It's looked down on if a student is a high academic achiever?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

My grandson was talking about school the other day and he said that the reason why education is bad in this country is because the majority of kids look down on the kids who work hard at school - the nerds! It seems that it is not fashionable to work hard at school in this country - there is no desire to learn. There are kids do want to learn but will be ridiculed by their classmates and neighborhood friends. Notice how many parents are obsessed about taking kids to sports yet would not think of running them to an evening math class. A good balance between sports and academics is good but it is one sided. Parents in this country do not seem to be as interested in academic achievement as for example, Asian parents. Do you agree?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. The media doesn't help either

there are a number of shows on TV which depict high achievers as being losers.

[elleng]

3. Not true for me, my husband,

or our daughters (who are now 25 and 28.) I'm afraid in many places and ways, our culture has deteriorated, however.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. In my day it was different

We looked up to people who were working hard and succeeding.

[elleng]

6. Yes,

and I think that's true for my brother and his family too. I am concerned for my grandchildren. (First one expected in December.)

[theHandpuppet]

4. How many kids have ever seen the inside of a public library?

Take them early, and often!

[frazzled]

7. Maybe not looked down on, but certainly not appreciated either

I remember when my son's computer science team won 2nd place in a prestigious international computer science competition that was held in Canada that year (we're talking teams from Russia, China, Europe, everywhere). Their success barely even got a mention in the school newspaper, buried in two sentences on an inside page, while the regular-season games in football, track, and other sports overwhelmed the front page with large stories and pictures.

There are pep rallies and lots of school spirit for sports in our schools, and the kids who participate and excel at that are looked at as heroes and get lots of accolades. But the kids on the math team or who participate in other academic competitions or pursuits, or who play in the orchestra, get ... bupkus. (And I'm not just talking about from the other kids, but from the administration and faculty as well.)

It's kind of sad. At least until you look at the kids 15 years later. Then you feel sorry for the football players.

[murielm99]

8. Yes.

My kids were sometimes ridiculed for being high achievers.

I can remember them being at Mathcounts competitions on Saturdays instead of at soccer practice. Sometimes they were the only non Asian kids at academic team get-togethers.

It is not like that everywhere. Some communities value academic achievement. There is nothing wrong with sports, but it is so over-emphasized.

I sent my two oldest kids to our state's math and science high school. It has opened doors for them throughout their lives. My youngest did not have to pay much for college.

They are all successful and well adjusted. They are leaders now.

Just remember, if your kids are achievers, the former jocks will mostly end up working for your kids.

[Blasphemer]

9. In my experience, there is a tendency towards student segregation...

That can contribute toward that mindset. If you have special education classes and gifted classes, then you will find a reactionary sort of bullying towards both. And then even within gifted programs/schools, you'll see further segregation, especially in Math and the Sciences and super-high achievers may be looked down on in some way. It's not necessarily extreme but I've been in situations as a teenager where I was ridiculed as being one of the kids who knew how to "work the system" since I actually studied hard, did my assignments and did them well. There are certainly exceptions and school environments that support all varieties of success - including success in the arts and literature - but I do think that a negative reaction towards academic success is all too common.

[Marrah_G]

10. Not a new thing

[Archae]

11. It's always been that way, as long as I remember.

What gets page after page after page in HIgh School yearbooks?

Even losing teams.

What gets 1/4 a page, if they are lucky?
Academic acheivers.

[liberal_at_heart]

12. that is the way it has always been, not that it's right.

My experience as a parent is that a child will let you know what their natural balance is. I tried pushing my daughter to get a better GPA, and she just resisted the whole way. She found a balance of studying and playing with friends that was natural for her and I quit trying to push her. She did fine. She graduated high school and is starting college in September. My son has autism. Finding that balance for him is even more delicate. We try to push him a little so that he will study instead of watching tv and so he will reach his potential. But with all the pressure he has put on him at school, there is only so much homework he can do before he reaches a breaking point. He too has found a natural balance. He studies, takes a few breaks in between, studies some more and then there comes a point where he just can't think about school anymore that day and has to just relax. So, he watches tv or plays video games. As far as classmates and friends putting pressure on them to not like studying, that falls under peer pressure. There are all kinds of peer pressure. The best we can do is try to teach them that the consequences that can happen when you follow peer pressure, teach them to have confidence in themselves, so just maybe they will say no to peer pressure, and let them know we are here for them no matter what when they need us.

[Downwinder]

13. My granddaughter was "Athlete of the Year"

and also on the academic "Honor Roll."

[dkf]

14. Depends...

I think smart kids who don't aspire to be "cool" appreciate over achievers.

It's all in your value system.

[liberal_at_heart]

17. My daughter had lots of over achiever friends.

My son has had a difficult time in school so he is more inclined to have that I don't like school attitude and after what they have put him through I don't blame him. I try to tell him that there is a difference between going to school especially these days and learning. Learning is something you come to appreciate and enjoy as you get older. I told him there would come a day when he would enjoy learning whether that learning was done in a school or not. Learning is something we all do every day of our lives. We never stop learning.

[Generic Other]

15. The Alphas learn quickly they are different from Betas and Gammas

There is no point pretending they are alike. The alphas do not need to be pushed or goaded to learn. And no amount of enrichment and tutoring will make a gamma an alpha if they do not have the innate desire and self-motivation to learn. This has always been true. It is still true. Ask Huxley.

The betas are the ones who do not understand why the alphas waste their time working so hard. They know it is far more desireable to go to watch an action movie or hang out at the mall than to read a history book or do math problems. If ya can't tweet it, you re just longwinded. Sports, fashion and celebrity chatter. Shopping. Betas are happier not being Alphas....

[dkf]

16. For Asian kids the peer pressure is to do well in school.

Being academically competitive is the goal, not being "cool".

[liberal_at_heart]

19. yes, they are under pressure too. Just the opposite kind of pressure. They are under pressure

to perform well or face embarrassment.

[reformist2]

18. It's not looked down upon, but chances are that person won't be that popular.

[Cleita]

20. It's always been that way even when I was in high school in the fifties.

In my high school the smart and dumb kids were separated around our junior year. The smart kids, who were headed for college, were immersed in english, math, sciences and languages. The average kids didn't make it into those classes so the smart kids were free from being harassed by them by that time.

[Starry Messenger]

21. The teaching profession is not respected in this country.

People want a customer service model. The outcome, grades, test scores, the degree are all that matter, so pressure is brought to bear to crunch out product instead of real learning.

[RedCappedBandit]

22. 'Jocks' are popular

Been that way for a long time.

I wouldn't say that smart kids are looked down on, though. Actually, I think true intelligence is respected in a different way. But that doesn't mean you'll be prom queen.

[MissB]

23. My experience at my kids' school district so far has been great.

Our high school is a small, college prep school. The sports teams are "no cut" teams. Only about half of the kids live in district and the parents of the rest pay not an insignificant amount of tuition for their kids to attend.

The graduation rate hovers around 100%, as does the percentage of kids heading for college.

Both of my kids have been high achievers, and they've been in the same two-school district since kindergarten. Being smart is cool here, and I think that has helped my two kids excel. They aren't held back. It wasn't horrible to have my 5th grade kid in an 8th grade math class. The kids didn't torture him. They brought him in to their circles. He is a sophomore in high school now, but he has never felt out of place by being smart. Neither of my kids have felt the need to hide their intelligence. Being amongst kids whose parents value education makes a difference.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

24. That's good