@SculptorDad Not necessarily. They employ tutors from their home country over Skype, so cost is very competitive.
Even if this were not the case, some families will sacrifice a lot of finances for their children’s education. The expectation is that their children’s educational achievements will eventually translate into financial success for the entire family.
@InfoQuestMom What terrible burden!
I’m not sure when free time turned into a bad thing? My daughter has narrowed her college choices down to two schools, and at both of them the administration, professors, coaches, and other students have absolutely hounded her with “you MUST join/try out for X, Y, and Z!” She had an orchestra professor practically stalk her because she played a string instrument in high school. I’ve heard her put her foot down over and over again telling everyone that academics come first, that she’s not going to commit to anything where she is REQUIRED to be there, her first year at least. Casual clubs are fine because if you’ve got something else to do, no worries. Her first choice college has no Greek system and she’s thrilled. She’s outgoing and doesn’t need to belong to a group. I’m not sure that this culture of having no free time helps stress at all. I have to wonder if some of these kids graduate without ever having explored their schools?
It starts in elementary and middle school years. A generation ago, kids would go play with their friends after school on their own. Now, kids play with their friends on parentally supervised scheduled play dates.
^ Now, kids play with their friends on parentally supervised scheduled play dates.
Which is often painfully short and far in between.
I was proud of my college sophomore daughter for NOT taking jazz piano lessons this semester. She knew that several of her classes were going to be very challenging, so she decided to fulfill her obligation of playing in the jazz band (required for her scholarship) without taking private lessons. It was a little awkward for her to tell her teacher, but she got through it.
My son like to stay physically active so has joined some club sports. I too wonder if the 2-3 hours a day spent on these club sports is too much. I originally thought a D1 varsity sport commitment would be too much and clubs were the way to go. Jeesh. I never knew a single club sport takes 2-3 hours a day with tournaments all weekend long. It is a seven day commitment.
This coupled with the 3-4 hours a day of normal course studies sure cranks up the stress meter.
My kids had play dates but as they got older they also ran around the neighborhood with their friends or hung out at each other’s homes. With the advent of cell phones for younger kids, they start figuring it out on their own earlier. Of course, a parent is usually around to ensure safety and give snacks, but generally leave the kids to their own devices.
While the initial essay/petition that was the foundation of the Tribune article was published 6 months ago there has been a recent response. I thought I would include it here to counter the initial article linked in the OP. https://www.change.org/p/naperville-north-it-s-not-perfect-but-it-is-our-school
“Her friend looked at the test score and said “oh no” and tried to console her. The score? A 97.”
I have also heard of multiple cases of high school kids freaking out because they only got a 97 on a test. At our local suburban public high school a 97 is an A+, but it does not give you the highest GPA score – for example in a regular CP class a 97 counts as a 3.7 towards a student’s GPA. I have also heard many reports of kids suffering from stress related illnesses, some quite serious (including a string of high school suicides in a neighboring town).
Also, while we can talk about the stress of taking multiple AP classes, I think that just as much stress comes from the need for ECs. My oldest could have handled her 5 APs at once a lot more easily if she wasn’t also participating in sports which had her arriving home at 6pm exhausted with 6 hours of homework left to do that night. If she had instead been arriving home at 4pm and not exhausted from a sport the 6 hours of homework would have been much less overwhelming. My youngest had the sense to refuse to play this crazy stress filled game and instead applied to very good universities that didn’t care about ECs at all (which therefore weren’t in the US).
Student hacks Genesis to change his grades. (this news report doesn’t mention Genesis but others did)
He’s a senior but only 16 years old. Hmmm.
@thegfg My children met many students in college that were grade-skipped at some point in their education. My daughter’s good friend graduated college at 19.
But if you are suggesting he has pushy parents, that’s another thing.
@DadTwoGirls Which Universities did your youngest apply to? My oldest is at McGill; it is my youngest son’s number one choice as well.
My oldest was a three sport athlete (XC, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track) and had that schedule (get home at 6 PM, slam down dinner, do homework for hours) that you referenced… Even with very limited APs (max two was our rule), he still averaged around 5-6 hours of homework per night. It was such a grind for him.
A 97 being an A+ in a college prep course, but only counting as 3.7 toward the GPA is nuts. Completely nuts.