Interest in Ad Astra, Elon Musk’s tiny, private school near Los Angeles is intense. In this story on Ars Technica, I share my thoughts, as Elon Musk observers wonder if education will be the new frontier the Space X genius plans to disrupt. –Christina
I’m excited it’s finally starting to feel like summer around here. My kids have been out of school for a few weeks and the fast pace of the school year is behind us.
My daughter, Ryann, is a rising senior at Viewpoint and my son, Dylan, is a rising freshman there. Fortunately, Ryann’s *all important* junior year is behind her and went it very well. It was an incredibly busy year, but she put in the effort and it paid off. She’ll be attending the summer program of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University to get ready to become editor in chief of Viewpoint’s school newspaper.
My son, Dylan, is spending the summer playing hoops on Viewpoint’s basketball team.
Here’s a nice Tweet from the school’s head coach, J.J. Prince.
I’ve been taking an online creative nonfiction writing class while my job as a senior editor for nonfiction at Angels Flight Literary West has slowed down for the summer. I’m also doing some freelance writing and editing.
Of course, I’ll continue to edit this blog. I’m excited to have introduced some excellent contributors who bring valuable experience in their various areas of expertise. I’m always on the lookout for parents at private schools who are interested in writing for Beyond The Brochure. I strongly believe it’s important to have a variety of voices to inform your private school admissions process.
And, we can’t talk about summer without talking about books! I just finished two fantastic books which I highly recommend.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup is the true story of Elizabeth Holmes, the Stanford dropout and founder of Theranos, the startup company she claimed would revolutionize the blood testing industry. In just a decade, it grew to a value of $9 billion, making her a very young billionaire. She was recently indicted for fraud and faces 20 years in prison. How did she con so many high-powered and sophisticated investors and board members? The answer is complicated and the story is captivating.
You Think It, I’ll Say It: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld is a book of fictional short stories filled with dark secrets, wit and chilling characters who seem ordinary at first glance. As each story unfolds and characters reveals their innermost thoughts, we realize they are ordinary only on the outside.
In my earbuds: Forever 35, a very fun podcast about beauty products by two Sephora-obsessed friends who aren’t experts but who just like serums. Writers Kate Spencer and Doree Sharfir talk about light topics like the best dupe for a pricey moisturizer and hard stuff like Doree’s struggle with IVF. Each episode features an interview with a wide range of interesting people including beauty experts, writers and actresses. Guests reveal their own self-care practices and discuss what’s in their makeup bag. Mini-episodes answer listener questions. Because the two hosts live in Los Angeles and we’re the land of extravagant self-care trends, there’s nothing too outrageous for them to tackle.