Instead of being nurtured towards real curiosity and a genuine sense of citizenship, millennials have been conditioned to think that everything they do is for the purpose of looking good in the eyes of admissions officers and employers: * You earn good grades not because they mean you are learning something, but rather because they will help you stand out from your peers when applying to the Ivies. * You engage in community service not because you wish genuinely to make a positive difference in the lives of others but rather because that is how you burnish your resume -- service as check-off box. * You play sports not because they build character and teamwork and are a whole lot of fun, but because you want to try to get recruited for a college team. * You study art or music not because you wish to refine your understanding of human nature, creativity and culture but because it will help you look smarter. There is little intrinsic value in what you do. The result: Many college students who fall apart under pressure because they cannot conceive of the fact that hard work and learning are positive outcomes in and of themselves. They have no sense of who they are or what is important in their lives. They have spent so much time trying to look good that they do not know what The Good (consider Plato here) really is. They are walking ghosts of seeming, not of being. (acknowledging William Deresiewicz) Learn more: huffingtonpost/michael-mulligan/the-three-most-important-questions-you-can-ask-your-teenager_b_6173822.html
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 19:45:04 +0000
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