Anonymous wrote:Is this an old essay? Looks like it was written in 2008? OP why did you post it now?

I had the same reaction. Plus, he is clearly talking about his Ivy League education. So, why the MCPS and Big Three references? Neither apply.

PP I raised a discussion and answered some questions. Is your idea of participating in a discussion obsessing about something? Why on earth are you reading this if you are not interested.

I am confused.. OP, stop obsessing with whatever you have in your mind. Go outside and shovel snow.

Oh! It came across my facebook feed. Sorry it's not current. But I imagine this guy still has trouble speaking to people and the education system is still the same so it's relevant for discussion it seems to me.

Anonymous wrote:The first paragraph gave me douche chills.

The first paragraph made me think the author is full of it. You have an Ivy league degree and you don't have enough smarts to engage a stranger in a small talk?

Is this an old essay? Looks like it was written in 2008? OP why did you post it now?

Anonymous wrote:I agree with PP. The author is a Big-3 type. I don't know why OP thinks he is a product of MCPS. Does OP think magnet/GT kids are not exposed to "real world" experiences?

MCPS fosters a mentality of nothing being important except obeying authority and performing academically. They shame and discipline students who do not conform to these standards, they neither inspire nor encourage creativity or out of the box thinking, and have demands and work expectations that are not age-appropriate. It's not just MCPS. I hear the same complaints from families in VA as well as in MCPS. There are plenty of big-3 type parents who put their kids in MCPS and want them on an Ivy League track all the same. The elitist mentality starts at home and at school.

Very interesting read - I look at it from the point of view of selection.

Top colleges select for the students they want to shape "easily" into the next leaders. And that does not include outside-the-box thinkers like Steve Jobs (a drop-out BTW).

And the outside-the-box thinkers, the ones who have the potential to radically change our lives for the better, may select themselves out of such universities because of their lack of intellectual freedom.

All in all, maybe everything is as it should be. Do we need or want the most inventive yet uncontrollable thinkers out there with all the elite's advantages? Would they not topple the world with some of their more risky ideas? Is it better that they have to fight for their innovations, so that only the best ones among them see the light of day?

I don't know. My DH is a scientist and has invented some groundbreaking algorithms in the field of personalized medecine. His kind of intelligence would definitely not have been Ivy League material, and he would probably have been bored to death there. But he is quietly changing the world.

Surely there must be a way to blame this on C2.0?

I agree with PP. The author is a Big-3 type. I don't know why OP thinks he is a product of MCPS. Does OP think magnet/GT kids are not exposed to "real world" experiences?

Anonymous wrote:The first paragraph gave me douche chills.

me too
- Big 3 and Ivy grad who can't believe he wrote he "can't think of what to say to someone like a plumber."

The first paragraph gave me douche chills.

I couldn't make it past the first 2 paragraphs. Seriously, way too long!

Anonymous wrote:http://theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/#.UVB7uhlAs-g

Personally I don't feel sorry for this guy. Seems like he learned a long time ago not to have curiosity or care about other people. When social-emotional learning is not part of education, only cramming academic learning and pressure, this is what you get. Maybe he is a product of MCPS. Or something like it.

I doubt it. More likely a big-3 type of private school. You seriously think his parents would have sent him to a public school.

http://theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/#.UVB7uhlAs-g

Personally I don't feel sorry for this guy. Seems like he learned a long time ago not to have curiosity or care about other people. When social-emotional learning is not part of education, only cramming academic learning and pressure, this is what you get. Maybe he is a product of MCPS. Or something like it.