<p>There might be more pressure for some students today, but D really isn’t that stressed. She is very organized and motivated and her EC’s (mostly dance & theater) are her passions, so the time spent on them is a happy time for her.
I didn’t really have a passion in high school and I don’t remember anyone who did. We had a limited number of EC’s at school, virtually no community activities for teens and no sports for girls until my senior year (1973-1974). I worked from the time I was 15, and so did everyone else I knew except 2 friends (who were siblings) whose dad didn’t let them work. Spent every dime I made on fashionable clothes and makeup.
My school offered no AP classes, honors in Math and English only and very few people took them. I was in honors math which was not my favorite subject but was my favorite class because it was challenging and we had the same 20 kids in the class every year and we became friends (across many varied social groups) and had a lot of fun together. I was a good student but classes were easy and boring. Like many of my classmates, I attended community college after high school. GC’s only bothered with the small number of students who were going to 4 year schools right away. The school was into the 70’s “feel good” thing, so academic achievement was de-emphasized, and there seemed to be little motivation. I honestly think D would have hated it!
I think some of the pressure today is self imposed. Even the top students in my class did not aspire to attend Ivies or other top rated schools. Now even the students in the lower half of D’s class turn up their noses at the idea of the cc.</p>