By Andrea Lawful Sanders
I had to gather my entire self, have a little talk with Jesus, rend my garments, AND settle my brain, so I could write what may make many of you chafe.
I am telling you now – get over it.
For YEARS, it has been suspected that parents were out there cheating and using money or influence to get their children into the most prominent colleges in the country.
George W. Bush famously stated in a conversation years ago that even though he had a low grade point average, he graduated from Yale University and is proof that anyone can become president.
Let me tell you something I experienced while my sons were in school. A committee was created to look at increasing the grade point average from 4.0 to 5.0. When I got to said meeting, it was rife with parents who were concerned that their children were falling behind the Asian children, and were having to compete with other students who now had access to the honors programs. Quite frankly, they wanted to make sure their children could now have weighted grades in music and art so they could remain in the top 3-5 percent of their graduating class, and enter places like the University of Pennsylvania and other top notch colleges.
They go further to threaten teachers who give grades that are not commensurate with what they decided their child should have, and those teachers are often forced to change the grades by someone else like a principal.
Do not let a child attend a school where their parents have given a large monetary donation. The sky is the limit for said child should their parents complain about a thing.
I am not just telling you what I think – I see these scenarios play out in school districts everywhere.
So when I saw the recent article about families paying bribes to coaches and administrators in top-notch institutions like Harvard and Yale so their children could be accepted as students, my head spun like a gig.
This is why we now sit in so many businesses where the people sitting at the highest levels manage to be mediocre as hell while having amazing transcripts from Ivy League institutions for all to envy.
This is why we are a nation filled with many who are not critical thinkers, but rather bullies and cheaters who end up facing jail time for corruption.
My message to young people, who actually EARNED their way into any college campus and worked their tail feathers off when they got there, is to keep your heads tilted up, work at the highest levels of integrity, and you will rise like cream when the scammers are imprisoned. Not to mention, you will actually have the knowledge embedded to make life choices that will take root over time.
Nothing built on a foundation of sand ever lasts. Hard and honest work has never harmed anyone.
This all comes back to the parents who firmly believe that their children do not need to work hard when money and influence will open doors for them, and who scoff at those families whose children went to a higher learning institution that is not considered pedigreed.
It is time to cut this foolishness out, especially since so many young people end up taking their very lives because they could NOT keep up the course load, once admitted.
I blame those who insist on having a caste system so they can be seen as better than. That runs across race and culture, too. It is simply ridiculous.
To the employers of the world – instead of scoffing at where someone attended college, be grateful; they may actually be coming to your places of business to add value beyond collecting a salary they cannot earn because they have no clue what they are doing.
Deep cleansing breath… whoosah!
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