[flyer]

No question firefighting is dangerous work. It was actually their choice–they want to serve–and, since they’re not my kids, I had no input. If all goes well, as it has for many, they’ll take an early retirement.

Other kids in the family have also become attorneys, and are also doing well.

My kids are MD’s and executives in the film business.

Most of the members of our family plan to leave everything to our kids anyway, so–whatever they do with their careers along the way–they should be fine.

To each his or her own.

[flyer]

It’s a good thing you’re being cautious now, scaredy.

The only place we’re making a killing these days is with very selective private film investments via friends. The “market” has been great to us over the years, but, for now, we’re pretty much out.

[flyer]

A couple of our nieces husbands who recently graduated from great colleges just became firefighters, while both of the girls are MD’s. A sign of the times?

[flyer]

CAR, I don’t think there is any definitive answer as to how to guide future generations. We can all try to make “educated guesses,” but, with so many variables in life, there will never be any guarantees–regardless of the path one’s child chooses.

I think a step in the right direction would be for the masses to stop believing education necessarily “guarantees” one a better or even perfect life. In some cases it may, in others, it may not–you make your bets and you take your chances.

IMO that “guarantee” is a myth many Americans (and others) have been sold for reasons that, should I share my thoughts, might be construed as bordering on a conspiracy theory–so I won’t elaborate–but let’s not
forget–education is as as much a “business,” as any other “for-profit” endeavor–and the more “buyers” the merrier.

The choices we, and our kids made happened to have worked out as planned, but, even though we crossed every “t” and dotted every “i” to the best of our abilities, we knew it could have been otherwise.

That said, and, again, only IMO, every individual and family should be honest with themselves concerning the abilities of their children, as well as their own resources, before they commit to, and invest, in any particular path for their children.

At that point, you can only hope you have made the right decision(s),and, unfortunately, nothing but time will prove if the right choices were made.

[flyer]

Not to add fuel to the current topic’s fire, (and I’m on your “side”) but, this subject encouraged me to do more research on a topic I wasn’t familiar with, and I found the following.

Apparently, this issue might extend to the elite colleges as well.

http://blog.priceonomics.com/post/48794283011/do-elite-colleges-discriminate-against-asians

[flyer]

[quote=CA renter][quote=flyer]Extremely interesting, CAR, thank you.

In the final analysis, one, regardless of how gifted, does still have to go out into the world and find a place for his or her “giftedness,” regardless of what variety. It is in this “transference to real life,” if you will, that we have seen the greatest level of failure among many we have known.

To use an extreme example: After shooting under par on the links, the budding concert pianist who conceives of a new black hole theory between bars, then writes a screenplay during intermission, but never finds a “home” in which to place his or her talents, for all practical purposes, will, most likely, not live a happy, fulfilling or productive life.

The “gifted” walk a fine line in life, and that is why we have always taken great care to strike a balance concerning this issue. It hasn’t been easy, but, because we have tried to stay uber aware of the pitfalls, the “giftedness” has turned out to be a blessing, rather than a curse in our family.[/quote]

Absolutely, flyer, high IQ can be a curse as much as it is a blessing. There is also a correlation between high IQs and mental illness.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/intelligence-linked-to-bipolar-disorder/0005518

http://www.livescience.com/36259-anxiety-linked-high-iq.html

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10086.aspx

——–

Like your story, some friends of my parents had a son with a 160+ IQ. He attended an Ivy League university and law school, and eventually opened his own practice in NY. Within a few years, he started acting irrationally…had to leave the business and moved back into his parents house where he remained indefinitely (last time I heard of him, he was still living there, decades later), walking around in his robe and reading lots and lots of voluminous, intellectually challenging books.

There are many stories just like this out there, as I’m sure you know. It’s why I think we ought to give equal(?) consideration to non-academic accomplishments when choosing between college applicants. I’d personally like to see more students who are more focused on ways to make the world a better place, as opposed to those who are simply focused on improving their own lot. That’s what colleges try to do when they look at essays, interviews, extracurricular activities and accomplishments, which I think is a good thing.

And just to be clear, I’m opposed to racial quotas, too. Just wanted to toss around the idea that, no matter what the deciding factors are, college entrance requirements are discriminatory by their very nature. Oftentimes, what they are discriminating for (or against) are things that people are born with…like skin color, physical ability (in the case of athletic scholarships, etc.) or intelligence. How can we really determine what is “fair”?[/quote]

Yes, CAR, we too have heard many stories like the one you related. That’s why we took proactive steps to try to minimize the “curse of giftedness,” and our efforts seemed to have worked so far.

Regarding the current issue being discussed, IMO, life itself is difficult enough by nature, without imposing any type of quotas at the educational level.

