Daily Office: Wednesday
Morning
¶ Abandon Hope, Ye Who Can’t Enter Here: The big moment, the major rite of passage in the life of an upper-middle-class child in Manhattan (and parts of Brooklyn and even the Bronx) occurs long before the agonies of adolescence: it’s the move from preschool to kindergarten. An old story! Now, at last, a few of the elementary schools are expanding. Winnie Hu reports.
Noon
¶ Introvert: A quick glance at Jonathan Rauch’s essay on introversion in The Atlantic suggests that the Blogosphere might be the hidden-in-plain-sight venue in which the introverts of the world — “a minority in the regular population but a majority in the gifted population” — conspire to take over the world.
Night
¶ Split: From next Sunday’s Times Magazine, Matt Bai’s report on the reservations that prevent the elder statesmen of the Civil Rights movement from more forthrightly supporting Barack Obama.
Oremus…
Morning, cont’d
§ Hope. The story’s title, “Where Race Now Begins At Kindergarten,” is so wrong in so many ways — but Ms Hu probably had nothing to do with that.
Emily Glickman, a private school consultant for Abacus Guide Educational Consulting, which helps parents gain admission to private schools, said competition had intensified not only for brand-name schools like Dalton, Collegiate and Trinity but also for lesser-known and newer schools, as more couples opt to have two or more children; more families remain in the city rather than moving to the suburbs; and the wealthy in New York get wealthier.
There are, of course, affluent parents who are passionately committed to public education, but, from what I gather, sending your child to even the best public elementary school requires a lot of heads-up attentiveness from the parents. Later on, however, the bright kids who can get into the Specialized High Schools (Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and others — admission to which is limited by competitive examination) will enjoy the most rigorous educational programs that the city has to offer.
Noon, cont’d
§ Introvert. Told that I was an introvert throughout my childhood, I worked very hard to develop the “social skills” necessary to function at a “function,” but nothing, I’m afraid, could make the nonsense that people talk at such events interesting. Interesting to an introvert, that is.
Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially “on,” we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn’t antisocial. It isn’t a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: “I’m okay, you’re okay—in small doses.”
(Merci, JR!)
Night, cont’d
§ Split. I confess to posting this blind: I can’t comment until I’ve read the whole piece, which is rather long. But don’t wait for me!