<p>Have you ever heard of a kid going to Clown College? Two years ago a very bright and entertaining young man at my daughter’s h.s. went on to Clown College. I heard he went on a little road trip recently with the circus. Maybe it’s their version of an “internship.” Anyway, this boy was very active in drama and music during h.s. A SMART kid with a high GPA. But, I can’t help but wonder why someone with his stats would go to Clown College.</p>
<p>Still shaking my head…
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<p>I actually know several who’ve gone to clown college…one who already had an Ivy league degree… Not for me but they did seem to get a lot from it, traveled with the circus afterward, done a lot of theater related work etc…</p>
<p>I have a niece who caught the circus bug through Circus Smirkus. She decided not to go to college straight away in favor of the circus.</p>
<p>A young woman in my town went to Clown College–she was our family’s favorite teenage babysitter. After Clown College, she worked for a circus in France. When she finished her stay in France, she went to Harvard College–did her senior thesis on something related to her circus experience. After graduation she went to LA and earned a living for a year or so with acrobatic skills that she learned in the circus. She eventually enrolled in UCLA, got a PhD and now teaches at a college in Ohio. From what I’ve heard, Clown College is quite competitive–lots of applicants and a very low acceptance rate.</p>
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Uh… yeah. But that’s not unusual for people from the central Gulf Coast part of Florida. [BTW, if you’re ever in Sarasota, I highly recommend a visit to the Ringling Museum.]</p>
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Because he wanted to be a clown?</p>
<p>I’ve become a fan of the TV show Top Chef. This season which just concluded featured some super-talented young chefs with very different sensibilities and styles. One of the finalists stood out, a Southern boy who cooked deceptively simple down-home food that consistently drew raves from some of the culinary world’s best known and revered chefs for his subtle but complex and inventive flavors. In the last episode, he revealed that as a HS senior he’d been admitted to MIT. He’d been worried about disappointing his “lower middle-class” [his words] family by turning down such an opportunity. In the end, he’d followed his heart and passion into food instead. He’s only 26, but so far it looks like he made a smart choice.</p>
<p>“I can’t help but wonder why someone with his stats would go to Clown College.”</p>
<p>Because he didn’t drink the Kool-Aid?</p>
<p>Having a particular academic profile doesn’t mean that the most common post-HS direction followed by those with that profile is right for any one particular kid. It really, truly, is important for them to think about their own goals, and for us as adults to listen to them.</p>
<p>Hampshire College in Mass. has a circus…maybe in need of clowns…</p>
<p>What’s a good safety school among the clown colleges? My slacker kid likes the idea but to be honest, I’m afraid he does not have a very good sense of humor.</p>
<p>Now I’ve heard it all — a safety clown college? There’s a joke in there somewhere but I can’t find it.
I knew someone who went to clown college in FL I believe. Went to work with Ringling Bros Circus.</p>
<p>Florida State has a circus, complete with trapeze.</p>
<p>I read an essay in, maybe, 5th grade, about how very, very difficult and exhausting clown college actually is, and it’s stuck with me to this day.</p>
<p>LOL, tk! :-)</p>
<p>tk, I would suggest summer programs to give him an edge. An investment in his future.
[Clown</a> Camp - the Longest Running and Largest Clown School in the World](<a href=“http://clowncamp.org/clown-camp-wisconsin/]Clown”>http://clowncamp.org/clown-camp-wisconsin/)
;)</p>
<p>tk, your slacker son shouldn’t settle for a safety. He’ll only be exposed to other semi-humorous students and will end up being taken seriously by potential future employers. He needs to spend more time cutting up in class and less time paying attention to the lesson so his GC and teacher recommendations will reflect his clown college potential.</p>