@Tigerle, I did have that thought about opportunities while reading this book. Interesting point! However, I think that Newport did a good job of emphasizing that you start at the bottom in whatever activity you start in and a lot of kids in our area (higher SES) don’t know that. I like to think that examples of how to make use of contacts (neighbors, teachers, parents’ friends) could be useful to any student. I acknowledge that some kids in some areas, however, will have relatively few contacts that are useful in this way. I regularly encounter kids in search of projects as a scouting leader…I hope that I can be that contact for some kids, regardless of their SES, but yeah they would have to be already involved in boy or girl scouting and not all kids have that opportunity.
Glanced at the book in a bookstore. It does have some great messages for kids, namely some solid study tips so they can reduce the time spent on homework… And the notion that less is more: Use your academic and EC time wisely. Don’t stress yourself out by going for volume when it comes to AP classes and activities.
The rest felt a bit contrived…
I read it a long time ago and really liked it – and like his other books as well. I had two kids. One who is highly strategic (in the game-theoretic sense) and the other who is not. I bought it for the non-strategic one and she wouldn’t read it. The first one never read the book but probably followed a lot of the basic recommendations. He did so even more in college. It was always fascinating to watch.
First of all… Love Dr. Seuss! Wise words always. I’m on my 3rd child entering in her senior year. Let me preface this with … I had NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING with my oldest. I assumed (wrongly) if you have never made a B in your life, got very high scores on testing, excelled to the highest level available ( in our state) at extra curriculars, every college she applied to, she’d get a full scholarship TO ALL THE SCHOOLS. /that didn’t happen/ She did have a full scholarship to our state school… but ended up with a top 20 school that provided enough “meets need” aid and scholarships that we could barely afford it. We decided as a family that it was the best decision as her goal was Med School (and we went with the highest percentage of acceptance- yes, she is in Med school). Second daughter learned from the 1st. Never make a B, take the hardest load possible, be excellent in everything you do. She never took her foot off the gas, I never assisted in anything. She is also at a top 20 university. 3rd daughter… before Freshman year started the bar had been set. She saw everything her sisters did and set her own bar. Though her route is art, she never let off the academics. She has excelled at extra-curricular activities at a very high level in arts and academics. BUT… here is the big BUT… and I hope this is not read as a brag post because I couldn’t care less if my older 2 are going to be doctors, I NEVER pushed her, suggested courses to her, asked about homework, helped her study (actually any of them). The ONLY thing I said was " once you’re in high school, everything counts. You get to help decide your future for the first time. As long as you try your best, I’m in your corner. I don’t care what grade you make, I won’t check the teacher websites for homework or test grades, it’s up to you!" The reality is, freshman year counts, sophomore year counts, junior year counts… that’s what will be on college transcripts. testing counts. Some accountability is appropriate, HOWEVER, if they loose their joy, have few friends, no social life, no fun things, in all honesty, (even if they are valedictorian,) they will struggle in college. Social skills, emotional maturity, DELAYED GRATIFICATION, along with academics and extras, are what help a person succeed in High school and beyond. So … book or no book… a freshman in high school needs to know 2 things. 1. yes, everything counts. 2 I love you and support you no matter what BUT>>> none of it is worth your child’s happiness as a human!!! My 3rd is stressed and has anxiety attacks because she is worried about what will happen next year. Even though I have tried my HARDEST to not set standards, to be very easy going, she still feels the pressure. So my advice (round 3 ) is to always give a range of expectations, and let your kid know, no matter what, you’re proud.
^Did you read the book being discussed?
^^for the love of god, paragraphs! @-)
I read the book when my kid was in 9th and shared parts of it with him. I think the concepts were somewhat liberating for him. He’s a pretty high-performing kid, but not one who is motivated to spend more time studying than he needs to to get an A.
When he didn’t make a sports team in 10th, having read the Cal Newport book gave him the ability to see it as the gift of 10+ hours a week. After a couple days of grumpiness, he emailed a professor he wanted to work with and was able to start doing research that year. He didn’t take everything the book says as gospel; he still has a pretty rigorous course load, but it is classes he wants to take.
