Prunella Packs It In
Every so often I find myself watching cartoons with my two
year old daughter. Last Friday was one of those occasions. It had been a long
week and when I got home I just didn’t have the energy to commit to
crazy-dancing singing two year old play. So I said to my daughter, “Let’s watch
Arthur.” For those of you not in the know, Arthur is a PBS cartoon aimed at 4th
graders.
You can imagine my surprise when the episode we tuned into
was about a nine year old who was stressed out about college admissions.
As the story goes, this girl (Prunella) gets bent out of
shape when her older sister will not play with her because she’s studying for
the “College Entrance Exam.”
Prunella tells her friends about this silly exam and they inform her that the
exam isn’t silly at all but can determine what colleges you can get into like Ivy League University. *Gasp!* But
Prunella’s not good at taking tests. She frets to her friends. “Colleges look
at more than test scores” they say. “If you have good grades you should have
nothing to worry about.” This riles Prunella even further. Her grades are only average.
“Well there are all kinds of colleges” they say.
That night Prunella has a nightmare about only being able to
go on to clown college. The story continues by following her crazy efforts to
build unique after school experiences that will set her apart and “count”
towards college applications. She joins a kendo class, a useful Czech course,
cheese-making (even though she’s lactose intolerant), and all sorts of stuff.
Throughout all of this, people keep telling her that she’s only nine and that
it’s too soon to be worried about college. It gets to the point that her
friends no longer see her, because she’s too busy with all things she’s
scheduled to help her get into college.
The story eventually hits its turning point, and Prunella
realizes that she can’t keep up with the schedule she’s planned. She sets out
then to do only what she enjoys. In the climax scene Prunella is enjoying
painting the school set for the upcoming play. Her teacher is applauding her
for her work, when she sighs and says, “It’s too bad this doesn’t count for
college.” “What are you talking about?” replies the teacher. “Set design is a
respectable profession and there are several schools that have specialized
programs in set design.” Prunella is happy again.
So that’s the story and it got me thinking. Although the
idea seems absurd, I’m willing to bet good money that there seriously are nine
year olds who are completely stressed out about college admission.
Consider this: The last time my wife and I went to a bed
& breakfast was right before our daughter was born. It was a pleasant
surprise that the B&B keepers were also expecting their first child. So we
got to chatting and I was shocked to find that the couple had already been
visiting and applying to pre-schools for their unborn child. “Well the right
pre-school can make all the difference” the father-to-be said. Craziness! I’ve
also come across educational consultants who specialize in advising families
about pre-school placement. (NO I WILL NOT REFER ANYONE TO ONE OF THESE
‘SPECIALISTS’). One can make the argument that college admission has become a
long protracted process of over twelve years, and I’ve seen this argument in
print. But let’s exhibit at least a smidgen of common sense and let kids grow
up and develop some coping skills before we hammer them with adult concerns.