1. From Amanda: Taking the Magic Out of College. A great read because 1. it's about a topic you all already or will know well, and 2. it's written by a high school senior. What do you think of the topic? the argument? the style?
2 From Nish: The $700 billion man. "It's one of those hidden stories of an extremely prominent guy who disappeared off the map and wasn't heard from again. It makes me wonder about the adults on campus at MA, and if any of them use teaching as an escape from a more high-pressure lifestyle they used to live. It's a good read too." What do you all think? And is there an MA hook in here somewhere?
Share you thoughts. The deadline for posting for this semester is Thursday December 17. Post! Post! Post!
ps: super kudos to Amanda and Nish!!
17 comments:
The $700 billion man:
I thought this was a super cool story. It took a totally different perspective than I was expecting. Like most people, I would have thought that he struck it rich on some scandal and then dropped off the radar to avoid interrogations. Instead, the author did a really good job telling the story of a guy we can relate to...someone who followed his dreams, but things didn't turn out how he expected.
The idea that teachers are teaching to escape a past life is interesting, but the first thing that came to mind for me was about students. We all say we love MA--and, don't get me wrong, it is a great school--but a lot of us are trying to do sooo much. Between saving the environment, being star athletes/musicians/actors, doing community service to help get into college, trying to have a social life and meanwhile devoting ourselves to our work, it's no wonder we are all burnt out. Maybe it's students who need a break. We could do a piece on how students escape from the hectic-ness of our lives or at least how we try to balance them.
Taking the Magic out of College:
This was really amusing and quite informative. I had no idea that Harry Potter was so popular that it has become a sales pitch for colleges. It makes some sense in that the generation in college right now were tweens when the Harry Potter books were released and developed the "tween passion" for it. I would not be shocked if colleges had dining halls modeled off of the cafeteria in Twilight in a few years.
I felt this article had a very basic structure, stating an opinion and then proving it with examples; but it was appropriate for the topic. The topic is something that is well-known and fresh compared to the numerous editorials on the economy and government that are printed. I think it would be great if we could spice up the topics of our own editorials and make them unique and interesting.
The $700 billion man:
I can't decide if this story is inspiring or not. Many people say to "never quit" and "always persevere." Obviously that is not always the best thing to do in some situations. For example, John is always telling us in Chemistry to "make ourselves quit" and look away from a problem for a minute and maybe we'll learn something that will help us. I think this story was in accordance with that idea.
I would be curious to learn the past of some MA teachers, in fact I think that's one of the article ideas. I know Chris Alexander used to be in the initial band Katrina and the Waves before they broke up. They later reconvened to record "Walking on Sunshine," but Chris came (maybe escaped?) to the US to teach English. I'm sure many other teachers have great stories to tell.
Taking the MAgic out of College:
I thought this was a very witty and engaging article. It provided an interesting and new look at colleges today. I think the author failed to notice a very important fact however. Hogwarts is based on real life schools, not the other way around. I think this article could have been written much more effectivly as a piece describing the accuracies of J.K. Rowling's portrayal of live away schools such as colleges and boarding schools.
I do think that to some degree, colleges try to fit their image to what their applicants want. And what better way to do that than modeling your college after what every teen imagines it will be like. I think Neha is right, and i would not be surprised to see girls colleges modeling themselves after Twilight. (co-ed colleges would probably lose male applicants if they did this)
$700 Billion Man:
I think Olivia makes a reallly good point about MA students needing to get away from all the stresses and pressures of school rigor. Though we are certainly under less intense pressure than him, many MA students and high school students everywhere are under tremendous pressure in terms of academics and social life. I think this article and the idea of "detox" is sort of what the outings department plays off-providing an escape from the tensions of everyday life.
This article was written in a very engaging manner. The repetition of Kashkari's 4 step plan was a good tool to keep the reader engaged in the story. And the blend of complicated washington speak with the simplistic descriptions of Tahoe helped to highlight the difference between Kashkari's hectic life in Washington versus his relaxed life in California.
Taking the Magic out of College:
I thought this article was somewhat ironic. You are always told that when you are applying to college, writing essays ect. that you are supposed to write about things that distinguish you from everybody else. It is important to be creative and original so they remember you out of the millions of applicants. It turns out that colleges aren't really following what they expect of students. I really liked the title because it related to the Harry Potter idea and the idea of losing the special "spark" about college. I wish she discussed other aspects of the college process that could cause the magic to subside.
