"toto" wrote in message
news
Any anecdotes?


I found that the parents just never stop and the children grow up into
adults who expect people to do things *for* them.

When I was in college, parents of a 16 year old genius (believe me, he
needed no advocacy on his behalf) came to complain about his grades in a
math class. Maybe because he wasn't the absolute standout in class? I
don't know. He certainly was not threatened with failure, or even a B.

In grad school, I had a mediocre student who thought 1) I would write a
glowing letter of recommendation beause - well, I don't know, maybe because
we were the same age? (I told him I couldn't); and 2) he would get into the
doctoral program after I (and two faculty members) told him he probably
didn't have a chance (I was also on the admissions committee). He honestly
thought he would get into a PhD program just because he was a good guy; his
lackluster grades and lack of focus were mere technicalities.

Jeanne