Topic 94. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Dancing plays an important role in a culture.

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Dancing plays an important role in a
culture. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.


Sample essay.

Dancing is an important art form, and also plays an important role in a culture. Some dance
spontaneously happens at celebrations as an expression of emotion or some happen in a more
structured manner at ceremonies.

Dancing plays an important role in ceremonial events in many cultures. For example, during the
Pukumani ceremony the dances performed reflect the relationship to the deceased. In Lebanon,
the classical belly dancing still plays an important part at weddings, representing the transition
from virgin bride to sensual woman, and is also popular in nightclubs. On the other hand, residents
of the Greenland believe that the dancing and drum can be used as a tool to dissolve conflicts
between people.

As we may see from the above examples, dancing is an integral part of many cultures. Of course,
dancing does not have the same functions in our modern life, but many people in our society still
find dancing an enjoyable form of entertainment and art. Young people go to disco with their
friends to release their energies, and they find dancing a good way to relax and make friends.
Older people dance together as a social event and a good means of exercise. In addition, many
people go to theatres to enjoy performances of ballet and modern dances. Enjoying those beautiful
dancing, music and costumes in a dance performance, can give us a beautiful experience, and help
us develop appreciation of art, and enrich our after work life.

In conclusion, no one can deny that dancing plays an important role in a culture.

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Follow Your NOLA

The New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation has this super cool site called Follow Your NOLA where you can select your favorite spots in town to eat, drink, dance, shop and just soak up all that this city has to offer. You can follow other people's NOLA, including Emeril Lagasse or Anthony Bourdain or just use the site to find new places to explore during your visit to town.

I thought it might be cool for the admission staff here at Tulane to create their own Follow Your NOLA tracks so you can see our favorite hangouts and where you are likely to find us when we are not traveling to our recruitment territories and reading your fine applications (or participating in our other extracurricular activities!). You can get to know more about your admission counselor here and then click below to see the top tips from each of our staff members, starting with the man in charge of it all. Enjoy!

Follow Earl Retif, our VP of Enrollment Management's NOLA here. 

Follow my NOLA here! 

Follow Andrew's NOLA here! 

Follow Hannah's NOLA here! 

Follow Holly's NOLA here! 

Follow Leila's NOLA here! 

Follow Lindsey's NOLA here! 

Follow Tim's NOLA here! 

Follow Val's NOLA here! 

Follow Morgan's NOLA here! 

Follow Rachael's NOLA here! 

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CAE/ CPE When is it OK to use contractions?

Contractions are regarded as informal and spoken. Therefore it is advisable not to use contractions in formal writing.

 

When doing the writing paper in the CAE or CPE exam, it is important to read the task carefully. The kind of text we have to write will determine whether we use a formal or informal style:

 

Proposals, reports, essays and letters to the editor or letters of complaint are formal documents. It means it is preferable not use contractions in them.

 

Letters/e-mails to friends and articles for a students´magazine are informal pieces of writing. It is quite safe to use contraction in them.

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CAE Writing Paper 2014

What pieces of writing to expect in the CAE exam this year?

From the official Cambridge web page:

"Candidates are expected to write non-specialised text types, with a focus on advising, comparing, evaluating, expressing opinions, hypothesising, justifying and persuading. Candidates need to be prepared to write a variety of text types – they are not told the topics and text types in advance of the exam. Text types will include:

• an article
• a contribution to a longer piece
• an essay
• information sheets
• a letter
• a proposal
• a report
• a review
• a competition entry."

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Academic Matters

Students have become arrogant of late. I noticed that during my last years of professorship, and I find it confirmed by what I hear and read these days. When I say that in my days we were not like that, I am not being a laudator temporis acti—a bit of Latin that shouldn’t stump anyone, except perhaps some of today’s students.

The problem has nothing to do with human nature, only with the temper of the times. My student days were before political correctness, before affirmative action, before not being allowed to call someone stupid, least of all if he or she actually was. It was certainly before a teacher was not supposed (allowed?) to flunk anyone. The whole purpose of education has changed: then it was about learning; now it is about getting a degree as a means to a better job and more money.

