The public school is really unusually good for a public school. Also, I’m a (straight) girl, and I’ve tried dancing and am REALLY bad at it. I took ballet when I was a little girl for years… I appreciate the suggestion, though.
I should have clarified that I’m on financial aid because my mother works at the school, not because they particularly want me. My mother did tell me that I might have gotten a scholarship anyway, because I’m a good student, but I don’t know if I’d buy that.
My PSAT was very good (1490 out of 1520) and I have a solid A- GPA, so I probably don’t have to worry too much about going to college. I am not hugely concerned with getting into Harvard or anything like that.
Furthermore, though the private school academics are definitely better, all of the classes are “discussion-based” which means that you spend most of the time listening to your peers try to bullshit their way into class participation points. Granted that some teachers ignore this and teach more traditionally, and some students are smart enough to say interesting things—but they’re still high school students.
You’re certainly right about letting things go. Even if society didn’t really exist I’d still have to spend several hours every day hunting for food. I should be more grateful.
Also, I’m a (straight) girl, and I’ve tried dancing and am REALLY bad at it.
I was spectacularly bad at it when I started. (For me it was just social dance, which doesn’t have the same athletic barriers to entry as ballet or modern dance. ) This was after graduate school, and years of no real athletic activity, although I did exercise. The interesting thing is that I went from awful to pretty good. Experiencing that a physical talent can be learned is an important bit of development in itself.
Admittedly I haven’t spent much time pondering all the foolish mistakes a young lady might make in her youth, having so much more experience with the foolish mistakes of a young man.
Perhaps some of the ladies in the audience would have some more data driven ideas on useful school activities for you.
(In fact, LW really should have an open thread on any bits of experienced based wisdom we think we’ve gained. Maybe I’ll get around to that sometime. Considering it now, it really seems a scandal that with all our talk of winning, we don’t really discuss the hard won techniques of doing so.)
I do think the following generalizes between the sexes though—the ability to move with coordination, confidence, strength, control, balance, and awareness is a big thing in a person’s development. Beyond health and fitness, it has psychological consequences.
I am not hugely concerned with getting into Harvard or anything like that.
If I had it to do over again, or I had children, I would make that a concern. College is an opportunity to make a huge jump in the wealth and power of your social connections. It sounds cold and hard and calculating. And it is. Don’t shy away from that calculation because some look down on such cold and hard social calculation.
I never thought about such things in my youth. I was ignorant of a great many things.
listening to your peers try to bullshit their way into class participation points.
I seem to have devolved into grandpa giving advice. But this will keep me forging ahead a while longer.
Your PSAT and your posts here tell me that you’re very intelligent. Few people talk about the associated costs of high intelligence. When you’re way out on the tail of the distribution, society isn’t made to fit you, and you can easily mistake the world if you project your intelligence onto others and evaluate from there—what is more natural than to use the only mind you have access to to model the minds of others?
But you’ve got data that tells you that your mind is not like others. You are significantly smarter than most. Just how many, I don’t know. You should know. Or find out. Get yourself percentiled so you have a decent idea just how rare a duck you are.
So about your peers. It’s unclear how many of them really are your peers.
And their bullshitting. That may just be the best they can do. That’s what a right answer looks like to them. And to many of your teachers as well.
Your IQ should be a strong consideration in your original problem of choosing schools—just how much can you be segregated into classes with actual peers at each school? That’s a significant consideration for how well the school fits your needs.
Furthermore, though the private school academics are definitely better, all of the classes are “discussion-based”
What would be the alternative? Lecture based? Work based?
They are requiring that you produce actual work product in homework, aren’t they? If you’re really smarter than most in your school, you’re at great hazard of not getting what everyone needs out of school—the ability to discipline yourself to produce work product. The A- average seems to indicate you’re doing ok with learning self motivation and self control, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
The public school is really unusually good for a public school. Also, I’m a (straight) girl, and I’ve tried dancing and am REALLY bad at it. I took ballet when I was a little girl for years… I appreciate the suggestion, though.
I should have clarified that I’m on financial aid because my mother works at the school, not because they particularly want me. My mother did tell me that I might have gotten a scholarship anyway, because I’m a good student, but I don’t know if I’d buy that.
My PSAT was very good (1490 out of 1520) and I have a solid A- GPA, so I probably don’t have to worry too much about going to college. I am not hugely concerned with getting into Harvard or anything like that.
Furthermore, though the private school academics are definitely better, all of the classes are “discussion-based” which means that you spend most of the time listening to your peers try to bullshit their way into class participation points. Granted that some teachers ignore this and teach more traditionally, and some students are smart enough to say interesting things—but they’re still high school students.
You’re certainly right about letting things go. Even if society didn’t really exist I’d still have to spend several hours every day hunting for food. I should be more grateful.
Thank you for the advice.
I was spectacularly bad at it when I started. (For me it was just social dance, which doesn’t have the same athletic barriers to entry as ballet or modern dance. ) This was after graduate school, and years of no real athletic activity, although I did exercise. The interesting thing is that I went from awful to pretty good. Experiencing that a physical talent can be learned is an important bit of development in itself.
Admittedly I haven’t spent much time pondering all the foolish mistakes a young lady might make in her youth, having so much more experience with the foolish mistakes of a young man.
Perhaps some of the ladies in the audience would have some more data driven ideas on useful school activities for you.
(In fact, LW really should have an open thread on any bits of experienced based wisdom we think we’ve gained. Maybe I’ll get around to that sometime. Considering it now, it really seems a scandal that with all our talk of winning, we don’t really discuss the hard won techniques of doing so.)
I do think the following generalizes between the sexes though—the ability to move with coordination, confidence, strength, control, balance, and awareness is a big thing in a person’s development. Beyond health and fitness, it has psychological consequences.
If I had it to do over again, or I had children, I would make that a concern. College is an opportunity to make a huge jump in the wealth and power of your social connections. It sounds cold and hard and calculating. And it is. Don’t shy away from that calculation because some look down on such cold and hard social calculation.
I never thought about such things in my youth. I was ignorant of a great many things.
I seem to have devolved into grandpa giving advice. But this will keep me forging ahead a while longer.
Your PSAT and your posts here tell me that you’re very intelligent. Few people talk about the associated costs of high intelligence. When you’re way out on the tail of the distribution, society isn’t made to fit you, and you can easily mistake the world if you project your intelligence onto others and evaluate from there—what is more natural than to use the only mind you have access to to model the minds of others?
But you’ve got data that tells you that your mind is not like others. You are significantly smarter than most. Just how many, I don’t know. You should know. Or find out. Get yourself percentiled so you have a decent idea just how rare a duck you are.
So about your peers. It’s unclear how many of them really are your peers. And their bullshitting. That may just be the best they can do. That’s what a right answer looks like to them. And to many of your teachers as well.
Your IQ should be a strong consideration in your original problem of choosing schools—just how much can you be segregated into classes with actual peers at each school? That’s a significant consideration for how well the school fits your needs.
What would be the alternative? Lecture based? Work based?
They are requiring that you produce actual work product in homework, aren’t they? If you’re really smarter than most in your school, you’re at great hazard of not getting what everyone needs out of school—the ability to discipline yourself to produce work product. The A- average seems to indicate you’re doing ok with learning self motivation and self control, but I thought it was worth mentioning.