<p>^^absolutely LOVE my Kindle…especially since you can “sample” stuff on it and decide if you like it…but I have too many books lined up right now and no time to read them…</p>
<p>Many thanks to Rockville Mom for the book recommendation. I ordered the book tonight on Amazon.</p>
<p>yabeyabe - I really like the book of the month idea! </p>
<p>Rodney - thanks for the link. I can’t do the Kindle thing - I need to hold a real book - read a real newspaper. Guess I’m showing my age!</p>
<p>mdcissp - I can’t take credit - I saw someone mention it on a Parent Cafe thread and thought I’d mention it here as well. It sounds very common sense and I love the line about compassionate detachment and guidance on knowing when to get involved and when to let them handle it themselves - clearly something I need help with - I’m ordering it right now.</p>
<p>I’ll have to read this book…her first book(blessing of the skinned knee) was great!</p>
<p>Thanks for the book recommendation, RM. Someone gave me her first book years ago, but I think I was too busy with my kids to actually read it! I will make time for this one 
There is a CC book club in the Cafe! Here is the most recent thread; you can find older ones listed at the bottom of the page. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/983235-cutting-stone-october-cc-book-club-selection.html</a></p>
<p>I love the line, “Put the oxygen mask on yourself before you put it on your child.”</p>
<p>I’m reading Cutting For Stone right now! It is a great book so far. </p>
<p>I would love a Kindle, but I really like turning the pages and the smell of books…</p>
<p>I am sure the Parents Cafe book club is great, but this one has such interesting people that I would prefer it (although, as far as i know, everyone else could already be on it).</p>
<p>My Kindle issue is that, in addiiton to being old fashioned, I feel I look at too many screens already. Plus it is yet another innovation that came along after I needed it–it would have helped my long train rides to work quite a bit!</p>
<p>Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen, I found a very compelling look at romance, marriage, family and friendship over a 30 year period.</p>
<p>Born largely in 1992, todays freshmen will delight if not surprise their parents by becoming the graduating class of 2014 in four years. Here, then, are the Jewish ideas that are kicking around in the minds of todays first-year students.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Oreos have always been kosher.</p></li>
<li><p>McDonalds has always served bagels.</p></li>
<li><p>Women have always been rabbis.</p></li>
<li><p>Soviet Union? What Soviet Union? Jews have always been free to come and go from something once quaintly called The Soviet Bloc. Some have even been in their towns and classrooms!</p></li>
<li><p>iPhones and Blackberrys have always included Jewish holidays.</p></li>
<li><p>Half of their parents have always been non-Jewish.</p></li>
<li><p>September 11th is a distant childhood memory.</p></li>
<li><p>They dont remember the debut of Schindlers List but the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has always been open.</p></li>
<li><p>They dont remember the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin or the death of the Rebbe.</p></li>
<li><p>They barely remember the bombings of the Second Intifada.</p></li>
<li><p>Israel has always had relations with Egypt, Jordan and the PLO.</p></li>
<li><p>Trips to Israel have always been free thanks to Taglit-Birthright Israel.</p></li>
<li><p>Israel has always been known for its high-tech wonders and not its kibbutzim.</p></li>
<li><p>Israel has always had first-run movies and TV shows.</p></li>
<li><p>They have more stamps in their passports than they have ever put on an envelope in their lives.</p></li>
<li><p>Community service is a requirement for high school graduation.</p></li>
<li><p>News from Israel has always been instantly available – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – on the Web. And Google has always translated Hebrew to English (and vice versa).</p></li>
<li><p>Calls to Israel or elsewhere overseas have always cost less than $0.10 per minute and have always been free via Skype.</p></li>
<li><p>They learned the concept of Bar/Bat Mitzvah from Krusty the Clown.</p></li>
<li><p>They LOVE to laugh at anti-Semites like Borat especially when he is speaking Hebrew.</p></li>
<li><p>The Real World has always been on television and nearly every season has included a Jewish cast-member.</p></li>
<li><p>Dylan is Jakob, not Bob.</p></li>
<li><p>Adam Sandler is the guy from the movies, not from Saturday Night Live (and they learned his Chanukah Song along with Dreidle, Dreidle, Dreidle).</p></li>