To be sure, I was a student at Harvard, whereas I was a teacher at much less distinguished schools, although for all I know, even Harvard may no longer be Harvard. Still, the country was respectful of the kind of knowledge a decent liberal arts program bestowed on you. This is no longer the case. On the day I write this (May 19), I was watching Jeopardy! with one young woman a multiple six-figure winner, and two other contestants who too were on the ball.                                                                    

As usual, they did well enough in various areas, but were unimpressive in literature. They did not know what Conrad novel featured a Jim whom respectful natives deemed a lord. Nor did they know the name of the evil hypnotist who enslaved a lovely, innocent young woman. In my day, even people who had not read Trilby knew what was meant by a Svengali.

But back to current students. In today’s Times, an article appears under the headline “Warning: The Literary Canon Could make Students Squirm.” (This, by the way, was not the case of a subliterate headline, such as we got from the Times of May 10, which began: “Obama, Aggravated by Gridlock” etc.) Now we got responsible reportage about what was happening on a good many campuses, concentrating on the University of California, Santa Barbara and Oberlin College, but with references also to Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, George Washington University and other schools where there were student requests for what are known as trigger warnings.

The term, like other unfortunate things, originated on the Internet, specifically on feminist blogs and subsequent forums. But I am concerned with its academic life and what it tells us about student demands and certain professors’ and administrators’ taking them seriously, in some cases even deferring to them.

What it comes down to is the idea that students in certain literature and film courses should be forewarned  about disturbing elements that could upset the poor darlings if they were unprepared for them. Which means, in effect, that the element of surprise and wonder should be denied some great works of literature and cinema, lest they cause moments of discomfiture.

Who are these students anyway? Are they four-year-olds who need to be warned by their nannies about the dangers of crossing a street? Must they, as it were, be taken by the hand and led to safety? “Careful about oncoming cars.” “Careful about painful deaths or a horrid rape in this novel, which may upset you.”

But reading or seeing a great work should precisely put you at the creator’s mercy—how else would you learn from him or her? If authors want to surprise you, starkly and startlingly, they should be allowed to do so without warning. Any student who needs that kind of help has something seriously wrong with him, and may need psychological assistance; the work of art needs no such help.

I am especially struck by the attitude of Bailey Loverin, who in her picture looks perfectly normal. A sophomore at Santa Barbara, she said “the idea came to her . . .  after a professor showed a graphic film depicting rape. She said that she herself had been the victim of sexual abuse, and that although she had not felt threatened by the film, she had approached the professor to suggest that students should have been warned.”

What makes her reaction reprehensible? First of all, the arrogance of assuming such superiority to other students. If she, despite good reason, wasn’t upset by the film, maybe there wasn’t anything in it that could upset any normal person, even given past incidents. So why complain to the professor, unless perhaps to show off.

The real issue here is the nature of this being upset. Does it mean anything more than feeling intensely sorry for the victim, although it was only a movie or a novel? Such empathy is by no means amiss. It may prove, if anything, therapeutic. If it produces anything more drastic than that, look not to mollycoddling but to therapy.

A student who has a violent reaction strikes me as sick. Moreover, I don’t see how being warned can make much a difference. A predicted hurt is ultimately just as hurtful as an unpredicted one. Tell me I am about to get a beating and forthwith the beating becomes painless? And what way is there to prepare after such a  warning? With stringent physical exercise? With a specially invigorating meal? With clutching a pet dog or cat you brought along to the screening? With taking some sort of anti-anxiety medication? In the case of a book, must you skip pages 154 to 163? Or, safest of all, not read such a dangerous book as “The Great Gatsby” or “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” cited in the article as trauma-inducing.

At Oberlin College, a draft guide was circulated “asking professors to put trigger warning in their syllabuses” concerning the following, which “might cause trauma.” They are: racism, classism. heterosexism, cissexism, ableism and “other issues of privilege and oppression.” Because even the adult reader might need some warning, the Times explained cissexism as “anything that would suggest the inferiority of anyone who is transgender [sic[ This neologism, may need explication. But anyone can figure out the equally clumsy “ableism.”

I particularly savor the horror of “classism.” Visualize a movie in which a glamorous hostess refuses to invite her hairdresser to a party, and then imagine the convulsions and nausea afflicting the more sensitive spectators.

What arrogance—or stupidity—from these Oberlin petitioners. If professors put such a warning in the course catalogue, there would be no shortage of students avoiding that course altogether to their eventual impoverishment. After a while, the school would drop such a course, to the disadvantage of all potential students.