I read the book and I found it interesting. I told my son about it and he really loved it but alas, only the EC part and not the “how to study” chapter ha ha ha. He came out with fantastic ECs but not the gpa to go with it. But seriously that’s his personality and probably would have done that anyway. I also told one of my daughters about it and she loved the “how to study” chapter and she has a great gpa but she rolled her eyes on the EC part and she keeps dong the mundane ECs that she loves.
So who makes his/hers kids do that? I don’t know, but someone that has kids that are not stubborn like mine? Or kids that naturally are like this?
So far in my family I was not able to “make” my kids or “change” my kids. Reading books like this or getting advice from CC or other parents is fun and interesting but “making” my kids following it it is a completely different matter.
Does your son already have strong interests or, buzzword, “passions?” If so, he should continue them. If not, he may want to find some. For 9th grade, I think he primarily needs to get used to high school, be encouraged to focus and get top grades if at all possible, and try to be happy socially, so he will feel confident in his academics and enjoy going to school . If he is pursuing ECs that he likes and is talented in, and if he studies hard to get good grades, he will likely being doing everything “right” for 9th grade. If he falls off in any area, you could refer to this book and other books for advice about how to help him study more effectively, find EC opportunities, etc.
I laugh only because I wonder what the new self-help books about the magic formulas for getting into college will say in four years, when your son is applying to college. Take away what seems helpful from the book, but maybe hold off on making him read it right now. Let him be excited about starting high school before he has to start stressing about college. I think the book might be better as a reference for you as the parent to guide him, at least for this year.
Oh - And don’t rule out paying for SAT/ACT prep this early, unless your son ends up acing the PSAT in 10th or 11th grade and seems like he won’t need any prep. As you know, high test scores and high grades can be key factors in getting accepted to public and private colleges, and in earning outside scholarships or merit scholarships at colleges that offer them. Spending a few hundred dollars, or even more, on prep can pay off in the end.
Examples: My first son won a full-tuition ROTC scholarship in Sept of his HS senior year. He attended a top 25 private university in engineering, for just the cost of room & board. SAT scores were critical in those applications, and he took a prep class for $650. My second son’s test scores increased by 200 points between his first and second SAT, very likely because of the tips and practice he got in a prep class between those two tests. Before the class, he was just not taking the time out from his busy schedule to practice SAT tests on his own. In part because of my $750 investment in his prep class, he received full-tuition offers at our two in-state universities and significant merit offers at quite a few private colleges. In the end, he decided to attend a college that doesn’t offer merit aid, but I know that he would never have been accepted to that college if he hadn’t taken that prep class and the SAT a second time. After college applications were over, he also applied for four outside scholarships and won three, for a total of $28K, to help our finances a little bit, as we don’t qualify for fin aid. All of the scholarship applications and colleges required SAT and/or ACT scores, and, while not perfect at all, both boys’ scores were assets to them. Bottom line: $1,400 for test prep turned into about $260K in college cost savings for us!
There is no way my rising freshman would read such a book. I have a hard enough time trying to convince her to read books (both fiction and non-fiction) that align with her interests. My kid eats, sleeps, and breathes dance, but if I buy her a book related to dance she accuses me of being a “crazy dance mom.” And don’t even get me started on required summer reading.
thanks for the additional comments everyone, they are all helpful. I have an update…the rising freshman is required to read two books this summer: one from a list of 6 and one that is required of all the students. The required one is “Lord of the Flies”. In light of that, I think probably Cal Newport would seem like a gentle fairy tale in comparison…
Still, with the two required books on the horizon, we will have to see how things are in August and decide then about reading any chapters of the superstar high school book…
My freshman is a pretty good sport about this kind of task (compared to say, room cleaning). And I never said I wouldn’t sweeten the reading deal by adding a small incentive of some kind…but yes, have not yet decided. I have to say that one thing I have learned from all of your responses is that I am happy if my student has any kind of response to the book and I don’t particularly care if he/she agrees with Cal N or disagrees as long as it opens a discussion. This varies for every family.
