<p>High Schooler chiming in once again…so ignore this if I’m offbase. This seems to be an issue where you don’t think your daughter has values instilled in her (or at least the ones you want) and will be easily swayed by others once leaving the nest. And if I’m correct then that is on you. Instead of spending this time getting rid of schools with an activist body (your daughter is STEM so it won’t be as pushed onto her anyway), spend this year actually preparing her for what she’ll have to do in the real world. Ask her opinions on things, allow her to form thought.</p>
<p>It’ll be so much easier for you to make her mentally strong this year rather than trying to baby-proof her college list by getting rid of any school with political activism (or partying, depression, STDs, frats/sorroroties, etc. for that matter)</p>
<p>@scholarme, I spent the past year touring colleges with particular focus on engineering programs. Many of the schools we visited had groups of engineering students who were involved in projects to organize, design and build (on site) projects to meet a social need–clean water, power, bridges, etc.–in third world countries. The students clearly felt this was valuable, relevant experience. I was impressed by the enthusiasm and accomplishments of these student groups, and still can’t understand why you feel that taking an interest in global problems would be a distraction, rather than an important part of a STEM education.</p>
<p>Also, I am wondering what you envision your daughter doing in her spare time in college if you don’t want her to become involved in any extracurricular activities ? Are you expecting her to study 24/7?</p>
<p>@TheAtlantic - thank you for your comment. It was tactfully worded. If you had read through the thread you would have seen others make similar comments in a more abrasive manner.</p>
<p>I think my kid has good values, thinks for herself, and is quite focused. But I am not blind to the fact that she is young and inexperienced; I do think, compared to the environment I grew up in, she is fairly sheltered - and that is a good thing! I believe in gradual adjustments; I’m not much for complete sink or swim situations.</p>
<p>I think of it as similar to my attitude that, despite having taught my kid to take care of herself, and encouraged her to learn self-defense, I would not drop her off into a neighborhood without knowing if it was safe or the crime capital of the state, I don;t want to send her off to a college without knowing about its activism level. Of course this is just one factor; which is weighed with other factors including CoA, academic strength, etc.</p>
<p>@mathyone, focusing on global applications for projects is quite common, and a good way to get noticed for projects.
That’s not the kind of ideological activism I am concerned about.</p>
<p>And when I went to college, there were pretty much no professors who the students thought were “charismatic” in that sense either. American students (and faculty) do not tend to defer much (to anyone). Did your D go through the American educational system or another country’s? In college, she’s sure to encounter a cacaphony of strongly-held viewpoints from all side, regardless of the college. In fact, if she went to HS in the US (unless she went to some insular privileged suburban HS where everyone is from the same socio-economic class or something like that) she probably had encountered them already. I found my HS teachers to be more “charismatic” in your sense of the word. American professors at research universities are too busy doing research to care about indoctrinating students.</p>
<p>Dropping off a country or sheltered kid in the middle of the ghetto isn’t at all the same thing. Surely your daughter has already been exposed to political groups, social activism and various viewpoints at her high school? Our school has Republican and Democratic clubs, gay students club, christian club, etc. The required government classes conduct mock campaigns in which students are required to participate and to vote. My daughter had to visit a local candidate’s campaign office for her project. Many of the students participated in an organized protest event. Some kids went door to door campaigning in election season. Political work or other forms of activism could also be used to satisfy the volunteer requirement. My daughter volunteered for and wrote a paper on a social activism movement to satisfy her requirement. She is also part of some online political discussion group. There are also a lot of religion-affiliated activist groups which kids participate in. There seems to be no shortage of people willing to picket our local planned parenthood clinic and most of the school buses drive by them every single day. I’m sure there will be more activity in college, but political and social activism is certainly something kids are well exposed to in high school.</p>
<p>^ Yea, I doubt any parents are concerned about their kids getting involved in projects that generally improve the welfare of people in other countries or the US. The sort of activism that I would think some parents may be concerned with is the divisive, obsessive, single-issue focus, us vs. them activism of naive young people living with a somewhat Manichean worldview.</p>
<p>Dropping off a country or sheltered kid in the middle of the ghetto isn’t at all the same thing.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Me-ta-phor. </p>
<p>Her school is not as political as yours appears to be. The last time they did mock elections was for 2008; I think the tensions of 2012 had teachers avoiding doing one for 2012. The only current political issues discussed school-wide, to my knowledge, are those impacting school funding; they did several trips to the state capital for those.