But whereas student benightedness may come as no surprise, faculty pusillanimity does. TheTimes article quotes Meredith Raimondo, Oberlin’s associate dean of  the College of Arts and Sciences, as declaring that “providing students with warnings would simply be responsible pedagogical practice.’” She explains that “We have students coming to us with serious issues, and we need to deal with that respectfully and seriously.”

Allow me an obiter dictum on the use of “issues.” People nowadays no longer have problems or difficulties, they have ”issues.” I myself have problems with this use of “issues,” unless I am mishearing, and what is said “is shoes.” Too tight, too high-heeled, too expensive. But back to the students.

If it were up to me, it would be compulsory to take courses that might upset them. We may have reached the point where students can be taught only by shock treatment. Profoundly upset students would be immediately recognizable as needful of psychological help, which could accordingly be administered. Such trigger warning to the faculty and administration might prevent later, more serious student breakdowns.

But if the students are merely displaying fake altruism as a form of self-importance, (like, I suspect, Bailey Loverin), let them not benefit from someone like Associate Dean Raimondo, who says, “I quite object to the argument of ‘Kids today need to toughen up.’ That absolutely misses the reality that we’re dealing with.” I share the objection. Kids, for the most part, are tough enough. It’s the professors and administrators who need toughening.

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HOW TO WRITE A REPORT FOR CAE/ CPE

A report is a formal document you write to a figure of authority to describe an experience such as attending a conference or taking part in a project. Therefore it is expected to be a rather formal text, well-organised into sections and with proper language.

1. The organisation of a Report

A report should have a title and subtitles (or subheadings) and be divided into clear sections. There is usually an introduction and a conclusion. Click here to see example.

2. Useful language / Phrases to use in a Report.

In the introduction

- The aim of this report is to...

- The purpose of this report is to outline...

- This report will also provide some recommendations on...

In the conclusion

- I strongly recommend...ing

- It would be highly advisable to...

- I would no doubt suggest...ing

- I also believe we should...

Click here to see example

3. The use of formal language in a Report

Avoid using contractions in reports as they are too informal. Write "I would like to recommend..." instead of "I´d like to recommend..."

Another thing to avoid is using idioms and phrasal verbs as they tend to be spoken and informal.

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ADVISE OR ADVICE?

In British English advise (with "s") is the verb; and advice (with "c") is the noun. Let´s check some examples:

Advise (verb)

- I advise you not to go to Peru in this time of the year. It´s better to go in January.

- She advised me to take the FCE exam in June.

Advice (noun/uncountable)

- Listen to my advice and go to Peru in January when it´s sunny.

- Her advice was to take the FCE exam in June.

.....

*Note: Because advice is uncountable, it´s not possible to say advices. 

Incorrect: She gave me advices.
Correct: She gave me some advice. 

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DISCURSIVE ESSAY OR OPINION ESSAY?

A discursive ( or "for and against" ) essay is different from an opinion essay. In an opinion essay, the writer starts out stating his/her opinion; in a discursive essay, the writer gives a balanced view and in the conclusion can either state his/her opinion or give a summary of both sides of the argument.

 

Source: "Speak Out" by Eales Frances and Oakes S.

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CPE ARTICLE

An international current affairs magazine has invited readers to contribute articles entitled ‘ Globalisation- good news or bad ?’ for its next issue. You decide to write an article explaining your personal views on this topic.

280_ 320 words

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let’s go global

I disagree strongly with the idea that globalisation is a threat to traditional symbols, culture and identities. The way I see it, it is a reality which is provoking a sweeping change in our lifestyles.

No need to say that the Internet, the social networks, the mobile phone and the free access telephone services like skype have not only great accessibility but truly have brought people from all around the world much closer. 

"Personally, I can hardly do without these useful tools of communication. They enable me to stay in touch with my distant family and also to find and share information with different people who have the same interests as mine."

Besides, I find people less confined to one culture and identity, they are more open to new ideas and experiences. Being connected to others lead, thus, to a better understanding of our differences. Do not this prove that we all can be more open-minded and tolerant to others?

Another positive aspect of globalisation is discovering new clothes, new food and new products which come from the western culture. Now we have cheaper access to brands like Coca-Cola, Mc Donald and Nike. And that’s not all because companies can now boost their economy by expanding  and reaching new customers overseas.

