenge for her. The kids she had classes with were very motivated and good kids. It was a wonderful experience and the parents were great too! Others could consider taking it at a community college if offered to keep costs down. Having said that I can’t say that will automatically get you accepted but I know it helps!

They know what they are looking for and it doesn't appear to be a check box criteria. It appears to be a combination of things. Since we are all unique that does make sense. Each of these kids have special talents and abilities. I also know there is always a reason for WHY things turn out the way they do. Sometimes later we understand it and other times we don’t and still have to march on, try again or go with an alternative. I sincerely hope each participant here finds the best path to what is best for them in life. As a parent it is hard. We always want them to have a problem free life and have them always attain what they aim for. Love them and continue to encourage them as they try to find their way in life.

I’m not sure how DD will end up either after that week. We are simply most grateful for the opportunity and cautiously plan alternative options. Maybe she’ll love it BUT they’ll see a mismatch and do us the favor of not accepting her should she pursue it further. Based on personal experience, and reading about great people, more often than not, they have set backs in life or the “dark night of the soul”. Winston Churchill comes to mind. How it is handled helps shape you and can make you a better person. Be persistent and know when to change course. There are so many impressive students here that it really warms my heart! I know there is something uniquely special for each of them to shine. I just can’t emphasize how IMPRESSED I am reading through the accomplishments of others.

 

[Always hopeful!]

I agree with all of what you said, and my comments were sarcastic of course. It was prompted by the earlier thread discussing whether women are being admitted under a lesser standards than men. Even asking the question brought on emotional objection.

I see that it is a bit of a shell game, and understand that there will be a subjective element to the admissions equation, but I certainly wish that the objective constituted 95% or more of the formula, and that there was more transparency. This is not a question of who interviewed better, as not everyone even gets interviewed, and the interviews that are conducted are being done by bgo's who only interview their own candidates, so it's not the same person interviewing the candidates. Even teacher evaluations are unfair as not every twelfth grade English, math or science teacher are created equal, and some may have biases, or simply may have a tougher scoring standard than another. I really hope the academies don't put an unreasonable weight on these things. I do fear though that there is too much subjectivity, and basing these important spots on some subjective assessment can naturally breed resentment. Questioning the methods shouldn't be met with such antagonism.

I hope you don’t mind if I weigh in. I have some thoughts on your concerns. I hope you don't mind my bluntness.

I can not speak for NAS but having switched our daughter from a private school to a public school there is an agenda in the public school system that we were not used to. She had been on a merit scholarship and that was difficult to leave behind but our financial circumstances dramatically changed and we had to switch her out. DH had wanted to do this regardless of that. Her particular private school was better academically and rules were rules and enforced accordingly with no exceptions unlike our local public school which unfortunately is more politically correct driven. Academic acknowledgement and rules are arbitrarily enforced based on political correctness.. For example, instead of using merit as a criterion for Peer Leadership, offered in 11th grade for a 12th grade leadership position, “diversity” is the finalizing criteria and they camouflage it by saying they are “evaluating the whole person” to draw attention away from academic deficits or other issues that would normally disqualify them.

Our daughter was nominated for Peer Leadership and is awaiting a decision from the committee interview. The head of the program likes her allot because she is a diligent student, but she did caution her that a committee vote makes the final decision and “diversity” will play a big role in the final decision – not merit! We have told her not to worry about it because allot of the better competitive colleges/universities have openly stated in their seminars they don’t care about that sort of thing. They still use traditional criteria for admittance. So she is learning to navigate through this.

In short much of academia is trying to level ALL students off so no one really stands out – group work. That may sound harsh but this has been our experience in moving from a private school to a public school. We didn’t know how bad it was till we switched her. Again, I have to clarify that there are many good public schools out there holding the line so I don’t want to broad brush them all. This problem also plays out in teachers. Some are more demanding than others and some DO have biases – especially in subjective ELA (English Language Arts), whereas math and science are more objective but class difficulty is teacher dependent. To a certain extent this has always gone on but I see it more pronounced now in Common Core and with younger teachers teaching.