The $700 billion man:
I loved the introduction. It was a peaceful way to start the story but also kept me interested because I didn't know where the story was going. I think its cool what he did and how he left a chaotic stressful life to reside to a relaxing place he enjoys. I do think that people at MA are doing a lot and definitely can get stressed out but I don't think that we can really write an article about how we need a break to relax. The reality of the situation is that those who are doing things like community service and saving the environment simply for college and then complain that they are over worked and stressed need to realize that if you do things you like this wont be the problem. If you do the community service you enjoy, you won't be stressed, if you learn about things you like, you won't be stressed. I think the larger problem here is that everyone puts millions of things on their plates for college and not for their personal enjoyment. Maybe we should right an article about that rather than complaining about having too much work.
The $700 billion man:
I thought this article (and more importantly Kashkari's decision to leave Washington) was extremely powerful.
Kashkari's quote about 1/2 way through the piece did a good job of summing up the reasoning behind his decision: "I had to do something with my hands. It's a big amorphous unknown -- what's going to happen to our economy. And the shed is solid, measurable. I can see it, I can touch it. It's going to be around for the next 30 years. It's the opposite of amorphous."
His desire to create something tangible and important, rather than just rushing through his life seems especially relevant this time of year. Even if some people from his "previous life" don't get this desire, I think it's an incredibly valid response to the pressure that has become ingrained in so many of our lives today.
I think the MA connection is very easy to see. We could write a piece about keeping things in perspective, the value (or lack thereof) we put on non-academic pursuits on a daily basis. I'm thinking an interview with someone like Peter on this topic would be very interesting.
700 Billion:
While the content of the article itself was surprisingly interesting, the thing that really struck me was the writing style. In addition to the use of Kashkari's goals for continuity, I was really impressed by the way the writer jumped back and forth between the present and his time in DC. I found that it kept me interested in the story, and made me feel as if I was there in tahoe and hearing him talk about his experiences.
I totally agree with Olivia about the MA angle- I hadn't even considered it at first but it might work for a piece about minicourse and the importance of stepping back from our schedule to explore other things.
I liked the way this piece was written for two reasons. First, having it written by a student removes the condescending tone that sometimes comes with articles about the passions of the younger generation. The ability of our generation to get completely obsessed with something (like Harry Potter) seems to draw some reactions from adults, while the writer was able to overlook it and talk more about what is important to her bout picking a college. The other thing I liked was the straightforwardness of the article. It was kind of simple and just gave the information with some perspective, which I think is a nice change from articles with no perspective or emotion.
Harry Potter College:
I thought this was an interesting article, and I thought that it had a lot of interesting points. I would first like to say how surprised I am that colleges are pitching the "Harry Potter" speech. At the same time, if I sit down and think about it, it makes sense. I was in Kindergarten when the first books came out, and just about every elementary school and middle school child grew up with the books, and that same age group is in college or applying to college now. I think that colleges do this because Harry Potter was this idyllic, example school, and it seemed like what a boarding high school, or college should be like. It had just the right amount of fun and schooling, and adventure. Also, it is a type of school that everyone can relate to, because most everyone has read about it. At the same time, I think the author of this article has a valid point that college is different from high school, and Harry Potter is magic, and this world is not. Sure, it may be an interesting point to talk about the quidditch team as a side point, but not the main attraction to a college. What matters more is life skills, not imaginary ones, as much as we might hope for the contrary.
$700 billion man:
I thought this was an interesting article, and it truly attests that human nature doesn't like stress. Kashkari was in charge of more money than he knew what to do with - more money than you can see or touch, or even comprehend. He gave it all up for something tangible: a cabin, exercise, and a simple life. A lot of people say that they'd like money, but this article shows that once you have so much money you don't know what to do with, you start to appreciate the simpler things in life, and that is what you crave in the end. I think that most humans are like that, and we really overestimate ourselves and our likes and dislikes. I bet many people would have said they could do a better job redistributing the money than Kashkari, but they really have no idea of the size of the job that is. I liked this article, and I really liked the way it was told, it really gave us an inside look into his life
Marshall
700 Billion Dollar Man:
The article made it clear that this man does not enjoy the pressure and life-style of being a business man. Going from managing 700 billion dollars to only managing living in a small hut is a drastic difference. I really liked the title that was given to the article, because everyone wants to know about the man that is worth 700 billion dollars. Although it is not truly about a man worth 700 billion dollars, it was affective in grasping the readers attention and making them want to read more.
