Gossip Might be Glamorous, but Truth is Stunning
So some of the office staff have become engrossed in the train wreck that is "Gossip Girl." I'm not saying that it's a bad show, but it's not exceptionally well written. I do, however, have to give credit to any show that embraces its soap opera nature and doesn't try to be anything more than that. I don't have a problem with shows that are entertaining or guilty pleasures, but self-awareness always makes things more attractive.
I'm currently rewatching an episode from the first season, "Poison Ivy" which caught my eye the first time around and made it into my recruiting in 2007. I've already expressed my love for pop culture and although I know that I'm old and not part of the students' generation, I still enjoy being able to connect various things in my life to things in the lives of my students through a common medium.
I think the show was destined to be watched by me. I mean, where else could you combine a cappella music with "Glamorous" by Fergie? Much like Reese's, these are two great tastes that taste great together. Can we take a second, to also comment on how I hate how Americans seem to have this uncultured/uneducated awareness for media that forces music videos (among other things) to be dumbded down and often quite literal. I mean, for real, Fergie? We need to see the image of you flying in a jet when that line comes up? Because we can't understand what you're talking about unless we see exactly what you're singing about on screen?
All right. Rant over.
I have to laugh, though, because only at a silly rich prep school would kids be able to 1. sing a pop song in choir and 2. sing a song like "Glamorous" that included references to alcohol consumption. Don't get me wrong, I went to a private school (but, you know, toned down since it wasn't on the East Coast) and I love it, but you have to be able to look back at it and say that it was kind of silly and self-indulgent.
The reason that this episode caught my eye was because Josh Schwartz of course had a hand in it and made one of the main characters want to go to USC. Now, he's no Dawson, but I find it highly amusing that Chace Crawford, the actor who plays Nate, went to Pepperdine and is a total California kid despite the fact that he's supposed to be all East Coast prep.
I've heard many reactions from students who were on the East Coast and how this show didn't accurately represent their lives (hey, get in line behind my OC/Laguna Beach/Newport kids) but I have to think that the underlying pressure about college and the Ivy League schools still has to be there. I think we're getting out of the mindset where the Ivy's are always the best option but they had a good 200 year headstart on our little school to make a name for themselves and it's hard to break away from that.
The thing that I love the most about this whole episode, however, is that I get reinforcement for my own belief system in the college admission process. It's about being genuine people. And I know that some of us have the argument about asking students to be genuine in a contrived setting, but I'm always looking for the student who can rise above that and isn't afraid to be himself or herself and be vulnerable. I think that I have a bias for people who, on some level, understand who they are and then are able to articulate that in some fashion. In the end, it's always those students who can just be honest about their interest in microbiology, or Rubik's cubes, or Harry Potter, that get me excited and make me cheer for them. It's not about schmoozing or being charming or trying to flatter me by talking about things that I might be interested in--we can do that and I can have a great time, but I'm still not going to like you.
I see hundreds of students every cycle and I'm sure that it is a lot easier for them to remember me than it is for me to remember them. The thing is, though, that the ones who make an impression are never really trying to do it. I remember a student from this past year whom I met at a high school visit while she was in costume for a spirit week activity. Okay, so maybe the costume helped, but there were a lot of other students who were also dressed up as super heroes of other sorts (and kudos to guys who were willing to wear tights, because that is generally not a flattering look) but why is it that this student stood out? Over the course of the year, I got to know her better through various events and, to be honest, she wasn't an automatic shoe-in for admission but when it came time to make a decision, all of the parts of her interactions with me fit together and told me a story. You know that old adage about showing and not telling a story? This student made me feel that I knew why she wanted to go to USC--I didn't just understand her rationale but I internalized it. To me, this was one of the epitomes of putting everything out there (whether she knew it or not) and I bit.
