These gems from this NY Times article describing the stress we are putting on our college bound children should make us think more about what we are doing to our children.
Ah, to be 17, to be a high school senior in a fancy suburb, with top grades, top SAT's, a million activities, and your whole life before you.
"The pressure's pretty miserable. I have all A's, but I'm not in the top decile. At our school you need all A+'s to be in the first decile."
Another senior hoping to get into Columbia, worries because he didn't take more advanced placement courses. "I've just taken nine, Four this year, four last year and one in 10th. That's all they'd let me take."
"The thing that controls their lives," a guidance counselor said, "that affects their every decision — the courses they pick, the activities they choose, the sports they play — all comes down to one phrase, `How will this look on my college application?'"
"Parents hire tutors in ninth grade for the biology SAT II, They hire tutors for the state Regents tests the kids need for graduation. They hire tutors for $100 an hour to make sure their children get A's in A.P. courses, and then they hire college admissions consultants to buff their applications.”
We should be ashamed!
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