Pope Op-Ed: Juggling Academic Pressures

Juggling academic pressures

June 12, 2005
San Jose Mercury News

Commentary
By Denise Clark Pope

Every so often, a car of tourists drives by my house on the way to a Silicon Valley landmark -- the famous garage on my street where Steve Jobs got his start.

One of the few original homeowners on the block, Walter Chronert, describes Jobs as a youth: "He was always messing around in that garage, day in and day out. We never knew what he was doing in there. And then, he would call us in and show us these machines. Half the time, they wouldn't work, and then he would just keep tinkering away."

As high school graduates in Silicon Valley are awarded their diplomas this month, it's time to ask how many of them have had the good fortune to tinker.

Or, for that matter, to dream or explore personal interests -- to dive into anything that's not part of a carefully crafted plan of academic and extracurricular achievements designed to land them in a highly ranked college.

Not nearly enough of them. Many have been too busy working the system.

The problem of America's "overachievers" is often overshadowed by the focus on "underachievers," the youths at the bottom of the academic spectrum. We hear a lot these days, especially from government officials, about the real problems of students who don't meet basic literacy and math requirements, and about workers unable to compete with those overseas.

But the students who are succeeding by working the system aren't what America needs, either. And there are more and more of these teens -- of course, no one knows exactly how many -- scattered across the country, often in places like Silicon Valley, where driven, well-educated parents set expectations high.

These kids are too busy racing to piano lessons and soccer practice and math tutoring and SAT prep courses; they have no time to hang out or delve into deep problems or reflect on what they are learning, which means they're not nurturing the creativity or in-depth understanding necessary to be effective leaders, inventors and thinkers. They're in a high school rat race. Their goal is simply to get through it, and on to a selective college -- whether that's the "right" destination for them or not.

Health problems

Just as worrisome is that they are compromising their values and health. According to recent studies, as many as 75 percent of high school students cheat. Honor students are no exception. In a 1998 survey, "Who's Who Among American High School Students" found that 80 percent of the country's highest-achieving students admitted to having cheated, the highest percentage in 29 surveys. Local research in two top high schools showed an even higher rate -- close to 90 percent.

To juggle hours of homework and extracurricular activities, many top students sleep less than five hours a night and rely on caffeine or, in some extreme cases, amphetamines to stay awake. They suffer from migraines, ulcers, anxiety and depression, problems they bring with them to college. The current dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology calls academic stress "a national health epidemic."

Perhaps the best evidence of the problem is that highly rated school districts across the country, our supposed models of success, are trying to ease the pressure-cooker environment. In fact, some are being forced to. Recently the Western Association of Schools and Colleges determined that at least four Silicon Valley high schools could jeopardize their accreditation if they didn't focus on reducing student stress.

But it's not so easy to dent a well-entrenched system. Even a change as seemingly benign as requiring students to take a lunch break -- as highly touted New Trier High School near Chicago is proposing -- can erupt into a battle of wills. (Students who want to take extra music classes are protesting.) As more schools recognize the need to change, they face a formidable problem: No one wants to blink first. It seems the risk of stepping off the treadmill is so great that four key constituencies -- parents, students, high schools and colleges -- ought to reform in unison.

The buildup

Educators don't agree on the exact root of this frenzy, but many believe the pressure increased in the 1980s. At that time, applications to some four-year colleges dropped, and many launched marketing campaigns. Later, when applications increased and colleges rejected numerous "recruits," it made the colleges appear more selective, (which they liked), but it also fed the application furor.

Others blame national-ranking reports, which rely on somewhat arbitrary criteria and promote gaming of the system: U.S. News & World Report's ranking of colleges considers how selective they are, while Newsweek's "top high schools" list considers the number of advanced-placement and International Baccalaureate courses taken.

There's also the proliferation of the industry offering preparations for college-entrance exams and grade inflation at schools trying to improve their images and scores. And experts point to the increase in after-school enrichment programs, in part intended to keep kids out of trouble and away from TV when parents are at work.

Parents don't escape criticism. Alvin Rosenfeld, co-author of "The Over-Scheduled Child," is among those who blame a highly educated and wealthy parent base intent on creating "perfect" children. There are parents in Silicon Valley who withhold dinner until homework is done, and some who punish children for bringing home low grades.

