MISSION SAN JOSE HIGH SCHOOL
VOL. 54 NO. 5
February 1, 2019
41717 PALM AVENUE, FREMONT, CA 94539
Stanford lecturer challenges prevalent college admissions mindset Former MSJ teacher Denise Pope addresses healthy parent-student communication
The college admissions talk involved short activities throughout the presentation to faciliate discussion among parents.
By Gokul Ramapriyan & Shreya Sridhar Staff Writers Stanford University Senior Lecturer Denise Pope, Ph.D., gave a talk called “A Well Balanced Approach to College Admissions: What Matters and Why” on January 8 in C-120, aiming to educate students and parents on how college admissions can be addressed in a healthy manner. Her main goal was to teach parents to foster better communication with students.
“We have a lot of parents who are immigrants who did not go to college in this country. And so that whole process is completely mystifying. The stakes have changed, the pressure is higher, and the process is different.”
— Principal Zack Larsen
Pope, a former English teacher at MSJ, founded Stanford University’s Stressed-Out Students (SOS) Project in 2003. She aimed to create a medium in which students could relieve academic stress. SOS has conducted
workshops, panel discussions, and conferences at Stanford University. In 2007, Pope co-founded Challenge Success with educational consultant Jim Lobdell and psychologist Madeline Levine. Challenge Success served as an expansion on SOS that reached broader audiences outside of Stanford University. The program has established many branches, including the Challenge Success club at MSJ. US News & World Report uses limited criteria, such as the amount of alumni donations, rather than a holistic view, to rank colleges. Pope began her talk by asking the audience, “How do you define success, and how does your community define success?” Parents then called out their responses, which included “happiness,” “confidence,” and “doing what you love.” She went on to describe how students in high-pressure environments view success quite differently from parents. She said that students often measure success based on money, grades, and college acceptances, and highlighted how parents
and students must work together to ease this disconnect.
“When I go home, I want to talk to my
kids [and] tell them I love them. In the long run, the most important [thing] is their happiness.”
— Parent Durba Sen
Pope also talked about changing the language that parents use with their children. Instead of immediately questioning them about their grades and tests after school, they should ask them how their day was or how they are feeling. Pope said that by doing so, parents can foster a healthier environment to discuss mental health with their children. Principal Zack Larsen, who coordinated the event, said, “We have a lot of parents who are immigrants who did not go to college in this country. And so that whole process is completely mystifying. The stakes have changed, the pressure is higher, and the process is different.” Pope exposed the flaws in US college rankings. For example, she said that the US News & World Report uses limited criteria, such as
Pope’s goal is to create a medium for students to relieve academic stress.
the amount of alumni donations, rather than a holistic view, to rank colleges. Pope asked parents to raise their hands to suggest other important college-ranking criteria. Many proposed criteria such as a college’s extracurricular opportunities and volunteer programs. She said that students often measure success based on money, grades, and college acceptances, and highlighted how parents and students must work together to ease this disconnect.
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Pope finally discussed healthy habits for students and how they can be more wellrounded. Pope said, “I’m 100 percent convinced that if everyone got eight to ten hours of sleep they would absolutely have a happier lifestyle.” After the talk, Parent Durba Sen said, “When I go home, I want to talk to my kids [and] tell them I love them. In the long run, the most important [thing] is their happiness.” ▪ PHOTOS BY STAFF WRITER GOKUL RAMAPRIYAN
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