As my wife and a lot of her friends have teenage children some of which are getting close to university I am privy to the anxieties of upper middle class parents in this situation. These parents are closely in their children's schooling and university applications. Its all about tutors, special courses, summer camps, networking, early applications, tactical choices and the "pressure" of attending school AND applying to universities. As I look at all this from the outside I can't help feeling that the more parents help (meddle with) their children's post school education, the more they get stressed themselves which is then communicated to the children. We have children who have had every advantage (material comfort, international holidays, exposure to culture, access to books and even interesting conversations at the dinner table) and yet their parents are worried about them not getting into "good" universities. At some point helping your children becomes counter productive, but I admit its not easy to know when that point is!
I had had no idea how much work was being put into applications until I arrived in NY and started mixing with classmates. I think this culture is primarily due to the cost of US higher education. If you start saving for college tuition fees right before or after you have a kid, it's no wonder you're ultra invested in their success.
ReplyDeletePS: No creds for "conditions" comment? That's a disincentive to comment!
Sorry I didn't see that comment. Points now awarded.
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