Tipping Point of Summer
July 15 has always felt like the tipping point of summer to me, but that relates back to the days when school started around the beginning of September. Now, with school resuming on August 17, it feels like the happy days of summer are almost at an end. This will be the junior year, which in my estimation is the best year of high school, though I have no first hand experience to rely on for that opinion. I reach that opinion in this way:
Freshmen are lost; sophomores are still struggling to fit in; seniors are focused on graduation and going away to college. This leaves the confident junior class as the bedrock of a high school student population. Juniors are ready to challenge seniors for top dog status. They look down on those poor freshmen and sophomores. For the first time they have top lockers, which is surely a status symbol in the halls of the school. Their relative position in their graduating class will usually not change much now, so there is an air of acceptance.
But wait. Does that leave an opening for a determined junior to climb a few more spots in the class ranking? Perhaps it does, and perhaps Cici will seize the opportunity, though I have approached each semester with the same trepidation. Like a star runner approaching the starting line, I remember that you are only as good as the race you are about to run. With each race you must prove yourself anew. The same is true of each semester in school.
It is not my worry, you say. That is like saying that it isn't the mama bird's worry when her baby takes the first flight from the nest. She can't make the flight for her baby, but she can sure worry about it. Did you ever see a mama bird dive bombing anyone or anything that came near her baby bird once it landed on the ground? When it comes to Cici's education, I am the mama bird in our family.
From day one Ping has deferred to me completely on education issues, and Cici has no doubt as to where to look for help with them. It helps immensely that she has proved herself to be a star student, but I feel the pressure nonetheless. This is the most important year of high school for Cici, and not just because of her gpa and class standing. She takes the PSAT in October and will take the SAT and ACT in the spring. She will be jockeying for position in the race to college. It is my responsibility to help guide her through this rather tricky year of high school, and I will be held accountable by the results.
This is a tall order for a high school drop out.
Freshmen are lost; sophomores are still struggling to fit in; seniors are focused on graduation and going away to college. This leaves the confident junior class as the bedrock of a high school student population. Juniors are ready to challenge seniors for top dog status. They look down on those poor freshmen and sophomores. For the first time they have top lockers, which is surely a status symbol in the halls of the school. Their relative position in their graduating class will usually not change much now, so there is an air of acceptance.
But wait. Does that leave an opening for a determined junior to climb a few more spots in the class ranking? Perhaps it does, and perhaps Cici will seize the opportunity, though I have approached each semester with the same trepidation. Like a star runner approaching the starting line, I remember that you are only as good as the race you are about to run. With each race you must prove yourself anew. The same is true of each semester in school.
It is not my worry, you say. That is like saying that it isn't the mama bird's worry when her baby takes the first flight from the nest. She can't make the flight for her baby, but she can sure worry about it. Did you ever see a mama bird dive bombing anyone or anything that came near her baby bird once it landed on the ground? When it comes to Cici's education, I am the mama bird in our family.
From day one Ping has deferred to me completely on education issues, and Cici has no doubt as to where to look for help with them. It helps immensely that she has proved herself to be a star student, but I feel the pressure nonetheless. This is the most important year of high school for Cici, and not just because of her gpa and class standing. She takes the PSAT in October and will take the SAT and ACT in the spring. She will be jockeying for position in the race to college. It is my responsibility to help guide her through this rather tricky year of high school, and I will be held accountable by the results.
This is a tall order for a high school drop out.
Yes, it would be a tall order for a high school drop out who never moved on. It seems to me that a certain "drop out" has gone on to get a law degree, become a respected international attorney, and marry a beautiful and talented Chinese lady while gaining a beautiful and talented daughter as a bonus.
Sounds a lot like some other famous drop outs: Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Will Rogers, and others too numerous to mention.
You are in good company Lee, character and family matter, not some arbitrary piece of paper for toeing the line.
And yes, I am lurking almost daily. My wife is finding she likes it here much better as the days go by...
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Thanks Craig. This year I get to add physics to my never before studied subjects. Honors physics.
In the 2011 edition of The Princeton Review that I bought for Cici, they make the point as they always do that the SAT doesn't determine how smart someone is; rather, it is just a test of how well someone can take the SAT. So what am I doing with it? Well, seeing how well I can do on the PSAT, of course! So far the fill in the blank writing portion seems rather easy to me. I will be interested in Cici's reaction to it.
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I have to agree with that point, the SAT doesn't determine how smart someone is. Some people are very good at taking tests, and someone with more knowledge on a subject who is poor at taking tests will get a lower score. Some people define being smart as having a lot of knowledge. I feel being smart is how you apply whatever knowledge you have to everyday living. Just because someone did not receive the same amount of schooling as someone else does not make that person less smart. A number of the more famous dropouts did so because school was actually holding them back and wasting their time.
Not having formal schooling is sometimes a very good thing, as it increases your street smarts, which in most cases is more practical
Just keep pushing ahead, and don't let anyone hold you or you family back. Your story is an inspiration to many!
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