How history is being taught is also very divisive. The DBE (demand base evidence) approach does use original documents but they are very skewed and cherry picked to fit a particular world view. It’s hardly an exercise in “critical thinking”. I hope this changes because it molds a worldview that is divisive and reactionary rather than unity, e pluribus unum which our country is founded on. Since we are hands on parents we see the shift going on from the private school environment that does not use Common Core to the public school environment that does use Common Core.

My last comment is on class rank. Our school district will NOT disclose that to the student so to be a Valedictorian has no consistent symbolism and eyes roll at whoever is selected for it. Students there truly don't care about it because of the arbitrary whim for selection. Selective criteria for that honor ended in 2006 in our public school district. Again, they don’t want to isolate individual merit for recognition. Any colleges/universities or other organizations can know a student rank but NOT the student. The true reason is that feelings are hurt for those that are not academically accomplished. and they lean on "evaluating the whole person" which could include nearly anything that may or may not be relevant for what used to be an honor. It’s the same mindset that everyone should get an award and not to call attention to individual excellence. I believe this hurts us as a country and discourages academic excellence. Somehow students need to keep focused, slug it out and hope things get back to normal where there is a more consistent criteria.

 

[brovol]

I hope you don’t mind if I weigh in. I have some thoughts on your concerns. I hope you don't mind my bluntness.

I can not speak for NAS but having switched our daughter from a private school to a public school there is an agenda in the public school system that we were not used to. She had been on a merit scholarship and that was difficult to leave behind but our financial circumstances dramatically changed and we had to switch her out. Hubby had wanted to do this regardless of that. Her particular private school was better academically and rules were rules and enforced accordingly with no exceptions unlike our local public school which unfortunately is more politically correct driven. Academic acknowledgement and rules are arbitrarily enforced based on political correctness.. For example, instead of using merit as a criterion for Peer Leadership, “diversity” is the finalizing criteria and they camouflage it by saying they are “evaluating the whole person” to draw attention away from academic deficits or other issues that would normally disqualify them.

Our daughter was nominated for Peer Leadership and is awaiting a decision from the committee interview. The head of the program likes her allot because she is a diligent student, but she did caution her that a committee vote makes the final decision and “diversity” will play a big role in the final decision – not merit! We have told her not to worry about it because allot of the better competitive colleges/universities have openly stated in their seminars they don’t care about that sort of thing. They still use traditional criteria for admittance. So she is learning to navigate through this.

In short much of academia is trying to level ALL students off so no one really stands out – group work. That may sound harsh but this has been our experience in moving from a private school to a public school. We didn’t know how bad it was till we switched her. Again, I have to clarify that there are many good public schools out there holding the line so I don’t want to broad brush them all. This problem also plays out in teachers. Some are more demanding than others and some DO have biases – especially in subjective ELA (English Language Arts), whereas math and science are more objective but class difficulty is teacher dependent. To a certain extent this has always gone on but I see it more pronounced now in Common Core and with younger teachers teaching.

How history is being taught is also very divisive. The DBE (demand base evidence) approach does use original documents but they are very skewed and cherry picked to fit a particular world view. It’s hardly an exercise in “critical thinking”. I hope this changes because it molds a worldview that is divisive and reactionary rather than unity, e pluribus unum which our country is founded on. Since we are hands on parents we see the shift going on from the private school environment that does not use Common Core to the public school environment that does use Common Core.

My last comment is on class rank. Our school district will NOT disclose that to the student so to be a Valedictorian has no consistent symbolism and eyes roll at whoever is selected for it. Students there truly don't care about it because of the arbitrary whim for selection. Selective criteria for that honor ended in 2006 in our public school district. Again, they don’t want to isolate individual merit for recognition. Any colleges/universities or other organizations can know a student rank but NOT the student. The true reason is that feelings are hurt for those that are not academically accomplished. and they lean on "evaluating the whole person" which could include nearly anything that may or may not be relevant for what used to be an honor. It’s the same mindset that everyone should get an award and not to call attention to individual excellence. I believe this hurts us as a country and discourages academic excellence. Somehow students have keep focused, slug it out and hope get back to normal where there is a more consistent criteria.

