Complete video at: fora.tv Author and practicing psychologist Madeline Levine describes how wealthier parents “buy” their children’s admissions into prestigious Ivy League schools, and discusses their psychological motivations for doing so. —– Madeline Levine talks about “The Price of Privilege.” Madeline Levine has been a psychologist for 25 years. Practicing in upper middle-class Marin County, her teenage patients are bright, socially skilled, and loved by their affluent parents. But behind a veneer of achievement and charm, many of these teens suffered severe emotional problems. Numerous studies show that privileged adolescents are experiencing epidemic rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse – rates that are higher than those of any other socioeconomic group of young people in this country. While many privileged children project confidence and know how to make a good impression, alarming numbers lack the basic foundation of psychological development: an authentic sense of self. In “The Price of Privilege,” Levine offers professional counsel on raising children, especially in an environment of means. Levine will help identify parenting practices that are potentially harmful to healthy self-development, and that have contributed to epidemic levels of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in the most unlikely place – the affluent family.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
…How do we measure intelligence anyways? People with savantism often can’t dress themselves, but display profound abilities in other areas. Like play music on a piano that they hear for the first time, note for note, to perfection.
Nope! You old world thinking is why we end up with idiots like George W. Bush as president. If they put ivy league courses online & offered them to the masses everyone would see what a farce it all is. Some of the smartest people I know didn’t go to university while some people I know who did aren’t nearly as intelligent as they think they are…
I saw you speak a year ago at Marin Catholic. I am so glad I did. Your points ring so true with me – a local parent. Hoping you (or at least your parent clientele) will be attending the Race to Nowhere screening at the Lark on Monday. I have four kids and have no interest in putting them through this kind of crap. I also know plenty of Notre Dame and Stanford Grads selling retail and Avon. There’s a testimony for you…
Bullshit!
Imagine the associations one makes at a highly selective university. Imagine the intellectual benefits of a forum where EVERYONE is bright and motivated. Imagine the affirmation that comes from being at a top college; knowing that you are choice, you are worth it, you are the intellectual vanguard. Imagine how powerful it is to tell yourself and others that your degree is from any of the highly selective schools.
Stomps shit out of good ole community college, doesn’t it?
Um…she referenced that statement about the correlation like 5 seconds after she said it.
LOL!
Listen and/or research for yourself!
@emerset of course cambridge and oxford are excellent universities. but thats not my point. i meant nobody says here in europe, that these unis are necessary for a successful life. i just visited the medical school of heidelberg, on eof the best in the world, but they didnt stood there and said: ive we dont accept you here, you wont be successful.
@20juli2008
What about Oxbridge?
They are the two kings!
That is a damn good idea. If the elites and politicians had their sons and daughters in harms way it would put an end to costly and questionable wars .
This is a reall problem of you americans. somehow you praise these elite schools as the garantied way to success. that is just not true. the reason why these unis are so famous is because they market themselves very good as the oldest and best. and the hype in the media does the rest. look at europe. our universities are much older and great aswell, but there are no “mind controllers”.
You don’t need to be rich to get into an Ivy League school. My friend is attending Harvard, and he isn’t getting all 100% straight A’s like a motherfucker. It doesn’t matter the university, it matters on the student’s ambition to succeed and take their degree somewhere. And if it’s money you’re worried about, look at it this way: he went to Harvard and has to pay full tuition and I went to a state college for free, from a scholarship. ANYONE can get it, it’s only a matter of IF you want to.
this really sucks
you dont have to be rich to go to an ivy, i know a person, my friend, who is going to harvard on a full ride =] and no, she didnt score perfect on the SAT’s…. missed 2 questions, lol
That sucks.
Tell yourself whatever you want, my son gets better grades than Ivy kids, my son is happier, but when this woman said there is 0 correlation between the school you attend and your salary she’s talking out of her ass. I have no idea where she got that data from. Seems like she made it up on the spot to appease parents like you. The Ivy’s are the most selective schools on earth. They are prestigious and famous for a reason. Grow up.
My son applied and was rejected from Ivy schools.
In visiting few of the Ivy schools I could see the propaganda and the mind games they are playing on the insecurities of the poor parents and students.
My son was accepted and choose a state college and entered Medical school where he competes with the graduates of many Ivy league schools. While he is honoring every course he takes, the Ivy Graduates are struggling.
I FULLY AGREE WITH THE VIDEO ABOVE.
IVYS NOT BETTER THAN GOOD STATE SCHOOLS
um. The reason why your friend probably didn’t get into the IVY league school is because almost everyone applying is like scoring just as high marks. It isn’t all about SAT scores…being american you should know that…its about extra-curricular and community work stuff.
You don’t have to be rich in order to score high and do extra “special” stuff. Admittedly its harder…rich kids are nurtured better, but very possible
No no no. Ivy’s aren’t about being smart. Yes, you have to be smart to get into them. Anyone who can pull off a high sat has to be smart. But they’re more about opportunity and being better than everyone else. My friend is like a genus. He owned the sat, getting an 800 in math. But he still didn’t get into an ivy. There are a lot of smart people who just aren’t rich enough. And if your not rich, you have to be really special. Otherwise all white working class males are pretty much excluded.
uh thats just your opinion..you sound a little anti-intellectual no offense.
So what if all the dumb people don’t like you..do you need their praise in the first place?
The world needs more smart people; keep up the good work, IVY league schools!
My two friends, valedictorian and second in class, are both outstanding achievers with 800s on the math of the sat and presidents of every club. I applaud them for that and I look up to them and ask them “how do you do it”? Then I overhear them talking. Every single thing they talk about involves either what will get them the highest income, what kind of car they’re gonna drive around when they’re rich, and how they envy every kid who challenges them at their status.
I’m sure that the campuses are beautiful and the people are all complete gong ho overachievers. It’s good to be an achiever. We should all try to achieve an education, and income, a few awards, etc. But when you are focused on soely being better than every human on the planet, no one really likes you.
I just don’t like ivy leagues at all because the only reason they exist is to say that they are better than everyone else. It’s true that I probably wouldn’t be able to get into one, being a white male attending a public school with working class parents. But I do not have spite towards those who get in. If I got accepted, I probably wouldn’t go. My teacher graduated from Princeton and he has the lowest salary at my school. The only ones who think ivy is so significant is the ivy’s themselves.
My finger slipped, I did not mean to “thumbs up” your comment because I think it’s crazy.
Sometimes it takes more than just reading books. Sometimes it takes actually performing the tasks yourself which can be quite expensive and only can be obtained in a university setting. Not to mention having people around w/ experience helps speed along the process of learning because you don’t need to go down nearly as many dead-ends. Why do you think people even learn from teachers? And yes, Ivy Leagues in general do give an excellent and probably the best education possible.
I agree with renix, their resources are much more vast and allows you to accomplish more, more easily.
this is NOT a good representation of the ivy league. probably less than 2% of students at those schools are there because of connections. almost everybody there is incredibly accomplished and intelligent.