But there is more, thanks to low-cost air companies  people  travel much more than in the past. I remember the time when my parents had to tighten their belt for a vacation to a one-hour-distance place. We can see a real betterment for the enjoyment of everybody. In that, we can extend our knowledge when visiting other countries and even habe more job opportunities.

All in all, I can say that globalisation is good news. It generates easier ways to do business, interlinks countries and creates a better standard of living. All things considered why are we so afraid of globalisation since it is confirmed to make people happier?

By SYB

CPE blogger from France

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AND WHAT IF MY MIND GOES BLANK?

Perhaps what I find more challenging in the CPE exam is writing an article. There is no magical formula for them, nor fixed phrases that you can memorise in order to use them in the exam (such as "the aim of this report is to..." or "dear Sir or Madam".)

It used to terrify me to think I could be asked to write about a topic I know nothing about, or that I could lose 20 minutes looking for interesting title or a good way to start.

 

So what´s the trick to successfully write an article? Is there one? Well, I found one, although I´m not sure it will work for everyone. When my mind goes blank in the middle of a writing exam, I always remember what my best friend told me once:

 

"Si no sabes cómo comenzar, empieza diciendo la verdad".

"Just start by telling the truth if you don´t know how to start." 

 

And I always to that.

 

 ..........

Read some SAMPLE ARTICLES

A nostalgic trip to BA

Life and the city






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES VOCABULARY

One of the books you are advised to read before taking the CPE exam is Sue Monk Kidd's "The secret life of bees". The book is full of very useful vocabulary. This comes from chapter 1 of the book.

BRISTLE ROLLERS

PEACH ORCHARD (an area of land devoted to the cultivation of peaches)

DUCKTAIL (hairstyle/ wear your hair in a ducktail)

SOCK HOP (a dance/ an event in which teenagers gathered in the school to dance in the USA in the 1950s)

KNEEL ON GRITS (  a very cruel form of punishment )

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USING TWO-PART PHRASES IN WRITINGS

Using two-part phrases will help you enhance your writing for an international exam such as CAE, CPE or IELTS.

Try using some of these two-part phrases the next time you write a letter/ essay/ article/ story...

LEAPS AND BOUNDS
                                                         PROS AND CONS
ROUGH AND READY
                                                        UPS AND DOWNS
THROUGH AND THROUGH
                                                        GIVE AND TAKE


Examples

Any skill such as playing the violin improves in leaps and bounds if you practise enough. (article)

Even though our relationship had its ups and downs, I was sure that ours was a match made in heaven. (story)

It would be infinitely preferable to take into consideration the pros and cons of building a new factory before making a final decision. (formal letter)


...............
Students´samples:

I’m sick and tired of having to queue every time I go to the bank.

There are pros and cons to travelling abroad alone.

I´m learning to speak English in leaps and bounds.

I´m an Italian food fan through and through.

I don´t like romantic films. They go on and on.

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CPE PHRASAL VERBS

WANT TO CHECK YOUR ANSWERS? CLICK HERE

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SADDLE SOMEBODY WITH SOMETHING

This week´s phrasal verb is " saddle with."

 

Definition: To make someone have a job or problem that is difficult or boring and that they do not want.

 

Examples:

 

I´ve been saddled with organising the whole party.

 

Many farms were saddled with debts.

 

I´ve been saddled with the job of writing a report of the college´s olympic games.

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CPE VOCABULARY IN PICTURES

A HEAP OF STRAW

                              


MOULDY BREAD

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GRIN LIKE A CHESHIRE CAT

To be grinning like a cheshire cat means to be incredibly happy.

The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and known for its distinctive mischievous grin.

Example: "She fancied him. It was as clear as water to us. As he talked to her she couldn´t help grinning like a cheshire cat."

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Topic 93: Many students have to live with roommates while going to school or university. What are some of the important qualities of a good roommate?

Many students have to live with roommates while going to school or university. What are some
of the important qualities of a good roommate? Use specific reasons and examples to explain why
these qualities are important.

Sample essay 1.

At first glance it seems very difficult for us to define what are the important qualities of a good
roommate. However, after serious considerations we can see that under most circumstances, a
good roommate should at least have the following three qualities.