I couldn't agree with your criticisms of our current liberalized education system more. It has become, like so many other the other things the liberals have "shaped", a disaster.

 

[Always hopeful!]

I couldn't agree with your criticisms of our current liberalized education system more. It has become, like so many other the other things the liberals have "shaped", a disaster.

It truly breaks my heart seeing this go on unchallenged ...... I have to be thankful for the "mercies" in our life and our DD has only had to endure three years of this, (10th grade transfer, 11th grade - her current year and 12th grade she is done!).

I am most grateful that her formative years were spent in a wonderful environment - academically and with fabulous role models! I sincerely believe ALL PARENTS should have SCHOOL CHOICE! DD has a solid foundation. and I believe she does appreciate that now. Students around her at her public school do NOT have that foundation! I could go on and on horrifying you with more specifics but I think you understand what I am describing without all the sorted details .... I make it a point to make sure she doesn't slip downwards ... I simply will NOT allow that to happen.

We happen to live in NJ - HIGH PROPERTY taxes! We paid taxes for a seat in our local public school district for years that we never used from K-9th grade. I fail to understand how it is "fair" for anyone to be forced into a public school where that money could be better spent on a private school. Some public schools are okay but ALL parents should be allowed to determine that and exercise parental CHOICE! The coerced monopoly needs to go! So in addition to funding the local public school district we had to scramble for tuition till she received a merit scholarship for high school. Ironically the tuition we paid was LESS than our property tax bill that goes to the public school system and hands down her private school education was far superior in too many ways to describe beyond academically speaking. I’ll just say character truly mattered there …..

At her previous school, in high school, they offered merit scholarships but not 100%. Our financial situation changed where we could not bridge the gap. DH had wanted her to transfer out for 9th grade but I didn't want it ... then things changed financially and she transferred out in 10th grade. I guess I just didn't want her to experience the real world just yet ... but DH was probably right ...

 

[nodiva]

In short much of academia is trying to level ALL students off so no one really stands out – group work. That may sound harsh but this has been our experience in moving from a private school to a public school. We didn’t know how bad it was till we switched her. Again, I have to clarify that there are many good public schools out there holding the line so I don’t want to broad brush them all. This problem also plays out in teachers. Some are more demanding than others and some DO have biases – especially in subjective ELA (English Language Arts), whereas math and science are more objective but class difficulty is teacher dependent. To a certain extent this has always gone on but I see it more pronounced now in Common Core and with younger teachers teaching.

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

 

[HopefulDad3210]

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

What you describe is disgraceful, in my opinion.

 

[mlwmom]

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

I am beyond speechless! This is infuriating!

 

[Always hopeful!]

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

I am sorry beyond words for what is literal abuse. It is reverse discrimination. If I had a heads up on it, I would keep DD home that day. I have no guilt nor apology for what others are NOT doing by CHOICE for their kids! Again, I am so sorry ... The craziness and utter reverse hypocrisy takes my breath away.

I have no doubt you are wonderful parents ... I can see that by what your children tell you. They look MORE to you than to others for reassurance and a sanity check. You should be proud of that bond! That is the way it should be and many don’t like that …. They do want to replace you ....Speaking of that they offer an AP Psychology course at her high school. Part of the requirement to take the course is to sign a “pledge” that topics in class “stay in class” and you are NOT allowed to discuss who thinks what about a topic outside of class and that includes your parents. It; similar to “what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas”. She didn’t sign up for that …

I always look for examples to bring home OUR worldview which does not include class or race warfare. Just before she left her last school, Dr. Ben Carson came to a Pro Life dinner they sponsored. WOW! He IS the real deal! She talked to him at length. This was prior to his run for President. We all thoroughly enjoyed him and have the utmost respect for him. DH never really told me how he did this but the end result was Dr. Carson sending my daughter a personal letter to our home address encouraging her to be her best etc. . So she knows beyond any doubt that appearance doesn’t matter and over coming circumstances happens if you want it to happen.

