3 ms·

What exactly is meritorious (adjective: deserving reward or praise) about any of that?

by bradleyjg 4y ago

sokoloff 4y ago
Are you asking what is meritorious about GPA, standardized test scores, or an essay they wrote? Or something else?
- bradleyjg 4y ago
  Yep, those things. Are kids like trained animals, we praise and reward them when they do tricks for us?
  - sokoloff 4y ago
    If admissions to an elite or selective university is a reward, then yes, we do (and IMO should) reward them for strong performance in terms of GPA, SAT, or admissions essays. More broadly, I absolutely praise and reward my kids when they do things that I believe are worthy of such feedback. Sometimes that's for achievement; sometimes that's for effort. It's part of the feedback process inherent in raising children; if you have a different approach that you prefer for your children, I don't have any objections to you using your approach.
  - rayiner 4y ago
    That’s a great analogy, and also summarizes why it’s so problematic to make race a factor for college admissions. It makes minority kids engage in performative diversity in order to appeal to mostly white college admissions officers.
  - WithinReason 4y ago
    What would you call your job and your salary if not reward for tricks you do for others?
    - bradleyjg 4y ago
      Since someone is paying me, presumably someone finds my output useful. Does anyone think another book report on Anne of Green Gables is useful? When I was doing alumni interviews I reserved the top rating exclusively for applicants that had ever had a real job. Not three weeks allegedly building houses in Central America, not an internship for well connected teens, only things like flipping burgers. That’s meritorious.
      - sokoloff 4y ago
        Are you rewarding them for the five-millionth book report on Anne of Green Gables? Or are you rewarding them for the learning process they went through that (almost incidentally) resulted in five-millionth book report on AoGG?

What exactly is meritorious (adjective: deserving reward or praise) about any of that?

sokoloff 4y ago

Are you asking what is meritorious about GPA, standardized test scores, or an essay they wrote? Or something else?

bradleyjg 4y ago
Yep, those things. Are kids like trained animals, we praise and reward them when they do tricks for us?
- sokoloff 4y ago
  If admissions to an elite or selective university is a reward, then yes, we do (and IMO should) reward them for strong performance in terms of GPA, SAT, or admissions essays. More broadly, I absolutely praise and reward my kids when they do things that I believe are worthy of such feedback. Sometimes that's for achievement; sometimes that's for effort. It's part of the feedback process inherent in raising children; if you have a different approach that you prefer for your children, I don't have any objections to you using your approach.
- rayiner 4y ago
  That’s a great analogy, and also summarizes why it’s so problematic to make race a factor for college admissions. It makes minority kids engage in performative diversity in order to appeal to mostly white college admissions officers.
- WithinReason 4y ago
  What would you call your job and your salary if not reward for tricks you do for others?
  - bradleyjg 4y ago
    Since someone is paying me, presumably someone finds my output useful. Does anyone think another book report on Anne of Green Gables is useful? When I was doing alumni interviews I reserved the top rating exclusively for applicants that had ever had a real job. Not three weeks allegedly building houses in Central America, not an internship for well connected teens, only things like flipping burgers. That’s meritorious.
    - sokoloff 4y ago
      Are you rewarding them for the five-millionth book report on Anne of Green Gables? Or are you rewarding them for the learning process they went through that (almost incidentally) resulted in five-millionth book report on AoGG?