<li><p>Jon Stewart has always been a late night host. Who is Johnny Carson?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Three negative reviews of a guide for Jewish college students:</p>
<p>Rabbi Scott Aaron’s recently updated “Jewish U: A Contemporary Guide for the Jewish College Student,” professes to be just that: a book that can guide any Jewish college student through any campus’s Jewish life. Given the incredible diversity of Jewish college students and the wide range of Jewish campus communities, New Voices had three Jewish students from three very different colleges read the book and decide whether Aaron succeeds or fails at his ambitious task. Their unanimous verdict: Fail. </p>
<p>Drew University’s David Wilensky, University of Wisconsin’s Levi Prombaum and University of Maryland’s Judah Gross all agree that Aaron seems out of touch with the lives of Jewish students. They all, however, highlight different reasons for the book’s inaccessibility. Read their reviews below to see what each of these students has to say about the latest attempt to survey Jewish college life. </p>
<p>David Wilensky takes the author to task for focusing too much on Hillel and talking down to students.</p>
<p>Levi Prombaum says that with superficial advice and textbook-style instruction, “Jewish U” is irrelevant to Jewish college students.</p>
<p>Judah Gross criticizes the book for giving too specific advice to too broad a range of students and feels that the author is out of touch with today’s campus.</p>
<p>Oh well - that’s why we have cc!</p>
<p>^^very interesting; not surprising though…after all, aren’t many of us kinda out of touch with this Jewish generation in terms of what they want on campus? yabeyabe has alluded to this previously…</p>
<p>thanks for posting…</p>
<p>RM, interesting comments on the book; is their a link to where to find the review?</p>
<p>I found the 1992 references interesting, too, although I found “They have more stamps in their passports than they have ever put on an envelope in their lives” uses the stereotype of Jewish kids being spoiled rich brats.</p>
<p>I also think your 2 postings both reinforced my belief that many rabbis and Hillels hurt their own cause (and our cause) by not understanding the majority of current Jewish youth. The book reviewers seem outspoken on that point and the author of the Hillel list, with 1/3 of the entries being about Israel, illustrates why so many Jewish kids think Hillel has nothing to offer of interest because it will be like going to Sunday School again:</p>
<p>The “death of the rebbe” was worth mentioning, but a Jewish senator married to a woman named Hadassah coming within a hanging chad of being Vice President of the US was not?;</p>
<p>Israel having first run tv shows is notable, but the much greater visibility of women in US public life–Hillary Clinton almost becoming a presidential nominee; Sarah Palin becoming a vicepresidential nominee; Oprah dominating book sales–is not?;</p>
<p>Cheap phonecalls to Israel is memorable, but these kids being part of the worst American econmy in 80 years is not?;</p>
<p>9/11 is claimed to be a distant memory and the second intifada is notable, but not that these are the first American kids to have never known a time without frequent Islamic terrorist plots against Americans at home and abroad? </p>
<p>The author may pretend to be hip by referring to The Real World, but seems to know nothing about the real world.</p>
<p>Here’s the link for the book review:</p>
<p>[“Jewish</a> U”: Not for You - Campus - New Voices](<a href=“Campus & Community Archives | New Voices”>"Jewish U": Not for You | New Voices)</p>
<p>Thanks RM.</p>
<p>By the end of the 3 scathing reviews, I wanted to wish the author a shoulder to cry on–you can just imagine him saying “Couldn’t you find 1 reviewier who would be positive?”</p>
<p>The reviewers’ comments about Jewish life on their campuses are also worth reading.</p>
<p>Speaking of books, the top British literary prize–the Man Booker Award–was given today to The Finkler Question, by Howard Jacobson. the Times describes it as “a comic novel about friendship, wisdom and anti-Semitism”. It came out in the US this week.</p>
<p>D and I went for a visit today. Just under 2 hours each way, so not a bad drive at all for us.</p>
<p>Info session was pretty informative. Admissions rep said that the most important thing that they look for in the application is the transcript. Specifically, what the student has signed up for senior year and how they do first semester. Then they look at the rigor of classes selected and how the student does the other years. Of course they look at test scores, essays, recommendations, etc.</p>
