<p>There was no pressure to have EC’s back in the old days of my high school years. I took a few AP classes, was a voracious reader over summer, played an instrument for fun, and had no idea I was suppose to study for that SAT thing. Needless to say, my SAT score was awful. Still, I went on to community college and eventually I ended up with a Ph.D. in a research field. (I did study for my GRE and ended up with a Fellowship, Scholarship, and a couple of Assistantships plus a tuition waiver for grad school. I guess I was the posterchild for high school underachiever.) </p>
<p>I am constantly trying to find a balance for my children. I want to keep them busy so they don’t have time for alcohol or drugs, but I want them to have time to themselves, too. Both need community service hours to get our state’s free-ride-to-state-school scholarship, so both have been involved with community service all through high school. We actually got started with community service early on just on principle, but upped the hours in high school. </p>
<p>I mostly want my kids to enjoy their childhoods and have plenty of time for dreaming and imagination and pursuing their own interests. Through the years they have played various sports and musical instruments and attended science camps, boy and girl scout camps, and summer camps. I encouraged them to try all sorts of different things to help them find their true passions. </p>
<p>I didn’t push to have every moment filled with EC’s because I wanted to make sure they knew what to do with leisure time. S makes my reading habits look lame. D likes to draw. I wanted to make sure they had plenty of time to pursue their pleasures and just relax. </p>
<p>I see so many of their friends doing multiple EC’s and wonder about burn out. S is always worried he isn’t doing enough, but he ended up as a NMF and will be attending a great OOS school with full ride so all worked out in the end. D pushes herself harder than S, but she is happy so I let her go. I do think today’s students may be pushed too hard. Afterall, when will they ever be children again?</p>