Reply to Maret/GDS US - pressure cooker or more laid back but still academically rigorous?

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Maret/GDS US - pressure cooker or more laid back but still academically rigorous?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't know any GDS kids who are really suffering under the pressure. The kids who take the rigorous schedule are the ones who love that sort of thing. [/quote]

Wow, then we either know different GDS kids or have a different definition of "suffering."  The rigorous schedule kids I know have been really stressed out junior year.  Some of this is self-inflicted (course selection), but there are also structural and/or cultural issues.  AP US History, for example, shouldn't be taught on a 3 day a week schedule.  There are other U.S. History options, but the kids all seem to believe (and tell each other that) they would be taking themselves out of competition for top tier colleges if they passed on APUSH.  So I don't really see the rigorous course schedules as coming out of love so much as out of fear, ego, competitiveness, etc.  [/quote]

Every college bound kid at every private school is stressed out junior year. [/quote]

If that's true, then it's an argument for sticking with public.  I've certainly seen high-performing Whitman kids get through junior year without being miserable.  Then again, I've seen WIS kids do that too.  I don't think it's a public vs. private divide -- it's more school-specific.

That said, to me one distinctive marker of parents at pressure cooker schools is how often their response to these issues is "it's normal" or "it's crazy but the kids love it," or "it's excellent prep for college and/or real life."  No, it's not.  Something's seriously messed up when bright, hardworking kids who by all objective measures are doing exceptionally well in school feel like failures, disappointments, or burnouts in HS and feel oppressed by and resentful of schoolwork.  If a school community can't sustain the excitement and joy these same kids got from learning in the L/MS years, then something's wrong.  And refusing to acknowledge that means that what's wrong is unlikely to get fixed.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics