The Fools Folly Of College And Career Readiness
Last night I had the incredible honor or watching my brother get inducted into the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame at our alma mater. We both attended Hopewell Valley Central High School, I graduated in 86, he in 87. My readers know what I do, but most likely don't know that my brother is a celebrated chef in Los Angeles. He is the Chef/Owner of two restaurants; Providence, which was just named by Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold as the Best Restaurant in Los Angeles, and Connie & Ted's, named after our maternal grandparents and one of the "hottest new spots in town."
As my brother pointed out in his speech last night, he was not a stellar high school student. (Neither was I.) Family legend is that he got a 16 one quarter in Algebra. Or as he put it, his GPA would have made a better ERA.
Michael and I attended a top notch high school, had dynamic teachers and expansive course offerings. We simply were not engaged enough in our education to take advantage of them. Neither of us applied ourselves in high school, and didn't make the most of the incredible opportunities presented to us.
Our mom was very active in our schools; the PTA President and Booster Club kind of mom. In fact, when we first moved to Hopewell and attended the local elementary school parents complained that the playground was insufficient. My mom single handedly rallied parents, raised money and organized construction of a new one. One year in high school there were more picture