Documentary: American Promise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



2. Was there a change in location towards the end? When Idris and his mother drove outside the city, it seemed they were in a different house. It's too bad that wasn't explained. (Or were they at home but I missed something.) Like, did they go to a vacation home? Was it necessary for them to go to a different location to get the college admissions results? Was the family living separately? I mean, who knows?

They were at their country house in Woodstock, NY.

If the family owned two houses, why did they need financial aid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



2. Was there a change in location towards the end? When Idris and his mother drove outside the city, it seemed they were in a different house. It's too bad that wasn't explained. (Or were they at home but I missed something.) Like, did they go to a vacation home? Was it necessary for them to go to a different location to get the college admissions results? Was the family living separately? I mean, who knows?

They were at their country house in Woodstock, NY.

If the family owned two houses, why did they need financial aid?

How do you know they got financial aid? There was no mention of it in the film.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



2. Was there a change in location towards the end? When Idris and his mother drove outside the city, it seemed they were in a different house. It's too bad that wasn't explained. (Or were they at home but I missed something.) Like, did they go to a vacation home? Was it necessary for them to go to a different location to get the college admissions results? Was the family living separately? I mean, who knows?

They were at their country house in Woodstock, NY.

If the family owned two houses, why did they need financial aid?

How do you know they got financial aid? There was no mention of it in the film.

When Idris got tutoring with Seun and the parents questioned why Idris was getting tutoring. They said that they were told that all the students on financial aide were offered tutoring.

[Anonymous]

They probably got scholarships because the school said they had to increase diversity. I would think it would be offered to boys who were AA or Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



2. Was there a change in location towards the end? When Idris and his mother drove outside the city, it seemed they were in a different house. It's too bad that wasn't explained. (Or were they at home but I missed something.) Like, did they go to a vacation home? Was it necessary for them to go to a different location to get the college admissions results? Was the family living separately? I mean, who knows?

They were at their country house in Woodstock, NY.

If the family owned two houses, why did they need financial aid?

How do you know they got financial aid? There was no mention of it in the film.

When Idris got tutoring with Seun and the parents questioned why Idris was getting tutoring. They said that they were told that all the students on financial aide were offered tutoring.

Oh, I missed that.

Country houses in Woodstock are inexpensive or they were a few yrs ago. I have several friends from NYC who own country houses there. They all send their kids to private schools like Dalton, too. Makes me wonder if they get financial aid. But honestly, living in NYC is very expensive and it's doubtful owning a vacation home in Woodstock, NY will make much difference in receiving aid. It's not like they own a pied de terre in Paris or a second home in Aspen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



2. Was there a change in location towards the end? When Idris and his mother drove outside the city, it seemed they were in a different house. It's too bad that wasn't explained. (Or were they at home but I missed something.) Like, did they go to a vacation home? Was it necessary for them to go to a different location to get the college admissions results? Was the family living separately? I mean, who knows?

They were at their country house in Woodstock, NY.

If the family owned two houses, why did they need financial aid?

How do you know they got financial aid? There was no mention of it in the film.

When Idris got tutoring with Seun and the parents questioned why Idris was getting tutoring. They said that they were told that all the students on financial aide were offered tutoring.

There were many years between the scene where they discussed tutoring and his senior year, when they were at the country house.

[Anonymous]

Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I don't know but it seemed that way. He had that rickety old man thing about him from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happened to Seun's younger brother who died?

I don't know but I'm curious too. Seems he was 11 when he died. I couldn't find a cause of death online but apparently there's a huge mural of him in his old school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I went to law school with her twenty years ago. She was probably in her very early thirties at the start of the film.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I went to law school with her twenty years ago. She was probably in her very early thirties at the start of the film.

Was she that intense in law school?

The interesting thing about her is that she hasn't seemed to age one year from the beginning of the documentary till now.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where I can catch the Race to Nowhere documentary online? It deals with the same issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I went to law school with her twenty years ago. She was probably in her very early thirties at the start of the film.

Was she that intense in law school?

The interesting thing about her is that she hasn't seemed to age one year from the beginning of the documentary till now.

It was Columbia Law School. We were all intense. Some were more intense than others, but she didn't strike me as an outlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I went to law school with her twenty years ago. She was probably in her very early thirties at the start of the film.

Was she that intense in law school?

The interesting thing about her is that she hasn't seemed to age one year from the beginning of the documentary till now.

It was Columbia Law School. We were all intense. Some were more intense than others, but she didn't strike me as an outlier.

And I bet she isn't an outlier in her parenting either. Most parents I know who have similar backgrounds as hers have children who do well in school - at least the same as the parents - which in these cases mean outstanding. Poor Idris, not easy being the child of parents like that, especially when you are an average student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Idris' dad a lot older than his mom? He looked old from the beginning and she looked really young.

I went to law school with her twenty years ago. She was probably in her very early thirties at the start of the film.

Was she that intense in law school?

The interesting thing about her is that she hasn't seemed to age one year from the beginning of the documentary till now.

It was Columbia Law School. We were all intense. Some were more intense than others, but she didn't strike me as an outlier.

And I bet she isn't an outlier in her parenting either. Most parents I know who have similar backgrounds as hers have children who do well in school - at least the same as the parents - which in these cases mean outstanding. Poor Idris, not easy being the child of parents like that, especially when you are an average student.

I agree with the PP. I'm also a graduate of Columbia grad school. And it IS intense. And WE were intense.

However, I disagree that these parents have children who do well in school. Some of us do; many of us do not. Many of us are okay with our "average" children. We're probably alike in our desires and dreams for our children. What parent (Ivy or not) doesn't want wonderful children who excel academically without struggling? The difference is that many of us accept the reality of who our children are. Many Ivy parents will tell you, "That's not my kid. I don't see an ivy in his future." and adjust their expectations. The Michele Stephenson-Brewsters of the world, however, try to force their square children into circles, leading to children who feel unworthy and incompetent with lowered self-esteem.