And, yes, a few experts trace the tension back to the Sputnik-instigated space race and the rise of global competition.

Students, parents and educators face a serious dilemma. On the one hand, they see the utility of "doing school" in this way. It is harder to get into many four-year colleges today than two decades ago. More students than ever are applying, and the average grade-point average and SAT scores at the University of California, for instance, go up every year -- thanks to a combination of hard work, cheating and grade inflation.

Students know that they must get the grades, by hook or by crook, if they want to compete at these selective universities. They believe their success and happiness depend on it.

Not so. Recent studies downplay the importance of the prestige factor. For example, one Princeton University study shows that students can get an excellent education at more than 150 lesser-known, moderately selective schools and still over time make as much money -- if not more -- than Ivy League alumni.

Across the country, efforts are under way to help parents, students, schools and colleges redefine their flawed, one-size-fits-all notion of success, to understand that going to a top-notch college, or even any college, isn't the only road to a good life. But at each level, change is meeting stiff resistance.

On the college front, a small but growing number of selective four-year colleges no longer ask for SAT scores. At MIT, Admissions Dean Marilee Jones bravely changed the application last year so that students would have only a few spaces to list extracurricular activities. But many prestigious colleges still advise applicants to take as many AP courses as possible and to retake the SAT exam to raise their scores.

Parents feel conflicted, too. Consider the ironic results of a 2003 survey of Santa Clara County parents: Their top two concerns for their children were school performance and stress.

Some do resist the tide and help their children choose a healthier course load and extracurricular plan. They make small but significant changes at home. They don't, for example, ask, "How did you do on your history test?" but rather "What did you learn about history today?"

Still, even well-meaning parents hit roadblocks. A New Jersey organization tried to create "family time" and asked that communities not schedule any extracurricular activities after 6 p.m. No such luck. They couldn't find enough gym space, drama venues or coaches able to work before 6 p.m. to accommodate their kids' interests.

Perhaps no one has a tougher time slowing down than schools and their students. Helping schools has been the focus of a 2-year-old Stanford University project -- Stressed Out Students. SOS works with more than 25 local schools and a handful outside California and requires students, parents, teachers and administrators to work together with an SOS coach to devise plans for change.

Some are doing away with valedictorians. Others are scheduling exams before winter vacation, or limiting the number of advanced-placement classes students can take, or re-evaluating their homework policies. Teaching methods are being altered: Some schools are lengthening class periods to allow more time for reflection and using more real-life projects instead of relying mostly on worksheets and tests.

Resistance

Yet the schools often face severe resistance from parents, students and teachers hooked on conventional means of assessment. At some schools, parents protest AP course limits, arguing that their children's college careers are at stake. At others, like Saratoga High School, some parents afraid to break with tradition oppose changes to the criteria used to determine student rankings.

Teachers, many of whom are overworked themselves, wonder how to meet the state-mandated standards and get all kids to pass required exams if they cut back on test preparation and memorization-based instruction.

And students can be the most hesitant of all to change. Recognizing that teens feel powerless against the forces pressing them to achieve, SOS encourages student surveys and focus groups so kids can voice their needs and help devise solutions.

Still, many students are cynical. They don't want to cheat, but they believe "everyone" cheats, and they know the honest kids don't necessarily prevail.

Those who opt for an alternative path after high school sometimes are given a hard time. They're afraid to admit that they want to go to cooking school or an art academy. Many schools list the colleges their grads will attend, and these students don't want to look "dumb." Other students want to resist taking too many honors or advanced-placement classes, but they know the regular classes often are poorly taught or disruptive.

In an effort to reform, we shouldn't lower expectations or eradicate all competition. Some competition and some levels of stress are healthy. But the race that starts in some cases as early as preschool needs to slow down.

Denise Clark Pope (dclark@stanford.edu), a lecturer at Stanford University School of Education, is founder and director of the SOS: Stressed Out Students Project at Stanford. She is the author of "'Doing School': How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic and Miseducated Students." She wrote this article for Perspective.