First of all, a good roommate should be open and willing to communicate. There are always issues
regarding rent, bills, food and household duties, guests, privacy, noises, sharing and borrowing, to
name a few, and interests and hobbies of roommates are not always the identical. There will
always be conflicts among roommates. When problems or conflicts arise, roommates must openly
discuss the issue and quickly reach a solution to the problem. In addition, a successful roommate
situation requires good communication. Take time to talk frequently to each other; chatting with
each other helps keep up the basic relationship which can provide the underpinning for a
harmonious relationship. Therefore open and willing to communicate is the first important quality
of a good roommate.

Secondly, an important quality of a good roommate is considerate and understanding. A good
roommate understands what you need; He is a good friend and a good listener, and offer you help
when you need it. Of course, you should not depend on your roommate to satisfy all your social
needs. Make other friends and get involved in activities is also important, and could leave more
private time for your roommate.

The third important quality of a good roommate is that he should be a hard worker, and have the
desire to do better. As we know, roommates will always influence each other in some ways. As an
old Chinese proverb, one who mixes with vermilion will turn red, one who touches pitch shall be
defiled therewith. So like choosing a friend, it is very important to choose a roommate who has
good qualities.

Of course, some roommates eat and socialize separately and barely get to know each other. They
never become friends. Still, if your roommate possesses the above-mentioned qualities, your
residential life will be peaceful and enjoyable.

Sample essay 2.

The important qualities of a good roomate

We become more independent and learn more life experience while live without families, but your roommates. However, to live with other people is neither easy nor difficult. You should learn how to be a good roommate, basically.

Believe or not, dormitory life is a extremly happy thing. You make new friends, experience
independece, difficulties and enjoy the freedom. But all of these are base on your behaves as a
good roommate.

Firstly, you should know how to respect people. Not only your roommate, also people around you.
It is the most important factor in our communications. Whatever what is your background, you
are the same as your roommates, you guys are all equal. To respect your roommate, respect their
religions and cultures. Do not laugh at enthetic people or racism. That is rude and stupid. We
should respect what God created for us. Besides, you must respect your roommates' privacy,
everyone have right to have their secrets.

Take your duty and responsibility. You can not ingore and think about those are negligible. Do not
tend to ask your mates to do things what you have to do. Remember, no one will like a lazy and
irresponsible roommate. In general, you should help to cleaning, put litter bags to dustheap, put
things back after you used .To be quite when others are studying, take care of your men is another
factor among.

In addition, You are one of members of your dormitory. Do not hide yourself behind, you are
buddy of your roommates. Try to share your ideas, experience of study and life, your happiness
etc. And you listen to your mates experience as well. Take care of your mates You dormitory will
be lively then.

All in all, as long as you enjoy your dormitory life, get well with your friends, then you should be a
good roommate. Whatever what you experiences, those of them will be a beautiful memorial of
your rest of life. TRY IT.

(This is a 5 point essay)

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Today´s idiom: Red Tape

The idiom RED TAPE  refers to excessive rules and regulations, bureaucratic details and delays.

Example: I´m glad to announce I´ve made it through the red tape. The embassy has granted me a VISA so I´m going on holidays to Germany. ( = I have finally managed to get a VISA so I can travel.)

Visit our Facebook Fan Page for more Idioms.

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USING ADVERBS TO WRITE DESCRIPTIVELY

It´s vitally important to be able to use adverbs in the CAE/ CPE exams. When writing a book or film review, for example, it is fundamental to write descriptively. This will cause a very positive effect on the reader/ examiner

Useful phrases

poignantly        directed by              (*note: poignant meaning touching or moving)
convincingly    directed by
skilfully            directed by

poignantly        acted by
convincingly    acted by
skilfully            acted by

highly                  praised by
overwhelmingly  praised by
widely                 praised by


harshly                criticised by        (*note: harshly meaning severely )
overwhelmingly  criticised by
widely                 criticised by


Examples:

The 1998 Warner Bros film was skilfully directed by Griffin Dunne.

Even though Practical Magic was widely criticised, I still consider it my favourite movie.

*For further reference see book SpeakOut by Frances Eales and Steve Oakes. /Pearson.


Visit our Facebook Page for more writing tips

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Topic 92: Some people prefer to live in places that have the same weather or climate all year long. Others like to live in areas where the weather changes several times a year. Which do you prefer?

Some people prefer to live in places that have the same weather or climate all year long. Others
like to live in areas where the weather changes several times a year. Which do you prefer? Use
specific reasons and examples to support your choice.

