| I think this dad is being way too harshly judged --- the price of failing in the mission I suppose.
So much criticism for quitting his job to chauffeur S to a research gig and maybe other ECs, yet parents who quit jobs or sacrifice time from a business to homeschool and presumably to ferry nondriving kids to activities, museums, enriching events etc. --- a recent example even taking annual trips to Ireland and elsewhere to allow a child to pursue a specialized EC --- are commended for their all-out devotion and risk taking. Why is this dad accused of destructive hovering and interference for helping his kid go to an after-school activity, but parents who take their kids entirely out of any established school program in order to DIY, with all the chauffeuring and parental involvement that implies, are not?
I can't put my finger on it, but there's a double standard here for someone who tries to take the traditional route --- keep kid in public (magnet) school and supplement at home and support the further development of his interests (science, medicine research in this case) beyond what the school can provide --- and someone who takes a much more nontraditional path --- to homeschool and travel the world to fulfill educational goals and passions.
And I don't think this kid was any more "packaged" than many students who get the benefit of what good prep and boarding schools provide --- not only superlative academic preparation, but also SAT prep and service learning (community service ) build into their everyday curriculum. Not to mention attentive one-on-one counseling for college admissions, school group trips to visit colleges, interview practice, and the close ties between some feeder schools' counselors and the admissions officers at elite universities.
So if students are groomed for the Ivy League by a prep or boarding school, this is not "packaging" in a negative sense, but accepted practice by those who can afford to do so. But a parent who tries to help his kid achieve the same goal through a magnet school and by giving up a job so he can be there to get the kid to his activities and to a place where he can pursue his particular passion, this is somehow unacceptable and worthy of derision. I don't get it, frankly.
I don't see whatt tkI |