A refreshing and insightful article appeared this week in the UCLA Daily Bruin concerning the types of students being admitted by highly selective colleges, and in particular, UCLA. I often struggle with the same issues that this young woman raised—the students whose goals are to get the best grades, the highest test scores, and to participate in the most extracurricular activities, without curiosity or perhaps passion, so that they will be deemed attractive to the most selective colleges. They pursue these goals irrespective of curiosity or passion because this is what they think they are supposed to do. Even students who are not at the top of the class often awaken in high school desperate to remedy their academic and extracurricular record so that they will get into a “good” college. Students agonize over the rigor of their curriculum and what they can get away with to be competitive rather than why they are taking a particular class or what that class may offer them in terms of personal growth or intellectual experience. They worry about whether to add a class for fear they may falter because it is not their strongest subject. They feel the need to engage in community service or other activities because their resumes must look appealing to the colleges. They do not realize that an ordinary job, for example, may have more meaning than the immersion program abroad, the leadership conference they have been invited to, or the summer athletic camp.

Of course, not all students fit this mold, and I believe that one of my responsibilities as an educational consultant to young people is to question motives and awaken curiosity. I have had the great fortune to have such students. I applaud my dyslexic student who has struggled in her foreign language classes, but has decided to take four years of foreign language because she wants to improve the lives of those in remote villages. I am impressed by my computer geek student who reaches out to staff and faculty at his high school to resolve their computer hardware and software dilemnas without any thought of his college applications, but simply because he is so stimulated by computers and programming. I marvel at my student athlete who never gets to play in a game, but remains on the team for four years because of his love of the sport and the team camaraderie. I encourage my student with learning disabilities who begs his parents and counselor to allow him to take an honors math course because he loves math and wants to take on the challenge. Right now, I am searching for the next imperfect student who has proudly taken on an endeavor, whether a success or failure, just for the love of learning.