why are kids put under so much pressure at school?

Sometimes because of state-mandated testings/programs that must be met by districts. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the staff to make sure the schools make the grade but it often backfires because the focus is no longer on actually teaching the children. Plus staff are so overstressed and overburdened and, honestly, many teachers don't really care, just opting to do what's minimally required of them. The teachers in our district are in it only for the money (yes, our teachers make a tremendous salary with benefits too numerous to mention).

Because we have allowed the dumbing down of the American mind, so when our schools try to push tougher academics, parents and kids complain about all of the "stress". Look at our test scores compared to other countries and their school systems. It has been shown what it takes American schools to teach in 12+ years can actually be learned in less than 4 if the structure and teaching were what they should be.

I worked in a school and saw first hand that the work load and stress did not make our children more academically challenged or in any way helped them for future success. So I chose a school for my son that is both academically excellent but has an emphasis on learning for the sake of loving to learn. They do not have grades or homework and each educational plan is tailored to the child's specific needs. The children in these programs do very well when they tranfer to other settings: like high school and college. The program he is in focuses on independent learning with the assistance from the guide (teacher) when needed. We also plan on taking him through Europe, Africa, Asia, as well as across the U.S. to do some on site learning. I'm a non traditional hippy mom.

Oh, and his school consistantly does do standardized testing so that they can compare their learning to other's knowledge. They are at the top of the state in test scores. So I feel very confident about the choices we made in his private school.

Amen anon #2

frogdawg whats the school called?

Oftentimes people think "oh here is a great school with high test scores". Really it's that the kids who go to that school who are 'born smarter' from a higher economic area and they tend to congregate in a certain school because they live in the 'smarter, richer suburb' with smart parents. The school may not be doing anything more for these children than any other school but it makes the school look good. Just my thoughts.