Comments on: Play Doh-Smeared Credentials http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/ A higher education blog about news, humor, advice, and opinion on education, college degrees, university life and careers. Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:03:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: admin http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-2/#comment-125476 admin Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:08:23 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-125476 Hi Hilary, I'm so glad to hear from you! Congratulations on the three new letters that now come after you name, that must feel pretty amazing. My e-mail, since my About Page seems to be wonky at the moment, is alexaharrington[at]gmail[dot]com. I would love to hear from you. Good luck with the book. Take care, Alexa Hi Hilary,

I’m so glad to hear from you! Congratulations on the three new letters that now come after you name, that must feel pretty amazing. My e-mail, since my About Page seems to be wonky at the moment, is alexaharrington[at]gmail[dot]com. I would love to hear from you. Good luck with the book. Take care,

Alexa

]]> By: Hilary Levey http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-2/#comment-125474 Hilary Levey Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:51:34 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-125474 I recently came across your blog and this entry you wrote-- it was a bit of a shock since I am the author of the dissertation you mentioned! I couldn't find your personal email, but I would love to be in touch and send you some of my work, if you are interested. I now have those magical three letters after my name (P-H-D[!]) and am working on turning this project into a book. Please feel free to drop me a line and hlevey@rwj.harvard.edu. Thanks for your kind words and writing about educational issues on your blog! Best, Hilary I recently came across your blog and this entry you wrote– it was a bit of a shock since I am the author of the dissertation you mentioned! I couldn’t find your personal email, but I would love to be in touch and send you some of my work, if you are interested. I now have those magical three letters after my name (P-H-D[!]) and am working on turning this project into a book. Please feel free to drop me a line and hlevey@rwj.harvard.edu.
Thanks for your kind words and writing about educational issues on your blog!
Best,
Hilary

]]> By: Educated Nation--What Makes a Good Parent? | Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-1/#comment-125391 Educated Nation--What Makes a Good Parent? | Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:48:14 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-125391 [...] Last week’s post got me thinking about the kid/achievement/parent dynamic. I may have mentioned, once or twice, my absolute fury toward and lack of goodwill for parents who place volumes of pressure the size of planets onto their kids’ shoulders and tell them repeatedly that only the achievements which can be recorded on paper are worthwhile, and that being anything but the top 5% is as good as failing utterly. I escaped having a mother and a father who put that kind of pressure to out-perform my peers on me, but I did have a few grandparents who made sure I was aware that success was all they were interested in. [...] [...] Last week’s post got me thinking about the kid/achievement/parent dynamic. I may have mentioned, once or twice, my absolute fury toward and lack of goodwill for parents who place volumes of pressure the size of planets onto their kids’ shoulders and tell them repeatedly that only the achievements which can be recorded on paper are worthwhile, and that being anything but the top 5% is as good as failing utterly. I escaped having a mother and a father who put that kind of pressure to out-perform my peers on me, but I did have a few grandparents who made sure I was aware that success was all they were interested in. [...]

]]> By: Educated Nation--(Possibly) The End Of Helicopter Parenting | Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-1/#comment-125247 Educated Nation--(Possibly) The End Of Helicopter Parenting | Educated Nation | Higher Education Blog Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:02:30 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-125247 [...] Acceptance Awesome Parent “Bursting the AP Bubble” “College Panel Calls For Less Focus On SATs” College Student Spy Cams Find Your Happy Place Media Frenzy Around High-Pressure College Admissions Perpetual Perpetration Play Doh-Smeared Credentials Private College Counselors Testing Season Begins [...] [...] Acceptance Awesome Parent “Bursting the AP Bubble” “College Panel Calls For Less Focus On SATs” College Student Spy Cams Find Your Happy Place Media Frenzy Around High-Pressure College Admissions Perpetual Perpetration Play Doh-Smeared Credentials Private College Counselors Testing Season Begins [...]

]]> By: alexa http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-1/#comment-124976 alexa Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:17:11 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-124976 @Tamar--Thank you! @Alan--I wholeheartedly agree with you on the effed-up factor. Whenever people here in the Staes freak out that the Japanese are going to kick our butts, as much as I want the Japanese to chill out and be happier, I also feel like they deserve to be the winningest since they're certainly putting in the hours. @Tamar–Thank you!

@Alan–I wholeheartedly agree with you on the effed-up factor. Whenever people here in the Staes freak out that the Japanese are going to kick our butts, as much as I want the Japanese to chill out and be happier, I also feel like they deserve to be the winningest since they’re certainly putting in the hours.

]]> By: Alan Bradford http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-1/#comment-124946 Alan Bradford Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:40:33 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-124946 And to think that America has it fairly easy when it comes to the rigors of education. I read a post yesterday from the CEO of Zoho.com where he talks about his recent visit to their Japan offices. (here's a <a href="http://blogs.zoho.com/general/silicon-valley-works-hard-try-japan/" rel="nofollow">link</a>) He said that he saw middle-school aged children riding the trains at 11:00 pm, heading home from study sessions. Only to wake up at 7:00 am the next day and head back to school. Middle school. Not Medical School. Middle school. WTF people. Take a breath and smell the roses before you trample them in your rush to class. And to think that America has it fairly easy when it comes to the rigors of education. I read a post yesterday from the CEO of Zoho.com where he talks about his recent visit to their Japan offices. (here’s a link)

He said that he saw middle-school aged children riding the trains at 11:00 pm, heading home from study sessions. Only to wake up at 7:00 am the next day and head back to school. Middle school. Not Medical School. Middle school. WTF people. Take a breath and smell the roses before you trample them in your rush to class.

]]> By: Tamar Chansky http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/comment-page-1/#comment-124945 Tamar Chansky Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:38:09 +0000 http://www.educatednation.com/2008/12/19/play-doh-smeared-credentials/#comment-124945 Hi Alexa, Great post! Not only is it peculiar and freakish to lump together success and happiness, research says, it's wrong! After a certain level of income, I think it may be $40,000, success as measured by income anyway is not correlated with happiness. Having a sense of purpose and satisfaction is. So I applaud your approach of reinforcing your kids choices rather than just reinforcing their grades! In my new book, Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness, I stress that the pathway to happiness is about learning to hold your own in the world, to be self-reliant and ride out the waves of disappointment that naturally come with the territory. So, as parents can "unclench" from needing everything to be perfect and trouble-free, kids can do the same. Tamar Chansky www.freeingyourchild.com Hi Alexa, Great post!
Not only is it peculiar and freakish to lump together success and happiness, research says, it’s wrong! After a certain level of income, I think it may be $40,000, success as measured by income anyway is not correlated with happiness. Having a sense of purpose and satisfaction is. So I applaud your approach of reinforcing your kids choices rather than just reinforcing their grades!

In my new book, Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness, I stress that the pathway to happiness is about learning to hold your own in the world, to be self-reliant and ride out the waves of disappointment that naturally come with the territory. So, as parents can “unclench” from needing everything to be perfect and trouble-free, kids can do the same.

Tamar Chansky
http://www.freeingyourchild.com

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