@MOMANDBOYSTWO, I can’t tell – did you read the book? I find most books about college admissions to be fairly obvious at best, inaccurate at worst. This one actually has some useful ideas that cut against what most people are doing. I read it 5 years ago, and it still holds up so far.
@intparent I did not read the book, but I am intrigued by it, based on your endorsements. I wish I had read the book back when my kids were starting high school. But, I doubt that my boys were mature enough to have appreciated reading it during their summers before 9th grade.
If you have a child who would be motivated by this book, give it to them with Excellent Sheep. Discuss when you’re done with both. It’s great to figure out how to be a superstar. AND absolutely essential to know why you want to be one. In my mind, the why trumps the how.
I wish people would not give an opinion about a book they haven’t read. Seriously.
I will read excellent sheep, sounds interesting
thanks for the recommendation. i have heard about the sheep before, but haven’t read that one. we’re not going for superstar, just trying to learn how to focus and do something worthwhile…for the intrinsic pleasure of having done that kind of hard work (and good work). the designation of superstar, if it happens for any kid, is a label that has to be applied by someone else…
in our area there is a superstar child prodigy whose name you would all know-- some of the kids even know her personally. they would never consider someone academic to be a superstar, not having seen the singing and dancing kind of star. i guess we’re a little shallow here 
I’ve been listening the excellent sheep book on Hoopla (you can get it for free through your local library, typically), and I’m vaguely conflicted so far. As someone who believes that hardship and misery can temper a person and make them stronger going forward, the first few chapters smack of “special snowflake syndrome” to me.
To be fair, I am someone who is unusually good at dealing with misery, and I think part of that facilty with managing misery, and making the best of it, and enjoying the heck out of the lack of misery, is the fact that I had no lens to compare my upbringing to until much later-when you don’t know your life sucks, you kind of cheerfully make the best of it.
I think some of the issues today with rampaging depression and anxiety is that all the kids are comparing their lives through the social media lens and are convinced that their life is hollow and miserable because it doesn’t measure up to the Instagram/Tumblr/Pinterest magical glow.
I had no idea a piece of plywood, a stick, and a cooperative stream were not the penultimate forms of entertainment all summer long, alone, for years, until I was much older. I didn’t know that shake and bake pork chops and rice a roni every night were not awesome dinners.
I don’t think kids enjoy the luxury of learning to deal with whatever level of boredom or misery life heaps upon them in a vacuum anymore-they can log on and see that their life just doesn’t measure up to whatever metric they are looking for in their imagination. A recipe for misery.
I read and followed most of the book. I think it’s very solid if you’re an ambitious student, and I think the advice applies well in general.
There are so many kids who stress themselves doing 5 clubs, 13 APs etc, but frankly, there are a lot of kids doing that, and it’s not, IMO, terribly interesting or meaningful.
The book, in my eyes, encourages motivated students to be introspective and thoughtful about their interests, and do follow them on a deeper level, in a sincere way. I had a passing interest in education, and reading the book lead me to go ahead and join the Minister of Education’s Advisory Council. While I am not pursuing education as a career path, it was an incredibly enlightening experience, and I now tutor low-income children. Similarly, my interest in science lead me to work in research, which lead me to do various research competitions/programs. I will probably do research as a career, and I’m really glad for the advice, because it lead me to have some really meaningful experiences that also helped me in the college process.
I didn’t have much of an option on the easing up on classes, since my school ran out of APs/upper level courses for me, but I do think that the book lead me to be productive with my free time. The studying advice is A++ as well, although a little dated.
Personally speaking, as an international student attending a ‘T10’ in the US, I do think all of my friends that got into US schools or won major merit scholarships in Canada followed those instructions, inadvertently or directly. The competition pool is very intense, but it may not be as applicable to domestic applicants.
TL;DR - If your kid is the type to read the book cover to cover if you gave it to him/her and try to follow it, then you should give it to him/her.
I’m one who thinks a child such as yours, as you describe him, would benefit from reading the book now. Later is too late. It’s a plan for getting out of the HS rat race, not adding pressure. It provides relief, I think. I frequently recommend the book.
ok, let’s just get one thing straight, everybody…shake and bake pork chops are an awesome dinner food. that is all. :