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A good study would be to see if these students who do spend much of their teenage years doing science fairs get any benefits as adults. Even if these get students into "better" colleges, does that translate to "better" jobs? Employers are starting to prefer graduates of state schools over graduates of "elite" colleges. Also, an employer wants to know how you can make money for them now, and not what you did as a teenager. Also, passion for one thing, whether it be science, sports, music, acting, etc does not necessarily translate into passion for work. If anything, work gets in the way of one's passion.
A good study would be to see if these students who do spend much of their teenage years doing science fairs get any benefits as adults. Even if these get students into "better" colleges, does that translate to "better" jobs? Employers are starting to prefer graduates of state schools over graduates of "elite" colleges. Also, an employer wants to know how you can make money for them now, and not what you did as a teenager. Also, passion for one thing, whether it be science, sports, music, acting, etc does not necessarily translate into passion for work. If anything, work gets in the way of one's passion.
These sciences whizzes typically stay the course. And I'm not buying that employers prefer SUNY grads over Wharton grads. That being said, my kids are going to go to state schools unless they get scholarships.
For you "normal" people, don't feel sorry for these tiger kids.
These kids are elite and they thrive on it. The ones who reach the Intel finalist level are there by choice.
The kids who are not so smart but parents push them get washed up early and don't even make it to the Intel level (competition is fierce). I guess you can sort of feel pity for them, but because they are still well educated they will likely end up with decent white collar professions.
I feel sorry for the kid/parents who does not take school seriously, parties through college, gets a useless degree and ends up living in mom's basement working at either some crappy low level office job or Best Buy. But at least he/she had a happy well rounded childhood.
Some of these kids, especially those from "spelling bee" families are schooled from an early age. They start taking language lessons when they are very young and some of them do come from pressuring families.
But for the most part, many of these "geeks" are rather well-rounded. We didn't push these competitions because we didn't even know about them. We found out because Long Island public school faculty suggested it. Then they attend some sort of orientation meeting and can decide if they want to participate or not. Most of these kids are good at a variety of things, including sports. The participation provided networking opportunities so that kids who shared certain interests could meet each other. Most of these kids end up helping each other out. My kids have life-long friends from these events and for the most part, they are well-balanced kids who are now at the stage where they are getting engaged. The idea that these kids stay in their room studying all day is a far cry from reality. Mine ended up being quite "outdoorsy," something that is rather foreign to us. One of my kids ended up working for the Smithsonian for year, traveling all over South America, hiking, boating, camping, as part of the research project. Knows a thing or two about cows and horses, and yes, did plenty of shoveling poop. Just as Mumbly Joe said, we thought that this was a good opportunity because this is not something that you can do when you get older so seize the moment. Now, there are some opportunities for a switch since certain consulting firms like to recruit young adults with a diverse background. Companies like Google, Twitter, ThoughtWorks,consulting companies etc. look for young people like that, even if they have limited or no industry related experience. The interviews are like IQ tests and these companies also give a lot of time off. For example, a young friend of mine was a music major, ended up working at Google, and is taking 6 weeks off to sing with an opera company on the west coast, taking her family (husband can telecommute and kids are very young) with her. Welcome to elite HipsterLand.
I feel sorry for these kids. From the time they are babies, their lives often consist of structured learning; adult-supervised structured recreation, goal setting, and learning to follow rules.
Kids learn the most and develop the most rounded personalities by playing (alone or with their peers, and not in structured adult-supervised settings where the emphasis is on following rules). Playing and exploring is how they learn how the world operates, and how to interact with and cooperate with others, especially under adverse conditions and when there are no adults around to run to.
These poor geeks, even if they manage not to become psychotic a few years down the road, will still likely have a rough time in most other aspects of life in the real world. Even if they spend their lives in the sheltered environment of academia and government-funded science, their personal lives will suffer, and they'll be having a mid-life crisis- probably when they're 35. They won't know how to deal with those who don't follow the rules. Wow...it's very sad.
or maybe you just have nothing in common with them and instead of saying "good for them" you choose to mock?
Agree with Coney... most people just assume these kids are robotic math nerds with no lives. These competitive kids know that in order to get into the top tier schools, you need to be well rounded.
I can use myself as an example. I was a high achieving asian tiger kid in the late eighties/early 90s (went to Great Neck South). I was gunning for the competitive BA/MD programs straight from HS, and I knew that they all frowned on asian nerds so I also played football, volunteered, did after school research at North Shore Hospital, etc. etc. etc. Payed off big time, and now I have a great life.
I guess regular schmoes feel better to label any high achiever as just a robotic math nerd with no life.
Agree with Coney... most people just assume these kids are robotic math nerds with no lives. These competitive kids know that in order to get into the top tier schools, you need to be well rounded.
I can use myself as an example. I was a high achieving asian tiger kid in the late eighties/early 90s (went to Great Neck South). I was gunning for the competitive BA/MD programs straight from HS, and I knew that they all frowned on asian nerds so I also played football, volunteered, did after school research at North Shore Hospital, etc. etc. etc. Payed off big time, and now I have a great life.
I guess regular schmoes feel better to label any high achiever as just a robotic math nerd with no life.
My one child is a natural nerd. Won the bees, volunteers, loves scouts, is in the honors classes. Some kids are just predisposed geeks. It doesn't make them psychotic, as one poster stated. Idk why athletes are praised, yet academic achieves are frowned upon. You're right about Asian nerds being discriminated against in the acceptance process. You'd have a better shot getting in if your name was Smith.
Could it be the case that even if these driven kids "make it" to the colleges of everyone's dreams, they may somehow be carrying the skeletons of what they had to endure while growing up? Doesn't the journey matter just as much as the destination?
Quote:
Originally Posted by babysladkaya
I wonder whether this is a sign of the times we live in or general culture in the US,
Perhaps a good read would be "The Overachievers" by Alexandra Robbins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kokonutty
Artists compete for placement in art schools and thespians stand in the spotlight in front of thousands and sing. Pressure is not unique to science competitions and virtually all the work is done beyond the eyes of the community where others must perform in front of crowds.
Maybe there lies the question? Does it really have to be a competition and for what prize? For example, there are outstanding many outstanding visual and performing artists who did not go to TAIC or Juilliard - some even attended unkown schools abroad. Donald Judd did not even have a BFA.
Last edited by Forest_Hills_Daddy; 01-19-2016 at 12:00 PM..
Could it be the case that even if these driven kids "make it" to the colleges of everyone's dreams, they may somehow be carrying the skeletons of what they had to endure while growing up?
Perhaps a good read would be "The Overachievers" by Alexandra Robbins.
Omg. Because the jocks don't have flashbacks from having to gain/lose weight for wrestling matches, constant workouts/practices/coaches and parents yelling at them, right? Professional athletes are never violent with their teammates or spouses? No mental health issues there?
Last edited by LoveBeingAMommy; 01-19-2016 at 12:08 PM..
Mind you, a lot of those outstanding athletes aren't exactly meatheads. Many of them were pushed to join elite programs and traveling teams as young as middle school and have invested just as much time to excel in their fields as the Intel scientists. Some of them might even be Intel semifinalists. All to land that elusive ncaa scholarship. And yes, these psychological issues have affected them in college not to mention exposure to severe youth injuries.
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