What’s wrong with wanting to go to Harvard? (Part I)

Posted by Jim Liston on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 05:10 PM

For those of you who don’t know, CATZ was featured last night (10/30/2007) on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.  The story focused on parents hiring “sports tutors” for their children, and asked the question, “Have we gone too far?”

If you did not see the story - you can view it by clicking the link below.

Video: NBC Nightly News - Sports Tutors For Kids

Of course, I firmly believe that sports in general and CATZ in particular are great activities for kids.

The opposing side of the NBC story was represented by noted child psychiatrist and author Alvin Rosenfeld.  Dr. Rosenfeld took the stance that programs like CATZ are problematic in that they put added pressure on kids and serve to professionalize childhood.

I have read Dr. Rosenfeld’s work, including his book

, and agree with many of his positions, which we will talk about in later posts.  However, I must disagree with his contention that, “Every tenth grader knows what it takes to go to Harvard.  There is something wrong with that.”

Since when did it become a bad thing to have a child who reached for lofty goals?  When your six-year old daughter wanted to climb across the monkey bars, did you tell her that it was too hard for her and she should wait until she was eight?

Kids set goals all day, every day.  And you know what happens when they don’t succeed?  They shrug it off and try again, and again, and again.  Hmmmm, we call this perseverance, and it is a character trait that will take kids a long way in life.  It’s our job as parents to nurture this natural tendency in kids to set goals in a positive manner.

I hope that when my daughter turns 16 she is aiming for lofty goals and dreaming big dreams.  Who knows, maybe she will even want to get into Harvard.

What’s your opinion on this subject?

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