I Weep for My Generation
From the NY Post:
Accepted to Harvard? Shhh, don’t tell anyone! In an attempt to ease the blow of a student’s first big rejection, New York prep schools are instituting dress codes and Facebook guidelines barring excited seniors from broadcasting their acceptance to top-tier colleges because it would hurt their classmates’ feelings. At the hyper-competitive Horace Mann School, students are not permitted to wear college apparel, including status Ivy League sweatshirts, on campus until after May 1, when most students have settled on what school they’ll attend.And at the Packer Collegiate Institute, students are instructed not to update Facebook with university news until after school lets out. “It can be bad and it can get weird,” said Darby McHugh, college coordinator at Bronx HS of Science. “We send a notice out to all faculty telling them, ‘Please don’t congratulate students in public, no high fives, no hugging, and please be sensitive so that if you see someone crying, you refer them to the college-adviser office immediately.”
What our wise school administrations seem to not understand is that failure builds character better than anything else. Building fake self-esteem does nothing but create entitled victims. The things in life that actually make people dig deep and work hard are rejection, trial and error, and a desire to not get rejected again the next time.
I started seeing this my senior year in high school when in gym class after playing dodge ball, basketball, and anything where score was kept. We were not allowed to call ANYONE a loser. At my public school there were only winners, and 2nd place winners. Now look at what it has progressed to. You can't even celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments in an individual's life by wearing a shirt or updating your Facebook status. Pathetic.
Where have you guys seen the wussification of America happen? Seems like it's everywhere these days.
Exit Question: Was I hurting my friends feelings in high school when I wore a Dartmouth shirt and she wasn't accepted anywhere yet? I think I might have ruined her life and will to live that day.
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Re: I Weep for My Generation
I think this speaks less to the "everyone's a winner" mentality of our young generation and more to the absurd importance placed on college. The only reason why people's feelings would be hurt is because they've been told that college is the be-all and end-all. That's why rejection from a school is such a crushing blow to someone's self esteem. Not because they can't handle any rejection (maybe they can't) but because they can't handle being unwanted by their choice for the glorious four-year experience that makes all people happy and fulfilled and gives them a good future. They've been told for all of high school that it's the most important thing. Can you imagine having the door to the most important thing closed in your face? Hardened to rejection or not, a kid would be naturally upset.
Apr '12
Re: I Weep for My Generation
10 years from now, a group of these students will be stranded in a foxhole, debating who the "2nd place winner" of the war will be.
Edited on April 25, 2012 at 9:47amApr '12
Re: I Weep for My Generation
Miss Pennington and Liberty Dude... I agree with you. I'm interested exploring this idea of "wussification" as Mr. Riddle put it. Yes, we're becoming/have become a culture that avoids hurt feelings at any cost. What's underneath that - what motivates that? Anyone have an idea? It's not really about hurting people. If it were, Mr. Riddle's feelings would also be gently handled. Clearly, the feelings of hard-working talented people don't matter, they must keep mum about their achievements. What say you? What happened to the concept of the graceful winner? Is the only way to make a graceful winner to muzzle him?
Apr '12
Re: I Weep for My Generation
There was research on who did well in corporate finance and it was discovered that A students could not take the constant "no"s you learn to get past. Steve Jibs says the best lesson he got was being fired. School is a great pace to learn you are not a Master of the Universe.My sons complain to me that I told them they were good at soccer and they got a shock when they played and were bad. Parents and teachers are weakening their society. Do they think Chinese kids are being told they are adorable?
Aug '11
Re: I Weep for My Generation
"I weep for my generation." Very true.