Sample essay.

There is no denying the fact that whether to choose a place that have the same weather all year
long, or a place where the weather changes several times a year is a popular topic which is much
talked about. Although it seems that normally we cannot tell which one outweigh the other
between these two kinds of places, they deserve some close examination.

If three criteria were taken into account, I would prefer living in areas where the weather changes
several times a year to living in places that have the same weather or climate all year long. There
are no less than three advantages in this as rendered below.

First, varied weather or climate broadens the range of our pastimes. For example, we can go
swimming in summer and go skiing in winter. If the place we live in has only hot weather all year
long, like Singapore, most of us can never go skiing in our lives.

Secondly, the change of climate gives us opportunities to wear many kinds of clothes. Some say it
is a waste of money to buy clothes depending on seasons. However, wearing various clothes,
looking at others’ fashion, and feeling the change of seasons is very interesting for me.

Thirdly, changing of seasons is good for our health. When winter comes our body’s metabolism
slows down, and when summer comes it speeds up, so that our body can maintain a good rhythm.
Also snows in the winter can kill a lot of bacteria and bad insects, so that in the spring our chance
of being infected to a disease is decreased and we can enjoy nice atmosphere and sceneries.

For these reasons, I prefer to live in areas that have several changes of weather. Only these three
reasons can make a person draw the conclusion that living in areas that have season changes is
better, not to mention there are more.

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10 Tips for Parents

May 1st has come and gone! After the dust settles in a few days, I'll get a post together all about our incredible incoming class of 2018. We are super excited for how this year went for Tulane. Stay tuned for details.

In the meantime, the lovely moms over at KnowsyMoms blog were kind enough to send me their list of Top Ten Tips for parents of new college students. This means YOU, moms and dads of future class of '18ers. If you have some time, check out their blog. Lots of great stuff posted there. You can get more info on Tulane-specific parent programming here.

Let's hear what the KnowsyMoms have to say...

Sending your kids off to college is a big deal. There’s lots to do and lots to know. Decisions to be made (some needing your input) and stuff to do to get them ready to make the big move to college. As parents who have been through it, we’re here to help. Here’s a list of essential things to know before they go.

1) Housing options abound!
For students not living at home during college, there are a myriad of choices. During the summer before freshman year, your kid will be asked for their housing preferences and may want your input. Check the college website to find out about roommate selection, the type of housing available.

2) Orientation helps ease the transition.
It’s an important and fun event where freshmen learn about the campus, academic offerings and college life, take necessary placement exams, connect with advisors, get to know their classmates, and register for courses.

3)  Shopping for the dorm room can be therapeutic.
Once you know where your kid is going to college, you’ll probably start to get nostalgic and teary. Shopping helps. Get your kid the stuff they’ll need to settle nicely into their new home away from home. Read more about how to shop for college here.

4) Financial responsibility begins now.
Besides tuition, room and board, there will be other expenses at college: textbooks, school supplies, and spending money for that occasional night out. It’s important to discuss in advance how these expenses will be handled and who will pay for what. Establishing good financial habits and expectations before they go to college can save a lot of headaches (and money) later.

5)  Health matters.
You may notice a line item on your student’s tuition bill for student health insurance, as well as a required fee for on-campus student health services. If your student is covered by private health insurance (your policy or their own), they may be able to opt out of the college health insurance by completing a waiver. Check the college website for insurance waiver requirements, to download the form, and note the deadline! Regardless, they will most likely still have to pay the health services fee that enables them to visit the student health center when they are sick or need other services.

6) All colleges can be party schools.
No matter what you've heard about the reputation of the college your kid will be attending, don’t be fooled – almost all colleges grapple with issues relating to excessive drinking and drug use, as well as sexual assault and a number of other social issues. Before they leave for college, have a discussion about these issues and making healthy choices. You may not think they are listening, but they will hear you. More tips about taking about partying here.

7) The summer before freshman year is trippy.
Chances are you’ll be a bit of an emotional wreck – missing your kid before they've had a chance to leave, alternating with wishing they would just go already. There’s a lot of push-pull going on the summer before freshman year. It’s okay, and it actually makes it easier to say goodbye to them at the end of the summer! They need to go and you need them to go so you can begin the next phase of your life. Besides, they’ll be back on break before you know it!

