College Admissions thoughts

I have been pondering some ideas about advice on the college admissions process. Who knows where it will go? book, blog? *Start keeping a journal. Record thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Specifically about growth and reflection. * Ask yourself the questions "So what?". Your smart, pretty, successful... so what? What have you done to give back or make change? Colleges aren't always looking for the best, they are looking for those that are going to make a difference. Those that will bring something to the campus. If you are hosting a good party you don't want all the same people there. Smart people are great, but you also need people to bring music, good food, people that will dance, you get the idea. What can you do to get that college or university to want you on their campus?

Education debate

If you enjoy following this stuff like I do this is pretty interesting. It is a discussion between Diane Ravitch and Geoffrey Canada about education reform. It is long but worth it. Diane has done almost a full 180. She worked with the first Bush administration to help set-up no child left behind, merit teacher pay, etc... Now she has a new book. She is powerful. The idea of wrap around services is fascinating. http://www.amazon.com/Death-Great-American-School-System/dp/0465025579/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317828587&sr=8-1 Here is the link to the debate. http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=0DA1B005-E93A-11E0-B00E000C296BA163

More educcation articles

Schools we need. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6401 life long learner http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/09/01/the-single-best-idea-for-reforming-k-12-education/ replace the lecturer. http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/transcript.html

Midlle School Article

This what we need to do... create, build, discover,... THINK! http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-to-fix-the-mess-we-call-middle-school/2011/09/25/gIQAjCx1yK_blog.html

My best advice: group excercise

Find something you like to do that is physical and exercise related, then find a group of others that do it too. Join 'em! We are built to be social. We are built to love. Get involved with a group of people that share your goals and want to see you do well. It doesn't matter if it is a softball team, a crossfit class, or a walking group, gathering to sweat and talk is good medicine!
These people will love and support you, especially through the tough times. Endorphins work!

My Best Advice

Meet your in-laws early in a relationship. Once at their house and once outside their house. I am sorry to say all those things will come from your partner (spouse) at some time. How do they eat? How do they treat each other? What happens after dinner? The list could go one for a long time, but all these things matter. How do they treat the server? Tip? Hold hands? It goes on and on.

Buckminster Quote

"Humanity is taking its final examination. We have come to an extraordinary moment when it doesn't have to be you or me. There is enough for all. We need not operate competitively any longer. If we succeed, it will be because of youth, truth and love."
-Buckminster Fulller


Buckminster was a teacher and now I am a teacher. I work in a system of schools that uses competition as its vehicle. If your only goal is to find out who is the best, then this system seems to make sense. But if you value something else then it would make sense to call this system into question.

Many feel that our education system is broken, or at least pretty far off track. Yet we often hear a cry to increase accountability. The way we do that, we are told, is more testing and more competition. Creating competition between students, between teachers, between schools, between districts, and even between states.

What if we stepped back for a minute and asked a different question. What if our schools were based on cooperation rather than competition? What if students had to work together to answer complex problems and not race to win a standardized exam?

The geese fly faster and farther working together to form their “V”. The fish find safety working together as a school. Evolution welcomes efficiency.

Buckminster proved over and over again that the Earth can and will provide. Man must cooperate in order to share in it, but we must also provide for the needs of others. Hungry students don’t learn well. Students that are not safe or are alone can’t focus. Students consumed with chasing material gains or accolades don’t aspire to new challenges. By meeting the needs of those around us we all move forward together. Schools can and should be teaching that, not competing for funding.