And the Winner Is ...

For anyone who has not yet seen the “Race to Nowhere”, please consider attending the film taking place this Thursday evening at 7:30 at MJS - .  We are all so proud of the high standards set by our district, but could these high standards be backfiring?  Are we burning our children out before they even get started?  Are we pushing them so hard, that we push them over the edge?  Starting from a very young age, we are over-scheduling our children and there isn’t any time left for running around outside and playing with the neighbors.  Do you remember going outside after school and playing?  We used to have plenty of time to finish homework after dinner.  But today, our kids have softball, or soccer or swimming or dance or football, etc.  They must compete in the classroom and on the fields. Our children have so much to do and so little time to just enjoy being a kid.  It goes so fast.  It seems from the minute they start preschool we are starting to plan for their college and beyond.  Somewhere we lost the whole meaning of parenthood.  Whatever happened to just wanting them to be happy?  Can they only be happy if they are the best?  Is that the environment we are living in?  Yes, they should work hard and do the best that they can. But let’s face it: not everyone is cut out to be an Albert Einstein or Magic Johnson.  But that does not make them any less valuable.  We should be helping our students to accomplish their goals; but not have them lose themselves in the process.