8) Colleges want your kid to succeed.
Most schools offer a variety of on-campus resources for mental health, special needs and disabilities, academics, and career services, but many kids are reluctant to use them. Parents can help by knowing what resources are available and encouraging their kids to take advantage of them if the need arises.

9) The big move doesn't have to stress you out.
As you shop (see # 3 above), think about how you are going to get all your college kid’s stuff to campus. Will you be driving, flying, shipping boxes, or purchasing items locally? Read more on this here.

10) Colleges like parents. Sort of.
Let’s start with a basic truth: You are not the one going to college. Therefore, colleges prefer (and most insist) that your kids manage their own lives – meaning they are the ones to call or email their professors, visit the dean, stay in touch with their advisors, go to health services when they are sick, etc. But colleges do like parents and want them to be involved in some degree. Read more about staying in touch and letting go here.

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How Valuable Is Rarity?

A good many people are content to be part of the ordinary multitude. A good many others are not thus content. There is the not infrequent desire to be special, outstanding, even unique. This translates into becoming powerful or, more modestly, interestingly different. But how is that difference, let alone power, achievable?

It isn’t easy. One way is to be, or become, very rich. Yet that registers as special mostly to the degree one is envied by everyone else. This can require great zeal or great indolence as well as money; we read about millionaires, men or women, for whom wealth brought only misery.

Such people were unhappily or multiply married, with usually highly publicized divorces, perhaps as a kind of serial rather than simultaneous polygamy. This means a media-begotten celebrity, though not of the kind that most seekers would welcome. So what are other, better ways of achieving fame?

It could be by the youth and beauty of an elderly nabob’s trophy wife. The downside of that is that most of such celebrity goes to the wife rather than to the nabob. Reflected glory is, after all, a second-rate sort of distinction. But there are other kinds of extraordinariness more greatly prized. One of them is an impressive art collection.

That would require an appreciable amount of Rembrandts, Picassos or Van Goghs. (Pathetic, by the way, when you think how unsold and impoverished Vincent was during his lifetime. And how many millions even his lesser works go for nowadays.) The good thing about a major art collection is the number of ways you can score with it.

One, of course, is just by reveling in it. Then there is promising it posthumously to some major museum. Another way is to offer it up for sale, and collecting big money thereby. Still another is to start your own museum, with your name attached to it. Moreover, it devolves to your glory just that you collected such a lofty thing as art, rather than, say, vintage automobiles, which requires much more space and is less readily displayable.

Now, speaking of space, what demands less of it than postage stamps? Of all types of collection, stamps may be the most convenient, but also the most questionable. There are, to be sure, some desperate souls who claim practical benefits from philately. They allege that you learn things about geography or, better yet, history from stamps. These can display historic figures, historic locations, historic events, familiarity with which enriches the lives of collectors.

Alas, when it comes to learning history, history books are preferable by far to stamps. What good is it, for instance, to learn that there was a major exhibition in such and such a year in Chicago? And does it profit us greatly to possess in miniature the face of, say, the inventor of the sewing machine or the last czar of Russia? Why, even Madame Curie can be duly revered without owning her countenance on a postage stamp. But, you say, what if a stamp is a miniature work of art?

This, I regret to say, happens more often in Europe than in America. And whereas art on your wall does something for you, your kinfolk, and your visiting friends, what good is a tiny artwork buried in an album, and not to be steadily viewed? It is about as good as a fine painting hung face to the wall.

This is where rarity comes in. I read in the Times of May 2 about what may be the rarest postage stamp of all, the One-Cent Magenta from British Guiana, of which there is only one surviving specimen in the entire world. The newspaper refers to it as the Mona Lisa of stamps, and observes that it should fetch, at the forthcoming auction at Sotheby’s, somewhere between ten and twenty million dollars.

Yet it is not even as famous, or as upside–down, as the Inverted Jenny, a stamp of which there exist a hundred. A rather blurred picture of the One-Cent Magenta appears in the Times, which does not even clearly reveal what it depicts, namely “a workmanlike image of a schooner and a Latin motto that translates as ‘we give and we take in return.’” All that is clear in this newspaper illustration is the stamp’s octagonal shape, unusual enough, but probably not quite worth ten million, let alone twenty.

