Book- How to be a High School Superstar

[lewber]

My search isn't able to find any threads on this book. Have there been any conversations on this that someone can link for me?

Thanks.

[sbgrace]

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/219753-how-to-be-a-high-school-superstar-by-cal-newport/

I found that one. There are more about a superstar student lecture, I think Great Courses, than the book.

 

I know you may know how to do this-but in case: I searched using google:

high school super star site:forums.welltrainedmind.com

 

You can play around with the search terms, quotes, etc. Add site:forums.welltrainedmind.com and it will search just this forum for results.

 

ETA: this google search gives a lot more hits, though most will mention the book as a suggestion in a thread about study skills or another book it seems:

"how to be a high school superstar" site:forums.welltrainedmind.com

 

Edited March 16, 2017 by sbgrace

[Sunshine State Sue]

This brings back bad memories for me...

 

Thoughts on How to be a SuperStar Student...

[Grantmom]

Actually, Sue, I think that video series you talked about back then in that link is something different.  I watched some of that video series also and didn't like it either.

 

However, I think this is about the Cal Newport book, How to be a High School Superstar, a completely different thing.  I actually love Cal Newport.  I think he has a lot of great things to say and great points.  I would love to chat about the book, so if there isn't a thread about it, we could certainly talk about it here!  :)  

 

What I like is that, though the title says superstar, what he is really saying is that achieving what you want to achieve is not about going to extremes and slogging away every night until the wee hours of the morning and getting no sleep and not having a life.  He talks about the concept of "deep work," and about focus and pseudo-studying.  I found it helpful.  We are still working on implementing some of those ideas, but I think a lot of it is more about the general concept and approach.

 

He has some other books and a few good talks.  You might find more threads by doing a search for Cal Newport, because I feel like I did read some stuff here about him.

 

[Grantmom]

I liked this talk by him, because this makes so much sense to me.  I do think the follow your passion advice falls short, and this perspective resonated with me a lot:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIMu1PGbG-0

[Sunshine State Sue]

oops never mind :leaving:

[Grantmom]

Very similar names though!   :001_smile:  

[wapiti]

I liked the general ideas.  Take the examples with a grain of salt, i.e. don't stress about the talent level of the students included in the book.

 

If you like this book, you may also appreciate a particular entry in the MIT Admissions blog  http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

[matrips]

I liked the general ideas. Take the examples with a grain of salt, i.e. don't stress about the talent level of the students included in the book.

 

If you like this book, you may also appreciate a particular entry in the MIT Admissions blog http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways

I love that MIT entry! What a refreshing way to look at it.

[lewber]

Yes, the book. I'd love to discuss it! The thread linked above is several years old.

My DS will be a freshman next year, and really has zero idea where he wants to go to college or what he wants out of it. But he reminds me of these kids in the sense that he's always interested in hobbies. He's always going down a rabbit hole. I want to encourage this, but I'm not sure he'll commit to something enough to make an impact on a college application. It did make me re-think his high school extra curriculars though. I won't push the generic ones he has limited interest in as long as he continues to pursue meaningful hobbies. It's been fun to follow his passions the last few years. I've learned a lot!

[MEmama]

We recently attended a lecture at MIT by a (former?) Ivy admissions officer, aimed at parents of middle school students with high aspirations. She provided a very balanced view of not only what to worry about (money) and what not to (almost everything else), but also an honest breakdown of how middle and high school students ought to be spending their time.

 

I was relieved that sleep clocked in highest (7-10 + hours), followed by academics, hobbies/interests/job (ideally interconnected), fun reading and homework (IIRC those last activities flipped from middle to high school, and comprised something like 5-10 hours weekly with fun reading dropping off significantly during HS) and hopefully free time.

 

Finding and pursuing deep interests was heavily emphasized, regardless of what those passions might be. Music, math club, sports...all hold equal weight if it's clear the student is being true to themselves and putting forth real time and energy into it. Stacking activities to pad a transcript was, of course, ill advised and transparent.

 

Additionally, she talked about balancing the academic piece. Almost certainly most of the parents in the room had kids who were already planning on attending high level universities, and she made clear that while of course classes and grades count, taking that extra AP or Honors class just to do might very well end up doing more harm than good if it causes the student to overreach academically and/or lose out on other pursuits as a result.

[Grantmom]

That is really the point of the whole book.  If you listen to his talks, he talks about how he stops work at 5:00 every day, and yet accomplishes a lot, because he is able to block his time and be present and work intensely, deep work as he calls it, without the distractions of a beeping phone and a steady stream of emails into your inbox.  He is actually talking about accomplishing more of what you want to do in ways that make your life better.