Students in high-achieving schools are now named an ‘at-risk’ group, study says

[conuly]

Aha! I knew it!

And this sort of thing is exactly why I've spent half my life telling people that Stuyvesant High School is overrated.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

It makes sense. But it might also work both ways, because I suppose these schools have a higher rate of gifted students, including autistic students with anxiety.

[conuly]

I don't know that this is the case with all such schools, but based on experience and what I've heard from other people I strongly suspect that these schools do an even more subpar job of supporting those students than the average.

[gingicat]

And Bronx Science, which nearly killed my nibling from exacerbating anxiety and depression.

[conuly]

And LaGuardia - at least for the dance program. I haven't heard any particular complaints about the art program from my BIL, but I'm rather jaded about the whole thing.

[gingicat]

In 84-88 the woodwinds teacher was intense in a way that did not work for me, but on the other hand the honors academic classes were fun.

(Woodwinds teacher became a union rep in the 90s, a very good use of his intensity.)

[adafrog]

Not surprised.

[conuly]

And what gets me is that you can tell people and tell people and tell people, and if they don't want to listen they just... don't listen.

[adafrog]

Because they don't care about the kids' psyches, just that they behave like good little automatons.

[nicki]

A pretty high percentage of my self-harming students are high performers.

[conuly]

This is my shocked face.

[gwydion]

I went to a high achieving school. Academics were brilliant. Every day was a trip to Hell. The first kids started breaking in first grade. I watched kid after kid break down and be yanked by their parents. I remember C's bitter furious voice on the phone. I think that was between fifth and sixth, but I could be off by a year. He was never going back. I envied him.

I remember noticing a kid was missing for several weeks. This was in middle school, probably eighth, but didn't quote me, so I kept an eye out for his sister and asked if he was okay. She thought I was mocking her and him and tore me a new one. He'd broken years before. I suspected and still suspect he hurt or tried to hurt himself.

Some people would break and keep going for years, their parents not intervening. I always wondered about the parents.

My own little tragedy was, my parents went in to fight and got lied to and gaslit until they went against their instincts and did what the "experts" told them. This did far more damage in the long run. They never forgave themselves. When they saw it all starting over with my sister and the same liars in charge, they pulled her. Then the three of us sat down to decide my fate. I pointed out the damage was done and couldn't be undone. It made more sense to finish and at least get a good college out of it. I'd learned to survive it. I could take a few more years.

I could, as it turns out. Hardly any of my friends were left.

Those places are nightmares by design, I think. you need sociopaths to run hedge funds and go into politics. Anyone who can't service a piranha pool are treated like necessary breakage. My friends were not cogs and the breaking it a cruel and terrible thing to watch.

[conuly]

*hugs*

[silveradept]

Entirely unsurprising. It's almost like any school that focuses on academics and achievement and improvement on those academics to the exclusion of everything else is setting their students up to fail. A lot.