But yes, there is that rarity, that stamp’s uniqueness. Still, why should rarity, or even uniqueness, be worth that much? Let’s say you have a gorgeous girlfriend of Hollywood caliber or, better yet, as beautiful as a Botticelli Venus. Let us even assume that, should you be able to sell her, she’d bring in, being a rare specimen, a hefty sum. But ten or twenty million? I suspect not.

The rarity business strikes me as altogether spurious. Why should rare be synonymous with precious? If everyone owned a Maserati, Lomberghini or Rolls-Royce, would that make it less satisfying to own? If your girlfriend were the last remaining woman on earth to look like Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth or Marilyn Monroe, would that make her better company at the breakfast table, to say nothing of between the sheets?

I think rarity is vastly overrated, in stamps or anything else. But there it is. So gold is worth more than copper, even though it wouldn’t, in my esteem, look appreciably better than copper in a frying pan. Whatever beauty gold possesses need not in itself justify its enormous price. It is the rarity that does it. There was a Gold Rush; there could never be an Aluminum Rush. And then consider platinum, which, if you ask me, doesn’t even look as good as chrome.

Which brings me back to envy and to one of its provokers, the boast. Face it: most if not all of us enjoy being able to boast about something. Whether it’s your son getting straight A’s in his senior year in high school, your wife’s fabulous beef Stroganoff, your ancestors’ trip on the Mayflower, or the impermeability of your trench coat (or perhaps just its brand: Burberry); all those are things to boast about.  And yet they are not all that rare—think how many people must own Burberry trench coats. But it’s a brand, and not inexpensive, hence less ordinary, more prestigious, than the one you picked up out of desperation when you were caught in the rain in Podunk.

Granted that either garment will keep you dry, the British one is more rare; it alone is not only proof against the rain but also proof of your affluence, and of your rare good taste.

Still, rarity may in some cases be an actual disadvantage. Say you have a rare disease, or are a rare visitor to a watering place long since gone out of fashion.

What no one wants may easily be as rare as what everyone wants. Hula-Hoops, a year after they ceased to be (briefly) in fashion, have become hard to find, but does their unstylish rarity confer prestige on their tacky possessors?

Let us, however, beware of the opposite error and assume that all rarity is meaningless and absurd when overvalued. It is very rare to live to be a hundred, but is the rarity of being that old a privilege or a drag for its possessor and the caretakers? Like so much else, rarity is what you make of it.

Which reminds me of a tale by Anatole France, which I read as a youth. I recall it somewhat dimly, but no less approvingly. A mighty but troubled ruler is told by a seer that he will be happy only when he wears the shirt of a truly happy man. He orders his flunkies to find him such a shirt. Needless to say, they head for the abodes of the rich.

Yet all the wealthy turn out to be variously unhappy. One rich man, for example, takes these seekers onto his terrace, affording a magnificent view of his vast lands. But, as he points out, way out there is a barely visible, thin column of smoke rising from a chimney, which ruins the view for him. And so on, with mogul after mogul.

Finally, however, the searchers come across a shepherd who sings merrily while contentedly tending to his flock, and is of manifest good cheer. They fall upon him, tear off his jacket and lo, poor as he is, he doesn’t even own a shirt.

The moral of the story is that happiness is a wonderful thing but has nothing to do with rareness. It depends not on disposables but on disposition. Neither rarity nor frequency is of itself a good thing

So there is something very arbitrary about automatically valuing things for how rare they are. Or how not rare they are. What comes closest to real value is quite independent of quantity, whether profuse or scanty. But neither is it a nonsensical concept. If you love mashed potatoes, you love them equally whether you get them once a month or once a week.

Yet what a different world this would be if value were universally recognized as totally independent of rarity. If imitation leather were considered no worse than the genuine, provided it looked as good and functioned as dependably. How many of us moderately well off would then be as contented as the rich.

A better world, one likes to think. But then again, is that rare thing, excellence—or, better yet, perfection, if such a thing is possible—not to be sought? Of course it is. So I would say that a talent for surgery, is an admirable thing, however rare or not; whereas a gift for solving crossword puzzles, however rare or not, is of no great consequence.

Then to acquire the One-Cent Magenta, except for the purpose of selling it, would hardly be worth the effort. On the other hand, the opportunity and ability to enjoy the great arts, any and all of them, is well worth any number of One-Cent Magentas. But hold on: if any number existed, they wouldn’t be Mona Lisas in the first place. No better, in fact, than what you could purchase at your neighborhood Post Office.

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