I Left My Homework in the Hamptons

What I Learned Teaching the Children of the One Percent

By: Blythe Grossberg

Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon

A captivating memoir about tutoring for Manhattan’s elite, revealing how a life of extreme wealth both helps and harms the children of the one percent.

Ben orders daily room service while living in a five-star hotel. Olivia collects luxury brand sneakers worn by celebrities. Dakota jets off to Rome when she needs to avoid drama at school.

Welcome to the inner circle of New York’s richest families, where academia is an obsession, wealth does nothing to soothe status anxiety and parents will try just about anything to gain a competitive edge in the college admissions rat race.

When Blythe Grossberg first started as a tutor and learning specialist, she had no idea what awaited her inside the high-end apartments of Fifth Avenue. Children are expected to be as efficient and driven as CEOs, starting their days with 5:00 a.m. squash practice and ending them with late-night tutoring sessions. Meanwhile, their powerful parents will do anything to secure one of the precious few spots at the Ivy Leagues, whatever the cost to them or their kids.

Through stories of the children she tutors that are both funny and shocking, Grossberg shows us the privileged world of America’s wealthiest families and the systems in place that help them stay on top.

very Well Done

I loved the book. It was informative with great insight on how the .01% are preparing their children to be just as successful as them.

Very entertaining and informative!

Should be read by every NYer who has or had a child in private school. It was a fast fun listen and very revealing.

Interesting read— especially the first and last two chapters

A little fun, a little thought provoking…looking forward to seeing what other books she’s written.

Why such bad reviews?

The title is, in many ways, misleading. I thought it was going to be a critique of the monied class of Fifth Ave, but it is more like a must-read for parents who hope to help their children get into college. This is an expert’s look into the complicated process that it is, especially if one resides in NYC, and whose children attend private school. Lesson learned: avoid having wealthy, successful, competitive parents, read The Great Gatsby and play competitive squash.
The author does not suffer from envy, but more like, pity. Pity for the lives her students must live to survive in the highly competitive universe into which they have been born.
I recommend this to anyone who is in the process of helping a child find their way through the maze of college admission. The author has written a guide of exactly what to do, and not do, keeping in mind your child’s personality, and helping them to find the right fit.

Sobering

Beautifully written, artfully read. A sobering look at the 1% as they quest for college: the struggles of the students, travails of the tutors, and the sweat equity and dollars of the parents. But before the schadenfreude sets in, there is a subtext that asks us to be more human, especially when it comes to those we brought into the world.