Many of my kids friends who thought the sacred degree would assure them life would be a “slam dunk” after college, have found a very different reality.

When my wife and I, and our peers, graduated from college, life was pretty much a “slam dunk,” with any degree, but today, (per my experience watching my own kids and their friends compete for the gold) if you’re going after the most coveted career positions, you’re going to need a lot more than a piece of paper to get what you want in life.

I won’t even begin to go into detail about what it took to get my daughter into Harvard Med, and it had nothing to do with race.

[flyer]

Extremely interesting, CAR, thank you.

In the final analysis, one, regardless of how gifted, does still have to go out into the world and find a place for his or her “giftedness,” regardless of what variety. It is in this “transference to real life,” if you will, that we have seen the greatest level of failure among many we have known.

To use an extreme example: After shooting under par on the links, the budding concert pianist who conceives of a new black hole theory between bars, then writes a screenplay during intermission, but never finds a “home” in which to place his or her talents, for all practical purposes, will, most likely, not live a happy, fulfilling or productive life.

The “gifted” walk a fine line in life, and that is why we have always taken great care to strike a balance concerning this issue. It hasn’t been easy, but, because we have tried to stay uber aware of the pitfalls, the “giftedness” has turned out to be a blessing, rather than a curse in our family.

[flyer]

My wife is an extremely gifted individual, as are two of our children, so we have been down the road of which you speak.

One study she said she would like to see more research on would be the correlation between “giftedness” and life achievement. She feels that would tell us more about how well these individuals, as a whole, actually perform in the real world.

If you know of any such research, please post the links.

[flyer]

The education aspect is obviously every parent’s concern, but IMO, the more glaring concern I would have if my kids were younger, would be the job market.

Every day, I read another article mentioning that, despite high unemployment, millions of jobs remain open–even those in the $100K++ category–and that number of vacant jobs is expected to grow.

Experts seem to cite the “skills gap,” and mention that “while other nations focus their schools on math, science and problem-solving–coupled with technical training, apprenticeships and cooperative education that places students in real jobs–our country largely chooses multiple-choice testing.”

I’ve seriously wondered about people I know who are forking out $200K+ to educate their kids in fields that have no application in the real world. Seems like a recipe for disappointment for all concerned.

Edit: We’ve actually had friends who stopped talking to everyone after their kid(s) graduated from college, because they couldn’t face the fact that their plans for their kids had failed (no job, no house, etc.) So the career aspect is also a serious consideration.

[flyer]

It’s also interesting that success in the real world isn’t always based on merit either. Even though two of our kids attended “Ivies” they actually got their great jobs because of who we and they knew. Since so many people have a great education now, connections do help also.

[flyer]

This IS ridiculous flu.

At this rate, we’ll see bills introduced that encourage individuals to sue the state, school districts, etc. when their kids can’t get great jobs or afford to buy homes after college.

I fully expect to see this type of insanity in my lifetime.

[flyer]

[quote=JerseyGrl]We are in our early 50s, no kids no debt. Lots of savings. No, it was never “affordable”. The bank says we can afford to buy and would love to lend us a large amount of money, so we can buy a house here, or retire. I choose retire. My husband has his own business so he can work from anywhere. We’ll probably move to Ashville NC (he’s from there)next year and buy a house with cash. I don’t want to work another 10 years.[/quote]

Sounds like a good plan, JG.

We’re also in our 50’s, and had we not purchased our properties in CA (most in San Diego) and elsewhere years ago, I seriously doubt if we would take on mortgage burden in at this point in time, either.

With the kids settled, little debt, and retirement planning pretty much a done deal for us, I can completely relate to your plans to enjoy your lives relatively debt free.

Enjoy!

[flyer]

Excellent article, Jazzman. Don’t know if the wave of foreclosures will have much affect on the desirable/high demand areas–guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

The rest of the article was interesting also–especially the part about how most Californians are living way beyond their means.

Whenever I read these stats, it still amazes me how far out on a limb people are willing to go with their finances.

As a native, the evolution of real estate in CA reminds me of a revolving door. When one group of over-extended residents vacate–for whatever reasons–another seems to come in to take their place, and on and on. Because of the demand in desirable areas, this pattern continues to keep these locations afloat–at least for now. Hopefully, they all have a plan for their endgame.

[flyer]

That could make for an interesting ride–hope it all works out.

We were supposed to take visitors up in our plane for sightseeing along the coast, then to the Grand Canyon this weekend, but we called it off for obvious reasons.

Lots of events are being impacted by the rainstorm, but I’m still glad to see every bit of free water we can get, and hope there’s more to come.

[flyer]

More on utility rates. . .

CA electric rate reform adjusts rates from 2001 crisis

[Author]

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