Wednesday, August 24, 2011

ECSWL
(East Coast School With Lobster)

Thirty One kids from Piedmont's class of 2011 enrolled in a UC. Can that be accurate? For heaven’s sake, I think we should go back and check those numbers. It wouldn’t make sense that with all the Piedmont whippitty-do about our outstanding schools that only a handful are being admitted to the UCs. Heck, if that's the case, you could save yourself a bundle and buy a house in…gasp..Oakland! Or, what about Colorado, Arizona or Oregon...the places with the most sought after colleges? I have to say that I'm happy to hear kids are tossing aside all the stress and anxiety of choosing a school based on academics, test scores and such and not succumbing to the rigors necessary to gain acceptance into the UC system. I'm glad to know that things such as a love of lobster and abundance of sports are now the motivating factors. You know, one should never underestimate the impact a really good lobster meal can have on person. I have to say that having experienced, first hand, the epicurean pleasure of one of the legendary lobster rolls from Belle Isle back in East Boston, I can certainly understand how one would be vexed with the gut wrenching decision...UC or ECSWL (East Coast school with lobster)??? That's a tough one and it isn't made any easier when you throw in the fact that a UC , take Cal for instance, offers only a paltry 7,000 courses and 350 degree programs. Actually, that sounded like a lot to me but, apparently the other more popular universities offer more. The increasing tuition for the UC system also makes it a tougher sell...according to the Post's July 27th article. Heck, why would you pay $12,000- $14,000 in tuition to send your child to a UC when you can send them to Colorado, Oregon or Arizona for $30,000- $50,000? Wait. That doesn't make sense. Sheesh! That's more than twice as much! Must have gotten my numbers wrong...my apologies. Anyway, I certainly understand the problem of larger class sizes at the UCs. Naturally, smaller classes would be better and since the average UC class size for 74% of the undergraduate classes is less than 30 and 29 at University of Arizona....well, that one extra student can be a real scale-tipper. In all honesty, the lobster advantage is also really significant and shouldn't be underestimated. Combine that with the abundance of sports at these other schools and the UC's embarrassing lack of a cricket team and you've got a real quagmire on your hands! But, ya know what? It's great to have options. And knowing that Piedmont's graduating Seniors were well prepared and could have attended one of the UCs had they wanted to, is reassuring. After all, the UC system has, historically, been the unspoken goal, right? Sure, there'll always be a smattering of kids that are destined for Ivy or other elites but, for the most part, the standard in Piedmont has been a UC. So, for heaven's sake...three cheers to the Piedmont Unified School District for instilling in it's students the courage and independence to break away from the staid UC path and follow their passion to Boulder, Arizona, Oregon and charming East coast hamlets with plenty of lobster. Just knowing how well prepared they are fills me to the brim with plaid-skirt pride!

P.S. This just in...turns out Cal actually does have a cricket team! Well, who the heck knew that?!? But, ya' know what? I bet they're not very good.