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There was an essay sent from student to student around finals every year at my university. It reminded us that success takes many paths. It reminded us that for

by njloof 11y ago

There was an essay sent from student to student around finals every year at my university. It reminded us that success takes many paths. It reminded us that for some, this may not be their path, and that was okay. Success isn't about getting straight A's. It's about finding what you love and being the best you can be at it. Ignore the toxic culture and find yourself.

avmich 11y ago
I think you're missing the point of the article. Teenagers are under attack which they can't handle well - including bailing out of it. This is not particularly unique to PAUSD, AFAIK; this is systematic deficiency. We're not talking about success here.
- tinalumfoil 11y ago
  > Teenagers are under attack which they can't handle well Not all teenagers give into the stress of school. My high school had students whose reply to "Make sure you come to school on time tomorrow because if you miss the ASVAB testing you won't be able to graduate" was "What does graduating have to do with being a car mechanic?". My high school class also had a student who dropped gym because taking a normal (non-AP/honors) class would lower their weighted GPA (which was almost perfect). When I graduated I had just as many friends go to Ivy Leagues as community college. This was all within the same friend group. Palo Alto High School obviously has serious problems [0], but those problems don't apply to every school or even to students within the same school. I don't know what the solution is (maybe cut excessive testing that doesn't measure anything [1] to start) but it should take into account that not every student needs to be pushed in the same direction. [0] http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Why-are-Palo-Alto-s-kids-killing-themselves-6270854.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Why-are-Palo-Alto-s-ki... [1] http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=mathcs_honors http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?art... https://www.google.com/search?q=college+test+score+academic+success https://www.google.com/search?q=college+test+score+academic+...

by njloof 11y ago

avmich 11y ago

I think you're missing the point of the article. Teenagers are under attack which they can't handle well - including bailing out of it. This is not particularly unique to PAUSD, AFAIK; this is systematic deficiency. We're not talking about success here.

tinalumfoil 11y ago
> Teenagers are under attack which they can't handle well Not all teenagers give into the stress of school. My high school had students whose reply to "Make sure you come to school on time tomorrow because if you miss the ASVAB testing you won't be able to graduate" was "What does graduating have to do with being a car mechanic?". My high school class also had a student who dropped gym because taking a normal (non-AP/honors) class would lower their weighted GPA (which was almost perfect). When I graduated I had just as many friends go to Ivy Leagues as community college. This was all within the same friend group. Palo Alto High School obviously has serious problems [0], but those problems don't apply to every school or even to students within the same school. I don't know what the solution is (maybe cut excessive testing that doesn't measure anything [1] to start) but it should take into account that not every student needs to be pushed in the same direction. [0] http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Why-are-Palo-Alto-s-kids-killing-themselves-6270854.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Why-are-Palo-Alto-s-ki... [1] http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=mathcs_honors http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?art... https://www.google.com/search?q=college+test+score+academic+success https://www.google.com/search?q=college+test+score+academic+...