Are you worried that your kids will be burned out by their academically intense high school?

[Anonymous]

I remember meeting a woman whose daughter was a senior at Sidwell (this was many years ago- probably at least 10) and she was encouraging her daughter to go to the University of Colorado or some similar school so she could ski and enjoy life. Apparently the kid was so streesed out and burned out by Sidwell (according to the mother) that she needed to go to a less intense college.

This was long before I had kids but it has always made me question sending my kids to an intense high school. I personally would rather get a great college education than go to a great high school (not that you can't get one at Colorado or any other state school, but that seems unlikely if you are burned out, and this mother was encouraging her to just chill out and spend her time skiing in college).

We are in an ok part of the MoCo system. We are not in one of the top high schools (my kids are just starting elementary). Part of me would like to move to a better school district, but this issue really concerns me. I don't want my kids completely burned out by the time they are ready for college, and I don't want them to be in a super-competetive environment. At the same time, I wish that I had been better prepared for college (though it all turned out well for me by the end, the first year was much harder for me than for my classmates who had gone to elite private and public schools).

[Anonymous]

I'm a little worried, though I'm not in the 'high school' range yet.
I think I will be more worried if high school is NOT rigorous, then they get to college and can't stay afloat.
I know of a child from Howard County's TAG program, solid grades, who was in several AP classes, yet went to a midlevel school, and was on academic probation the whole first year...
Had to switch majors from biochem to psychology