Taking the Magic out of College:
In its simplest form, going to school anywhere that is similar to Hogwarts sounds awesome. Who doesn't want to live the mystical life that JK Rowling described so well. It may not be as extreme as running around in capes, having potions class, and kicking some Voldermort "butt", but either way I think it is extremely interesting that tons of colleges are comparing themselves to a fictional Wizard school.
Taking the Magic Out of College:
This article was very entertaining and refreshing. So often (in the New York Times and other such publications) we read articles written by professionals; however, this article was written by someone of nearly the same age as us. In that way, I felt I could connect to Edelson's writing a bit more than I could a professional journalist. I also found this article straightforward, which I rather liked. It seems as though some journalists like to present stories complicatedly, rather than in a succinct and direct manner. This was a great read!
Taking the Magic Out of College
The author correctly characterizes as childish the trend of colleges trying to emulate the fantasy world of Harry Potter. She further rightly states that college should provide a transition from childhood to adulthood and that the primary job of a college is to teach its students the skills necessary to succeed in the world.
Nevertheless, the author makes the same mistake that she criticizes. Some of the issues that she cites as important in the second-to-last paragraph, such as the school administration letting students weigh in on all decisions, only exist in sheltered academic environments––not in the real world. For example, if you work at a company as an entry-level employee, you almost certainly will not be allowed to participate in the major decisions of that company. The author does not mention anything about the quality of academics at certain schools––the main factor that prepares one for the world.
With the exception of this paragraph, I think that the article was well written and that the author made some extremely good points.
The $700 Billion Man
Honestly, I feel really bad for Neel Kashkari. At only thirty-five years old, he was thrown into an impossible situation. He was expected to create a program and manage $700 billion dollars in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. He was completely unprepared for the task. He graduated from Wharton business school in 2002, worked at Goldman Sachs for four years, and came to Washington in 2006 to “learn how government worked.” Most of the people who are selected for such high-level and critical jobs have substantially more experience. It is no wonder that he could not sleep during his time in Washington and gained a lot of weight. Some of us at MA think that we are stressed––imagine what he went through!
I believe that Kashkari has a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his experience in Washington. His reaction is exactly what one would expect from a soldier who had experienced the extremes of combat. He retreated to an environment, withdrawn from the rest of the world, where he could recover. He naturally sought all the things of which he was deprived in Washington: peace, silence, free time, nature, his wife’s company, exercise, etc.
On a different note, I enjoyed how the article was broken up into subheadings. This format made the long article much easier to follow. In addition, I liked how the article jumped between the present and the past and how the author used flashbacks to tell the story.
I liked the articled "The $700 billion man" a lot. It was kind of a "Into the Wild" story Washington style. I think Kashkari's predicament in Congress and in the media during a bailout is an example of what happens in a country during times of uncertainty. When everything is going wrong as it did during the economic crisis, people automatically look for someone to blame. In the case of the economic crisis, many people received blame and were ridiculed in the media and thus by the public.
However, this article makes me realized that many of the men who were working to save the system weren't evil, selfish, and greedy as the media portrayed them. They were just trying to their job to save a failing system. Obviously they made mistakes, obviously people were still disatisfied but these people were doing the best they could.
Even though this article was extremely well written and entertaining, I wish something like it had been written about Kashkari while he was still in government. The media is responsible for the public's interpretation of the news. And when the media starts barking like a pack of rabid dogs, it can be expected that the public will follow suit.
This article as such is an important reminder that in hard times you have to work even harder to formulate your own opinions and make sure you understand every side of the story.
I think that Sara brings up a very interesting question here: what is the responsibility of the media in today's context? I think that early on, the role of media was pretty clear cut in that it served as a form of education and, in essence, news. Things have certainly changed since then. News articles are being eschewed for veiled editorials and the 24/7 news cycle and general audience "ADD" in a sense is creating quite a paradigm shift for editorialized news. Where this shift will lead us is uncertain, but it's an interesting question to consider overall.
I was drawn to the article on Kashkari initially because he seemed to represent many of the future goals I have, among them going to a business school, working in Washington, helping to mold public policy, etc. The effect that this world had on him was so intense, however, that he simply had to leave it entirely. In this sense he is very rare; though there may be others in a similar situation, for whatever reason they choose not do leave behind what is mentally and emotionally harming them (in pursuit of money, power, influence, etc.) I wonder how many students at MA feel the need to succeed just to be successful (I would certainly consider putting myself in this category) and how many are truly concerned with doing what they love. I think this is an issue that invariably is not talked about at MA, but is a lot more prevalent than we might think it is.
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