Browsing with The Buzz

Carnegie Vanguard High School. (Photo: Turner Construction's website)

In this space, we share some memorable – to the writer, at least – browsing reads. Have you come across anything Buzzworthy lately? Let other readers know by commenting below.

It’s been all about the young ’uns lately. Finding passions early, challenging high schools and working in college. That’s some of what I read about this week.

Our Push for ‘Passion,’ and Why It Harms Kids

Why I read it: I’ve heard the American kids suffer more repetitive-motion sports injuries than they used to, largely because, instead of playing a variety of sports in short seasons throughout the year, they now specialize at an early age and play one sport all year long. Now that I have a 17 year old, I am realizing many competitive colleges expect the same focus out of academics.

Students not only, at many schools, have to apply to a specific department, but to a specific sub-department. They are expected to have won national contests in their narrow field of study. At 17! That means, in many cases, they needed to choose a subject of study as a high school freshman – or earlier. Isn’t that silly? How can they know what they really might enjoy if they spend all their time on one thing?

Excerpt: “Standing on the sidelines of my son’s soccer game I chatted with the younger sibling of one of his teammates. ‘I don’t really have a passion like my brother yet,’ he explained, glancing over at the field. ‘But my parents are helping me look for one.’ I waited for the note of irony that never came…. For most children, childhood isn’t about passion, but rather about exploration. Our job as parents is to nurture that exploration, not put an end to it. When we create an expectation that children must find their one true interest so early in life, we cut short a process of discovery that may easily take a lifetime.”

Read more at The New York Times 

America’s Most Challenging High Schools

Why I read it: I saw on the Carnegie Vanguard High School Facebook page that Houston’s Carnegie had moved up to No. 9 on this list of most challenging high schools, putting it No. 1 in Houston and No. 3 in Texas. I was unsure what to think about that. I do appreciate high expectations for all students, and I know Carnegie is a jewel in HISD’s crown, but is hardest best? Does it mean best-at-teaching-and-motivating-kids? The ranking is based largely on the percentage of students who take Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests.

Excerpt: “AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP.”

Read more at The Washington Post 

Should Students Be Required to Work in College?

Why I read it: I’ve long thought that too much down time leads to lazy habits and poor studying. Not for me, of course. I need my Netflix and novel binging. But for kids whose behavior I can control through parenting power or money.

Excerpt: “Some would say a lot of demands are placed on college students. They’re expected to study hard, learn about life and be on their way to successful careers by the time they graduate. Many college students need to take out loans or find jobs to help pay their tuition. Others say college students don’t realize how good they have it. Going to class and graduating on time can seem easy in contrast with raising a family. Compared with many classmates, those whose parents pay their tuition and who graduate without debt are luckier still.”

Read more at The Wall Street Journal 

Check out past weeks' Browsing with the Buzz and be sure to let us know what you've been reading, too.