On Apr 17, 1:13*am, Hawke wrote:

Or you are the
valedictorian of your high school. Nothing special about that, right?

I was the valedictorian of my high school class. At the time that and
a dime would get you a cup of coffee.




If everyone going to those schools is the valedictorian of their high
school or something equivalent then who do you think they are giving out
scholarships to?

Dud. They are giving the scholarships to the bright kids that get
high grades and great SAT scores , but whose parents did not have much
money. Their parents probably did not go to an Ivy League school.

Only to someone truly special in some way. When a
former graduate from Dartmouth and a wealthy Newport Beach doctor's son
can't get accepted, and he did have great grades and brains, that
illustrates what it takes to get in one of those schools. If brains,
grades, money, and having a father who went there isn't enough to get
someone accepted then only a very special select group can. That was the
point of the anecdote. Which you missed or ignored.

I did not miss that or ignored it. What you are missing is that your
idea of great grades might not hack it. Did this guy get the best
grades in his high school? Was it a good high school? Did this kid
have any special talents? Did he do science projects? Did he take
advanced courses? Did he write a good admissions essay? How well did
his interview go? Remember only intelligent kids apply to Ivy League
schools. And still only about ten percent get accepted.

**** you! I had the same opportunity as Luke Russert. No one believes
that bull****. Being Tim Russert's son guaranteed open doors in the TV
news business. You had the same opportunity as he did too. What
happened? You had that opportunity and turned out to have a nothing
life. How did that happen?

I think I have had an excellent life.


I guess I could just as well say you had the same opportunity as John
Glenn as far as getting accepted into astronaut training too. But it
seems you failed to do all the required things to get in the astronaut
program. Which I understand because you probably weren't bright enough
to be an astronaut and you lacked the physical ability they require too.
Did you not take your high school seriously enough to be chosen for the
astronaut program?

I never wanted to be an astronaut. But I did take high school
seriously enough .

I say that to show you how ludicrous your contention is that I had the
same opportunity as Luke Russert. Because I didn't. You have no idea
what kind of student he was or what he had accomplished to set him above
the thousands of others who had worked their butts off to get the same
job. He got it because of his father's name and connections in the
industry. Saying I had the same opportunity as that is a flat out lie.



That's a roger on that, Dan. I failed miserably in high school, got
horrible grades, never did any homework, and did nothing but goof around
and get high. I blame no one for that but me. I hated high school. It
was not a pleasant time for me. How about you? Was high school the best
time of your life?

High school was not the best time of my life. Had to do homework,
could not go out on school night. Had to study. I spent two or three
hours every night doing homework or studying.


But most people have a lot more problems in their lives that keep them
from being a high achiever, number one being that their talent, brains,
and abilities fall into the average range. To expect average people to
excel is stupid. The people who excel are not average.

Asian kids tend to excel. Their parents expect it. They probably
have to study four or five hours a night.

Yep, that I agree with. Had I gotten educated in my early 20s I'm sure I
would have had a different life than the one I had. But that's water
under the bridge. As for a 50 year old graduate not having potential,
you're crazy. As someone who went back to college later in life I can
tell you that many people are retraining and are getting jobs in all
kinds of new areas. Also employers prefer older employees because they
are better workers.

A fifty year old may have potential, but it is kind of like sports.
Do you pick the young rookie that has promise or choose the older
player that only has a few more playing years. If you are going to
hire someone you want someone young that will be around for a while.
You only pick older employees for jobs that are pretty cut and dried.


That's true in a way. But people have to learn lessons in life when they
are ready for them.

It is not my fault that you were not ready. You have to work at being
ready.
The opportunities were there , but you were not ready.

Dan