too much
in a previous post, i mentioned a kid i know that dropped out of school because of all the stress he was feeling. he is home schooling himself and taking classes at the local community college so he will continue his education. but, hopefully, in a less stressful way.
a couple other accounts come to mind. i know a young lady who is a top notch student and person. she's an excellent athlete playing soccer for a club team and her high school. she got involved with student council this last year. she's very social and everyone loves her. well, she was just caught cheating on a math test. this was so unlike her.
when asked why she did it she said it was because of all the pressure - the expectations that she felt has been put upon her. she didn't know the answers and has been telling the teacher, the school, and her parents that she didn't understand what they were trying to teach her. in hindsight, she thought that everything would come to a head by doing what she did. she said she expected to get caught.
another girl i know has decided not to try out for cheerleading next year. she will be a senior and has been a cheerleader the other three years of high school. she also has been a part of student council and just dropped out of that at the semester break. she just feels like it's too much to handle. she wants to simplify her life and cut down on the stress. here's someone who loves cheerleading but realized she needed to cut something out of her life and schedule.
it's the same way for my son. he's involved in several things - all good stuff. but all of them demanding in themselves. put them all together and it just gets to be too much. and what is a parent to do? we try very hard not to put any other stress on him but that's not always easy or realistic. he still needs to have responsibilites here at home. i don't know what the answer is. i guess as we go through this journey, i'll blog more about it and see if any answers arise.
a couple other accounts come to mind. i know a young lady who is a top notch student and person. she's an excellent athlete playing soccer for a club team and her high school. she got involved with student council this last year. she's very social and everyone loves her. well, she was just caught cheating on a math test. this was so unlike her.
when asked why she did it she said it was because of all the pressure - the expectations that she felt has been put upon her. she didn't know the answers and has been telling the teacher, the school, and her parents that she didn't understand what they were trying to teach her. in hindsight, she thought that everything would come to a head by doing what she did. she said she expected to get caught.
another girl i know has decided not to try out for cheerleading next year. she will be a senior and has been a cheerleader the other three years of high school. she also has been a part of student council and just dropped out of that at the semester break. she just feels like it's too much to handle. she wants to simplify her life and cut down on the stress. here's someone who loves cheerleading but realized she needed to cut something out of her life and schedule.
it's the same way for my son. he's involved in several things - all good stuff. but all of them demanding in themselves. put them all together and it just gets to be too much. and what is a parent to do? we try very hard not to put any other stress on him but that's not always easy or realistic. he still needs to have responsibilites here at home. i don't know what the answer is. i guess as we go through this journey, i'll blog more about it and see if any answers arise.
Kids shouldn't have to quit extracurriculars to keep up. I think relieving a bit of the schoolwork is a much better approach. After all, I'd rather be well-rounded than strictly academic.
Posted by
thethinker |
10:02 PM
Those teens should be grateful for all the extra-curricular activities on offer to them...
In UK schools, there is absolutely nothing.
Posted by
Jingo |
9:39 AM
I think we as a culture just try to cram to much into our everyday lives. There is only so much time and things we can do before we overload ourselves.
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Posted by
msquared |
9:58 AM
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