"The majority of your children are average. And so are you."

[Anonymous]

An interesting story in today's Post about a push-back against the elite-school-or-nothing mentality prevalent in affluent communities (in this case, McLean High)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-mclean-a-crusade-to-get-people-to-back-off-in-the-parenting-arms-race/2014/03/23/9259c6a2-a552-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html

[Anonymous]

OP here: Just wanted to point out that the quote in the subject head is from the article. It's not mine!

[Anonymous]

I love it! It's so true and needs to be stated far more often.

[Anonymous]

Will never fly in the Asian community. If you are average in one place you get good at something else. If not don't complain and occupy wall street when your 200k art history degree leads you to a career drawing smiley face foam faces in coffee.

[Anonymous]

Something tells me that, like the parent questions in the article, this thread will be filled with unintentionally ironic responses

[Anonymous]

"The majority of your children are average. And so are you."

Poor syntax!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will never fly in the Asian community. If you are average in one place you get good at something else. If not don't complain and occupy wall street when your 200k art history degree leads you to a career drawing smiley face foam faces in coffee.

Don't be silly. Asian teens are not allowed by their parents to major in Art History.

[Anonymous]

Well, the thing is, I'm not. Neither is DH. So should we disregard?

[Anonymous]

The majority of the people who lives in McLean are NOT average. That statement is stupid.

(No, I don't live there.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The majority of the people who lives in McLean are NOT average. That statement is stupid.

(No, I don't live there.)

Are you saying that rich=brains?

Because I don't believe that for a moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, the thing is, I'm not. Neither is DH. So should we disregard?

Yes, you and your above average husband should disregard the accumulating evidence of the damaging effects an achievement-at-all-costs lifestyle and carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The majority of the people who lives in McLean are NOT average. That statement is stupid.

(No, I don't live there.)

I take it that you were one of those shocked, appalled, gasping parents in the crowd then? Yes, the majority of people who live in McLean (and elsewhere) are average. As stunning as this may seem, about 1-2 of all of the brilliant, awesome, perfect kids from McLean High School will get into Harvard each year. 1-3 more (or the same ones, more likely) will get into Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Columbia, and CalTech. A few more than that will get into Penn, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Northwestern, and Georgetown. That leaves . . . well, you can do the math. Almost EVERYONE ELSE. The conclusion here is that all of these awesome, amazing, brilliant straight A kids . . . actually aren't that special. This shouldn't be that stunning of a revelation.

Those of you that went to Harvard, maybe your kids will get in. But they probably won't.

This, of course, doesn't make them idiots. And it doesn't mean they are destined for an unhappy life. But this entitled, blind, unrealistic attitude of seemingly every parent in this area that "my kid is clearly destined for greatness" is precisely what the PTA pres in the article is railing against.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of the people who lives in McLean are NOT average. That statement is stupid.

(No, I don't live there.)

Are you saying that rich=brains?

Because I don't believe that for a moment.

Irrelevant.

If they are not average in income -- which they are not, compared to the nation as a whole -- then they are not average.

It gives them many advantages in applications to prestige schools in addition to whatever brains the kid has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous



"The majority of your children are average. And so are you."

Poor syntax!

Wow look how far you have come!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The majority of the people who lives in McLean are NOT average. That statement is stupid.

(No, I don't live there.)

I take it that you were one of those shocked, appalled, gasping parents in the crowd then? Yes, the majority of people who live in McLean (and elsewhere) are average. As stunning as this may seem, about 1-2 of all of the brilliant, awesome, perfect kids from McLean High School will get into Harvard each year. 1-3 more (or the same ones, more likely) will get into Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Chicago, Columbia, and CalTech. A few more than that will get into Penn, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Northwestern, and Georgetown. That leaves . . . well, you can do the math. Almost EVERYONE ELSE. The conclusion here is that all of these awesome, amazing, brilliant straight A kids . . . actually aren't that special. This shouldn't be that stunning of a revelation.

Those of you that went to Harvard, maybe your kids will get in. But they probably won't.

This, of course, doesn't make them idiots. And it doesn't mean they are destined for an unhappy life. But this entitled, blind, unrealistic attitude of seemingly every parent in this area that "my kid is clearly destined for greatness" is precisely what the PTA pres in the article is railing against.

LOLOL how many kids at an AVERAGE high school in America get into HYPS or MIT / CalTech?

That tells you right there that these kids are not average!