Well, to be fair, advance-purchase student fare tickets will cost much less than that if you do the research right (and I’m sure this program does). When I flew to New Zealand a couple of years ago, the tickets were about $900 from LA plus $250 for the flight from Raleigh to LA; Australia is probably comparable. I’d also be surprised if the students were staying anywhere particularly expensive – my guess would be some combo of hostels, private homes, and maybe hotels which offer deep discounts to the program. A lot of the activities offered, such as hiking and snorkeling, have fairly low baseline costs. If I were going to take a similar trip on my own (and I’m half tempted), I wouldn’t expect to spend more than $2,500.
However, I’m sure there are plenty of additional costs associated with running a program for large groups of teenagers – insurance, employees’ salaries, publicity, etc. That being the case, it sounds like their prices are competitive.
If I were a parent, I’d send my kid on such a trip in a heartbeat if I couldn’t afford to take the whole family. (Not that I think parents have an obligation to pay for their child’s travels, especially if they are struggling financially, but I’d see it as a great opportunity – and an important part of the child’s education – if they can scrape the money together at all.)
Wow. We’re getting some really great input here. This is nice. Everyone gets to participate and no one is left out.
I’ve had time to sleep on this and when I woke up I thought of this.
A Modest Proposal
Perhaps the title of ‘Student Ambassador’ would have more meaning if the selection process was modified from the way it is currently done. I propose the following:
Instead of letters being mass-mailed to parents of school-age children, People to People could instead send letters to schools asking teachers and principals to selelect one child from their school who they feel deserves to be the Student Ambassador. The criteria for the selection would be based on academics, extra-curricular activity, the student’s involvement in the community, and the aspirations of the student. The names of those students would then be moved up to the next level: state. Each state would select the best qualified student who deserves to be the Student Ambassador. The student who is chosen on the state level then moves on to the national level. And that student becomes the Student Ambassador of the United States and can choose which country he/she wants to visit for an educational and enriching experience. The student’s parents, of course, would have to approve of their child embarking on such a trip. And as for paying for the trip, well I’m sure some wealthy benefactor who believes in this program would be happy to finance it.
This could be done annually. This would allow plenty of time for the selection process. Say, Susie Jones is the 2003 Student Ambassador. It would have a lot more meaning because she would have been selected out of all the other students nationwide.
If you’ll take another look at my post, you’ll see I suggested that it would paid for by a wealthy benefactor who believes in this program. Surely, People to People would be able to find someone. After all, aren’t some scholarships funded by wealthy individuals who believe in helping students?
Thank you for your input. I never looked at that way.
Personally I don’t think of students who excel academically, participate in extra-curricular activities, are involved in their community and have high aspirations as being part of an elite group of teachers’ pets. Some people would see them as students being the best that they can be, and doing it for themselves, not to be anyone’s pet. And I don’t think don’t all students who fall into this category see themselves that way either.
There are any number of international exchange programs. Selection criteria varies quite substantially. I’ve never heard of anything as restrictive as what Jeanster proposes - and I have to say that spending the thousands of dollars it would take to run all those levels of selection on selecting instead of on sending many more kids overseas would make it a terrible waste of money.
I went overseas with a fairly selective program - Rotary. There were three spots in my town, one for each Rotary club, and approximately 90 students applied for those spots. We required letters of reference, and there were several tiers of interviews before we were selected, but we didn’t compete outside of our own small geographic area.
There are any number of less selective programs, and I would imagine more selective programs as well. In my experience, the less selective a program gets, the more the parents are expected to pay for it. Selectivity ranges from the kind of ‘large pool - limited selection’ program that Rotary runs, through programs that don’t limit their number of exchanges, but do put the applicants through fairly rigorous interview processes to determine that however many people they send, they’re all reasonably capable of dealing with the stresses of it, and on to programs that will send pretty much anybody who wants to go - some for profit, some not.
I was fortunate to travel with a selective program, because they covered much of my cost (I paid for my airline tickets and any optional travelling I did within the country itself, they covered accomodations, schooling, even gave me an allowance). On the other hand, a less selective program, even if it costs more and thus selects out the poorer portion of the population, is much more accomodating because it allows people who might not be little suck-ups in high school the same opportunity to travel.
I think the program described here is a bit icky in terms of marketing, but it’s not even as evilly manipulative as say the ‘Diamonds are Forever’ commercials or your local used car dealership. In the pantheon of evil marketing, it hardly rates.
You have brought up some good points, OpalCat. Please allow me to rebuttal just a wee bit further.
The whole point of my modest proposal is to ensure that the title of Student Ambassador will really mean something. The way it currently is, basically any student whose parents can scrape together the money for it can go and be given the title ‘Student Ambassador’. (And then there’s in the interview process and writing of essays and getting recommendations) But if a student earns that title by going through the selection process I described in my modest proposal, it would be more special and have much more meaning.
Or let me put it another way. Every year we have only one actor who wins the Academy Award for best actor in (fill in the category). It means a lot to that actor. You don’t see a whole bunch of actors bearing that same title in the same category simply because they could afford to buy it, right?
And I agree with you that these sort of things are great opportunities for all kids. The ones who don’t win the title of ‘Student Ambassador’ the way I proposed it be done can still go on their own if their parents want to foot the bill for it.
In case you missed the moderator’s comment, I will quote it here:
‘I’m sending this to the BBQ Pit with one small note: I don’t see the honesty in telling parents that their child was “chosen” or “recommended” when in truth they were merely victims of a sold-for-profit mailing list. These children are not “ambassadors”-they are customers, plain and simple.’
Now, by if the program was modified following my suggestions, it would be an honest way of telling the parents of the chosen student that he/she did indeed win that title. Do you see my point?
…because an opportunity like this couldn’t possibly motivate a kid who isn’t already at the top. Couldn’t be a life changing event that sparks the creative love of knowledge in someone who may not have ever felt that…
Just because a moderator says it, doesn’t mean that it is the final word on something. I still don’t think that this is deceptive or bad or wrong.
And yes, I see your point. I just happen to think it is ridiculous.
Thank you, OpalCat. You’re entitled to your opinion, as is everyone else.
Have you ever heard of a National Spelling Bee? One person becomes the champion and then advances to the finals in Washington, D.C. That’s why I don’t think the idea of there being one final winner to be so inconceivable.
It is true that there are kids who are not already at the top. But if that kid’s parents want that child to go visit some other country and if the kid wants to go, they could still send him. They’d just have to foot the bill for it, like they’d have to do anyway the way the program is currently being operated. Either that or look into a scholarship.
I take it you haven’t looked around to see where you are. This is the SDMB. What’s more, it’s the Pit. You may want to look into growing a thicker skin and not being so touchy about things.
As for the previous post… sending your kid off to another country alone isn’t really something that IS doable without one of these programs.
I’m not sure why you think it is necessary to take a program that’s been doing just fine for a long time and make it into some sort of exclusive, exclusionary contest. It was never meant to be that.
I am aware this is the BBQ Pit. It is just unfortunate that you choose to conduct yourself in such a manner that calls for others to have to grow thicker skins and not be so touchy about things. Is it so difficult for you to conduct yourself in a manner that cannot be seen as rude?
I have conducted myself here without resorting to any flaming or name-calling or casting aspersions on the characters of the other members. It is unfortunate that you choose not to do so likewise.
If you continue to conduct yourself this way, I will report you to the moderator.