<p>They divided the group up with tour guides and off we went. Campus is large, but walkable. The tour took over an hour and a half. Very nice campus with lots of green spaces as well as a cute main street. They seem to have lots of activities going on in general for the kids. Not a large Greek presence on campus. I believe they said around 10%. This weekend is parents weekend and they have lots of stuff going on.</p>
<p>According to the tour guide, housing is done according to major. They try to put the freshman together who have the same majors in the dorms. Not sure how I feel about that. Less chances for meeting more people, since you are now living with the same people that you are going to classes with?</p>
<p>The other thing I am not so sure about is their calendar. They have a very long winter break. I just looked it up for this year and it’s from Dec. 17th until Feb. 6th. They say that this is so they can offer a special winter session and kids either go abroad or come back to campus to take another class or two. However, this is not included in the cost of tuition or room and board. I just took a quick look and it could easily be another $5000 every winter. So if your kid comes home for winter break, they will be bored out of their minds for a few weeks while all of their friends go back to school, or you have to pay for the additional session. I think this needs to be factored into the cost of tuition for anyone looking at this school.</p>
<p>Overall, D really lilked the school and felt that she would fit in there and be happy. For now, it is on the list. </p>
<p>I am exhausted, so I am sure I have left things out. I’ll be happy to answer any questions if I can.</p>
<p>mdmom - that was really helpful. WE have not fully decided whether or not Delaware is on the list. I’m a little concerned re price - the $35,000 or so seems steep when I compare with James Madison - which I think was around $27,000.</p>
<p>Thanks for mentioning that really long winter break - I had never heard that before. And doing freshman housing based on major - also unusual. What about kids who are undecided? I guess they are housed together?</p>
<p>How does it compare to other schools you have visited?</p>
<p>Delaware’s winter break is really long. My daughter’s friend came home one year and took a class at the local CC, and the next year she stayed on campus, took classes and worked. They do offer a lot of study abroad programs during that period, which gives students a chance to try short programs in different countries. All these options can get expensive. They also finish a few week later in May than most other college students, which can make it hard to find summer jobs.</p>
<p>Interesting points on Delaware to consider. Thank you for sharing!</p>
<p>RM - we really haven’t visited that many schools yet. D did a summer program at Syracuse University. She is not interested in applying there. I think the main reason is that the area around the school is really yucky. For whatever reason, she didn’t get the right “vibe” there. When we went to pick her up we went to look at Cornell. Real reach school, but she loved it. A gorgeous campus. She felt the “vibe” there! </p>
<p>She really liked Delaware. She said she would go there over Syracuse, even though Syracuse has a fabulous program for what she wants, better than Delaware. She said she didn’t care, just didn’t like Syracuse enough to spend 4 years there. I would say that Delaware is on the high end of the safety list for her, since they seem to be getting more competitive every year. She left there feeling very confident that she would get in and very happy that she really loved a safety. </p>
<p>One nice thing about Delaware is that they guarantee housing for all 4 years. They did say that about 50% of juniors and seniors live off campus, but housing is there if they want it. Another thing I really lilked is that if you are in the honors college (D would apply for that) you get priority housing for all years after freshman year.</p>
<p>I can’t compare UD to JMU. Have never been there and don’t really know much about it. I don’t think that UD has the same party rep., but I could be wrong. Alll of the people I know who graduated from UD have been down to earth, non-partying people. So that also gives me a good impression of the school. </p>
<p>Right now, I am not really focusing on the cost of the school. But D does know that cost does matter and at the end of the day when we look at any merit and need based aid awarded that will go into the final decision process. But since those are unknowns, I don’t want to eliminate a school yet.</p>
<p>We visit CMU in a few weeks and I’ll post regarding that visit. I am trying to convince her to visit Virginia Tech. Other than that the rest of the schools are further away and will have to wait until spring break, for the big car trip.</p>