The National News section of Sunday's Buffalo News ran an article about a college kid at Georgetown who posted an employment ad searching for a personal assistant. Apparently his course load, part time job at a financial organziation and the recent illness of a family member is making it too difficult for him to do his laundry, make a hair cut appt and update his electronic networking.
Good for him. He recognizes he needs help and now he can spend the extra time nurturing a better shot at that Ivy League Grad school acceptance or that 6 figure Wall Street job offer. All well and good for our Georgetown man. Use every advantage available to you to succeed. Not to mention offering employment to some kid less fortunate than he. He understands the value of time, and he cannot waste his on mundane tasks such as laundry or a hair appointment. He certainly cannot properly keep up his Facebook and Twitter accounts with all these distractions. Besides aren't these the jobs saved for housewives, immigrants and the poor?
College is supposedly a time to grow up, to find your own way, to challenge your mind and to push yourself to find out who you are and who you can be. Isn't it also supposed to be a level playing field where your economic background is not the advantage but your ability to think and your persistence to learn is the advantage? Can a student who is worried about paying his tuition and eating be competitive with one whose only time consumer is working on his internship or Strategic Policy paper? If only the best grades get the top grad school positions and decision making job, aren't we already using personal economic positions to discriminate? Are we leading down a path where the people who will be running our industries and governments are the people who couldn't handle everyday tasks and felt it necessary to get the less fortunate to help? We need strong, brilliant men and women to take us to the next level, not just those with the means to play the game well.
I guess I am being rather pollyanna with my view of equality and true merit in our higher education process. But I want to wear the rose colored glasses because I want my son to be one of the brilliant men who make a difference and because of that I would (not proudly) use every advantage available to him. Hypocrisy? Maybe.
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I dont blame the student for asking for help and offering to use his "means" (or his parents) to get some help. Lets face it, he probably doesnt know any better. If I were to guess he was brought up by a father and mother who spend a whole lot of money on other people watching their little boy while they traveled, worked and played away from the house. He probably thinks servent and assistant are found in isle 8 at Home Depot. He was born into it, surrounded by it and is now, early on, a contributor. I cant blame the school for allowing this either. Hell, theres probably a new athletic field being built right now with the students last name on it. I blame the poor basterd who applies. Why contribute? Let the little "Fresh Prince of Bellaire" fend for himself. What will be next, paying for someone to write his thesis? (like that never happens). Yes, school is all that you suggest it should be, and more. What this student is doing is taking a defeatist attitude. He is saying "I cant handle it". Its just too bad that it wont get printed that way on his resume when he's applying for jobs. I can see it now, under his Skills section: Cant Prioritize, Cant Multitask, Doesnt Handle Stress Well. For More Information and References, Please Contact My Dad. Truth is, school is not a level playing field but not only because of students financial background, but also their individual ability to learn and cope. Do we use Personal Economics to Discriminate? I'm not sure, ask the people of Louisiana. Make sure you tell them your name is Katrina. As far as your question "are we leading down a path where people who will be running our industries and governments are the people who couldnt handle everyday tasks and felt it necessary to get the less fortunate to help? Yes. Someone Named George W Bush comes to mind when he sent 1000's of his voters to the Middle East. Not only do the wealthy get all these perks, they also get out of crimes much easier to. Where else can you find a Vice President who gets away with shooting his friend in the face. I doubt he walked in front of that pheasent. I think Dick was pissed cause his buddy finished all the Grey Poupon!
ReplyDeleteIm all for assisting our children in their path to success, but at what point does our assistance become detrimental to their future and adversly affect the future of those in which they interact? It is a dog eat dog world and kids need to fight for themselves.........at times. We just need to learn when to step in and when to back off.
The collective "we" needs to step in now. Yes, it is a dog eat dog world but let's step into the looking glass and image that we do something. We tell this kid no. We demand that he fend for himself - to sink or swim. And as we travel down this fantasy, we see that he is a bright kid just a little lazy. THe right push from "us" has allowed him to see his erred ways and he is now working harder. He is living with that B+ because he prioritized his life tasks with his study time. Now he has graduated and is working for , not that top Wall Street Firm, but for the State Department where he uses his financial skills to help underdeveloped countries.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it our responsibility, no our obligation to lead our college kids down the right moral path? Some actions are just plain wrong but its not black or white. Cheating, stealing, homicide WRONG but what about discrimination, superficiality, laziness? We are doing him a disservice,