In 2010, I blogged about Race to Nowhere, a film that explores the pressures today’s students are feeling and the related detrimental effects on their health. The film’s director recently posted this article, entitled “Crossing the Line: How the Academic Rat Race Is Making Our Kids Sick.” The article concludes with this advice for parents:
Most immediately, we can make changes in our homes. We need to remind ourselves that our children’s success as healthy, independent, contributing adults does not hinge on attendance at any particular college. We help our children succeed, in fact, by providing them with a healthy balance of time, space, encouragement, and an emphasis not on the building of resumes but on the discovery of their own interests and values. I have learned, when needed, to turn off my daughter’s light at 10:30 p.m., urge her into bed, and let her know that her health is more important than any exam.”