Again, I am so sorry ….. DH and I both wish we had the "privilege" we are accused of having. LOL! We also understand sacrifice in action to make it happen for our children. I truly do understand where you are coming from. You are not alone. I think we both know who is spear heading this hideous worldview and who is allowing this to happen and continue. Unfortunately hand waving and empty indignation isn't ending it. Action must be taken and hopefully with a change at the top this can happen. Till then I suppose we can just love them more, keep those lines of communication open, encourage them and point out the fallacies and the reverse hypocrisy of this divisive agenda.

 

[Always hopeful!]

What you describe is disgraceful, in my opinion.

OTOH is makes me very, very, angry and OTOH I feel so bad for the student being ostracized and forced to endure abuse like this. I can't imagine being that age and being humiliated like this. It is totally unacceptable and needs to STOP!

 

[nodiva]

A follow up: When I picked her up from school after the "Privilege Walk" she said, "Mom, the only way it could've been worse was if I was a male." OUCH!

That night, my DH and I took the "privilege walk" based on where we were at her age (14). She was shocked to see how "non-privileged" I was. Parents divorced. 5 different elementary schools, blah blah blah. . . mind you--all things I NEVER EVEN KNEW MADE ME "NON-PRIVILEGED"--it was GREAT for my DD to see that neither parents were "advantaged" and she thanked us so much for providing a better life for her and her sibs. So, in the end, you are correct--it's what the parents model that truly teaches the lessons. I'll be damned if I'm going to turn my kids over to their "educators" to do this job!

 

[Cerberi]

I have news for you. It is likely your DD/DS will hear the same 'privilege' training at the SA they attend and it is very probable it is or will be part of normal military training

I know it was discussed not certain if it made the training, but it is coming

The SAs are politically correct institutions.

Fortunately, cadets/Mids are delightfully sarcastic and will take the training in stride

 

[HopefulDad3210]

A follow up: When I picked her up from school after the "Privilege Walk" she said, "Mom, the only way it could've been worse was if I was a male." OUCH!

That night, my DH and I took the "privilege walk" based on where we were at her age (14). She was shocked to see how "non-privileged" I was. Parents divorced. 5 different elementary schools, blah blah blah. . . mind you--all things I NEVER EVEN KNEW MADE ME "NON-PRIVILEGED"--it was GREAT for my DD to see that neither parents were "advantaged" and she thanked us so much for providing a better life for her and her sibs. So, in the end, you are correct--it's what the parents model that truly teaches the lessons. I'll be damned if I'm going to turn my kids over to their "educators" to do this job!

What was the pedagogical thought behind this school exercise? Do we really want public school teachers making value judgments about what constitutes privilege and then shaming students over it? This falls into that category of things that sound great when one agrees with the judgments being made, but sours when things turn the other way. I'm stunned.

 

[brovol]

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

My blood boils! But who would have ever thought that we would have someone who advertised being a proud socialist so close to the presidency, or someone who is a socialist, but just doesn't call himself one as the President. Even the "liberals" of 30 years ago would be appalled at what America is becoming. Carl Marx would love it.

The "do-gooders" have destroyed the great competitive drive, and the way Americans would think to strive and fight for success and prosperity. We have turned into a society where a large percentage expects to be taken care of and spoon fed or nursed throughout their lives. Fortunately, I think those who attend the academies are largely part of the dying old breed, raise to be self dependent.

 

[Always hopeful!]

Have several kids in HS AND COMPLETELY AGREE! The public agenda has changed radically in just the last 4 years. Here is an example. Driving DD to school recently and she said "I'm dreading ___________ class today". I asked why and she replied "We're doing the "Privilege Walk" today and I just know I'm going to be classified as "Privileged" and that's really bad. Well, I was furious. They've taken down the original exercise, but you can get the jest of it here: http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/25794/ Bottom line: if your parents are still married and they read to you at night as a child YOU HAVE AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE AND MUST IMMEDIATLEY REPENT BY ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU CHEATED SOMEONE LESS PRIVILEGED OUT OF ____________ AND THEREFORE YOU STINK.