When the dust settles, and the storm clouds clear, I find that the individuals who are grounded are the ones who are left standing. I think that many aspects of this process are inherently difficult and frightening, but I also think that there's no reason that it has to be that way. I think that this lesson is tough to learn as we constantly see people exploiting whatever advantage that they can in order to win a game (and how is the culture of the reality television competition show going to affect these students' models of pressured situations?) and that's not what this is about.
I'm currently rewatching an episode from the first season, "Poison Ivy" which caught my eye the first time around and made it into my recruiting in 2007. I've already expressed my love for pop culture and although I know that I'm old and not part of the students' generation, I still enjoy being able to connect various things in my life to things in the lives of my students through a common medium.
I think the show was destined to be watched by me. I mean, where else could you combine a cappella music with "Glamorous" by Fergie? Much like Reese's, these are two great tastes that taste great together. Can we take a second, to also comment on how I hate how Americans seem to have this uncultured/uneducated awareness for media that forces music videos (among other things) to be dumbded down and often quite literal. I mean, for real, Fergie? We need to see the image of you flying in a jet when that line comes up? Because we can't understand what you're talking about unless we see exactly what you're singing about on screen?
All right. Rant over.
I have to laugh, though, because only at a silly rich prep school would kids be able to 1. sing a pop song in choir and 2. sing a song like "Glamorous" that included references to alcohol consumption. Don't get me wrong, I went to a private school (but, you know, toned down since it wasn't on the East Coast) and I love it, but you have to be able to look back at it and say that it was kind of silly and self-indulgent.
The reason that this episode caught my eye was because Josh Schwartz of course had a hand in it and made one of the main characters want to go to USC. Now, he's no Dawson, but I find it highly amusing that Chace Crawford, the actor who plays Nate, went to Pepperdine and is a total California kid despite the fact that he's supposed to be all East Coast prep.
I've heard many reactions from students who were on the East Coast and how this show didn't accurately represent their lives (hey, get in line behind my OC/Laguna Beach/Newport kids) but I have to think that the underlying pressure about college and the Ivy League schools still has to be there. I think we're getting out of the mindset where the Ivy's are always the best option but they had a good 200 year headstart on our little school to make a name for themselves and it's hard to break away from that.
The thing that I love the most about this whole episode, however, is that I get reinforcement for my own belief system in the college admission process. It's about being genuine people. And I know that some of us have the argument about asking students to be genuine in a contrived setting, but I'm always looking for the student who can rise above that and isn't afraid to be himself or herself and be vulnerable. I think that I have a bias for people who, on some level, understand who they are and then are able to articulate that in some fashion. In the end, it's always those students who can just be honest about their interest in microbiology, or Rubik's cubes, or Harry Potter, that get me excited and make me cheer for them. It's not about schmoozing or being charming or trying to flatter me by talking about things that I might be interested in--we can do that and I can have a great time, but I'm still not going to like you.
I see hundreds of students every cycle and I'm sure that it is a lot easier for them to remember me than it is for me to remember them. The thing is, though, that the ones who make an impression are never really trying to do it. I remember a student from this past year whom I met at a high school visit while she was in costume for a spirit week activity. Okay, so maybe the costume helped, but there were a lot of other students who were also dressed up as super heroes of other sorts (and kudos to guys who were willing to wear tights, because that is generally not a flattering look) but why is it that this student stood out? Over the course of the year, I got to know her better through various events and, to be honest, she wasn't an automatic shoe-in for admission but when it came time to make a decision, all of the parts of her interactions with me fit together and told me a story. You know that old adage about showing and not telling a story? This student made me feel that I knew why she wanted to go to USC--I didn't just understand her rationale but I internalized it. To me, this was one of the epitomes of putting everything out there (whether she knew it or not) and I bit.
When the dust settles, and the storm clouds clear, I find that the individuals who are grounded are the ones who are left standing. I think that many aspects of this process are inherently difficult and frightening, but I also think that there's no reason that it has to be that way. I think that this lesson is tough to learn as we constantly see people exploiting whatever advantage that they can in order to win a game (and how is the culture of the reality television competition show going to affect these students' models of pressured situations?) and that's not what this is about.