School projects tend to focus on helping the community - volunteering, food banks, etc.</p>
<p>"@“actingmt” - An adult wishing to be taken seriously should avoid punctuating a comment with “lol.” It might have the effect of reinforcing the very stereotype he or she was attempting to repudiate. I try to refrain from personal insults, but my gloves come off when someone thinks that “lol” raises the level of discourse. helming consensus is also misleading." </p>
<p>What in the world? How about YMMV, or IRL, AFAIK ,BTW , and IMHO. May I use those here? Or do they also suggest that I am a toothless redneck wingnut bible-thumping HS drop-out with 10 children. Wow. It endlessly fascinates me when people who have practically made the judgment of others a criminal offense are so quick to judge others. And, over 3 little letters, too. LOL. </p>
<p>Yeah, I was going to ask that too. I don’t exactly see what the problem is. I for one would rather have my college kids getting involved in issues in their free time than sitting around playing video games or partying in their dorms. And I think it is completely unrealistic to think they will be studying 24/7. </p>
<h2>Maybe I’ve missed it but could you tell me precisely what kind of ideological activism you ARE worried about?</h2>
<h1>311 - I’m flattered by your interest, but I feel like I’ve explained my point of view enough times over the course of this thread. If you are really interested, you could go back through & read my posts. If there is particular statement I’ve made that you want clarification on, please let me know.</h1>
<p>scholarme, I DID go back through the thread in an effort to see what I had missed. I don’t think you have been very specific. Can you just answer the question–what kind of “ideological activism” are you concerned about?</p>
<p>Let me ask it this way: Let’s say your D got involved in a political club for 2 hours a week. She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s getting straight As. Would it make a difference if it were the Right-to-Life Club versus the Save-the-Whales Club? Or do you want her to have zero political involvement in anything? </p>
<p>I guess I just don’t understand why someone would worry about their child being exposed to political ideas that differ from theirs? Why is this an issue?</p>
<p>Let’s say your D got involved in a political club for 2 hours a week. She’s happy, she’s healthy, she’s getting straight As.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>If she’s keeping her GPA up and is on schedule to graduate, is healthy & happy, I would have no concerns about any of her activities.
On the other hand, if she’s skipping classes, her grades are slipping, and we learn it’s because she is participating in some “great important and urgent cause” I would be very concerned. (Ditto if it’s because she was partying hard, or getting her heart broken, or being bullied, etc.)</p>
But you are creating a problem that simply doesnt exist. You daughter sounds like a bright, level-headed, motivated student. Why not let her choose the academic (and political) climate she wants, and let her demonstrate her ability to manage it rather than assume she won’t (which is what is being done by trying to prevent her from being exposed to it). You simply can’t know what she may or may not be exposed to or how she will choose to handle it. Trust her skills and abilities, not the feared weaknesses.</p>
<p>When I was a junior, my parents let me have my brother’s TV in my dorm room. Deal was, if grades dropped, the tv left. Never happened. Did well, grades stayed up, got into a great grad school. Preventing me from having the tv would have done nothing but perhaps encouraged me to find some other occasional distraction. In reality all I ever watched was “The Prisoner” with Patrick McGoohan on Sunday late night. Loved that show.</p>
<p>As an aside, DS#1 was very active in Engineers without borders. Fabulous experience, and it wasn’t just for exposure to design opportunities (I forget exactly how that was worded). He was passionate about it. Still is. . </p>
<p>Please, give your daughter some credit and let her choose what environment is the best fit for her.</p>
<p>Please, give your daughter some credit and let her choose what environment is the best fit for her.</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>Oh for goodness sake. I don’t have her locked up in her room or something, like some of these comments are on the verge of implying.
If she wants to study somewhere and we can afford it (which for us means scholarships) we will support her.
But there are thousands of schools in the USA, and she is relying on me to help her get it down to a manageable list. Part of our screening process, aside from cost, academics, distance, physical safety, includes the culture of college - is it primarily a place of learning or is a place of partying or is it a place of political change (left/right/up/down/whatever). No particular factor is most important; consider it holistic pre-screening.</p>