Point is: My husband and I have worked our butts off to offer our kids a better life. The fact now that they should feel ashamed of this effort is BEYOND CRAZY. Another incident: DD was doing a pushup exercise in middle school and she was going for the school record. When she got to 20 (school record was 65) she was the only student left and the teacher made her stop. DD was told "We know longer allow students to attempt records **because it makes the students who can't attempt records feel bad**" So, as this thinking rolls like a tsunami through our public schools, I find the SAs MUCH MORE attractive.

I don't know if you will find this helpful or not but they often give me a heads up on things ...http://truthinamericaneducation.com/ They used one of my "concerns" as a subject. It was the newly designed PSAT she took in the fall of 2015. My daughter doesn't speak Spanish and never took it as a foreign language. One of the Reading and Comprehension stories was in Spanish and BROKEN English. I complained about that to the link I listed.

Standardized tests need to be in ENGLISH! Again, I had to tell DD to not worry about it. It's a new PSAT test (fall 2015) and it won't matter. It upset her that she couldn't discern the tone and other things being questioned because she doesn't speak or read Spanish and the broken English being used in the passage was confusing. Of course when you can't do that it makes you look dumb and will pull your down in score and I assume lift others UP. I have never even heard of a US standardized test using a FOREIGN language in that section of the test!

At the moment, we are refusing the PARCC test. We did the same last year with no problem. Her SAT scores are fine. She took it in January 2016. Even though the education folks (Dave Coleman) hasn't formally selected a number range yet for this year to be excused. the "new" SAT and "new" ACT formats have changed finalized scoring hasn't been determined yet ... I know her SAT scores are fine.

We look at it this way, if she fits into M.I.T.'s academic SAT admittance ranges posted on their website, I really believe that she is okay with NOT taking the PARCC exam to show competency in ELA (English Language Arts). For math she has an automatic opt out because of her math level. They can track someone one else .... Having mentioned M.I.T. doesn't mean scores alone get you in either but for testing purposes, we think that is okay for a guideline that she is competent and doing okay.

 

[socalfan]

This is what happens when you get one side of a discussion/perspective. I have seen a very similar exercise (perhaps based on the same one) with a completely different take away...it was not done to single out who was privileged, it was done to show that you are not alone in your struggles, that other classmates have endured difficulties that other classmates have challenges to overcome. It was lead by the peer leader teacher with the peer leaders group with a student group that had been selected by teachers as possibly needing some help/encouragement and was actually quite powerful. The end result was lots of support. I witnessed it as a parent volunteer. If the take away from the exercise has become privilege shaming someone has perversed it's intent.

 

[Always hopeful!]

This is what happens when you get one side of a discussion/perspective. I have seen a very similar exercise (perhaps based on the same one) with a completely different take away...it was not done to single out who was privileged, it was done to show that you are not alone in your struggles, that other classmates have endured difficulties that other classmates have challenges to overcome. It was lead by the peer leader teacher with the peer leaders group with a student group that had been selected by teachers as possibly needing some help/encouragement and was actually quite powerful. The end result was lots of support. I witnessed it as a parent volunteer.

I don't think we are going to agree on that. I don't believe that the student that will be ostracized will agree with you. So, maybe we just have to agree to disagree. I personally don't think race or economic class holds a person back. We all have struggles but I don't think humiliating a student or any student helps.

This is NOT true about me but I will use myself as an example. Let's say I am a relapsing drug addict and I am in and out or rehab. Would I want my DD or DS used as a prop to show either DS or DD has "struggles" at home? Either one would be mortified at being used like that. That belongs with family, close friends or a doctor. Not in a classroom with young students or even high school students! That is an invasion of a person's privacy.

Not everyone wants to tell everyone else their "struggles". I wouldn't want any of my "struggles" to be the business of someone in a class if I was a student or as an adult that I am NOT close to or CHOOSE to CONFIDE in. Most people, even if they are young do like privacy and dignity. It really puts kids on the spot and it is unfair to do that to them. Perhaps we just have to disagree on this. I simply find this offensive and a huge invasion of a person's privacy.