I read an article about how seniors at Gunn and Palo Alto High Schools in California are dealing with college rejection.  Rather than crying their eyes out, they are posting their rejection letters on a wall at their high school for all to see.

For the “trophy” generation, I think this is a bold move.  On the whole, we haven’t been exposed to rejection as much as our parent’s and grandparent’s generations.  For example, in our High School District we have 3 softball teams - Varsity, Junior Varsity and C-team.  Everyone makes a team, even if they’ve never played before.  There are pros and cons to this approach.  If there’s no fear of failure, more students will participate.  But if we don’t experience rejection, we won’t learn to cope.

For many, college rejection may be the first time a student faces “failure.”  Because we don’t experience at overcoming rejection, getting an “ ”I realize this is disappointing news” letter from the college of your choice can be devastating.  By creating a “Rejection Wall” for students to share this rejection, we can lighten the mood and cope with the disappointment.

I think it’s a great idea.  Maybe when I’m a senior I will create a rejection blog.  If you have a letter you’d like me to post, send it to chloe.mays@gmail.com.