Don't Hide All Your Failures on Apps

starbright
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:46:24 +0000

Oh pulllease. One of a pile of gatekeepers that maintains and sustains this insanity so kids can no longer actually pursue their real interests, take risks, do creative things that might not be visible on a resume but that make them a better human being…yet now he wants to criticize the bad outcome he’s helped to create.

You’ll notice he’s not excited about someone who failed, he’s excited about someone who failed but then succeeded. He’s looking for the kid who not only was probably super successful on all facets, but admits a singular failure, who can then repeat like a parrot what any 12th grader would know what to say about it, AND then repeated it so he overcame it. How is this risky?

How about applauding the kid that took a risk, and failed, period. Someone who took a risk and ended up worse off in terms of objective outcomes because they took the risk?

Now if this gets around, you’d see tons of kids and their handlers pushing kids to find a thing they can ‘fail at but overcome’ to look good on a resume. You know, how high achievers on paper have to also look like they don’t work too hard at it, are only doing it for the passion, and, now, took risks and ‘failed’ along the way while achieving greatness.

Give me a break. This man hasn’t lessened the frenzy, he’s just added to it.

The REAL point of this article should be that you know, it IS not only okay but fantastic if kids take risks, do things that don’t look good on a resume, nor give them something to write about, nor demonstrate leadership or commitment or character or some other kind of ‘college app’ value…but that are just purely fun, engaging, interesting, and develop them as a person (be it creativity, or allowing their mind and body to rest, or let them go in directions that they can only go as a young person, shaping their brain and who they are as a person during a period when it matters most).