This week, a 16 year old girl committed suicide from my daughters school. Sometimes I can see the stress on the faces of my own children. Often times I say a prayer for how grateful I am that I I grew up in the times I did. Life is so different for kids today, so busy and filled with responsibility beyond their years. Some adults may think it’s great but my heart hurts for them. They are missing out on years to feel free and act like children. They are growing up way too fast and as more and more is being expected of them. Yesterday my daughter took a mental health day. Can you imagine a 17 year old girl needing something like that? She was bogged down underneath school work and worrying about colleges and taking SATs and ACTs and she really just needed a break from it all. Do you know how she spent her day off? Doing hours and hours of repetitive busy work we have come to call school work.
Another teenager died this week and it makes me sad. Life is not supposed to be this way. Look into the faces of the people around you. See them and pay attention to what is really going on. It may just save someone’s life.
anewperspectiveperhaps 
our culture and first-world way of life continually push us to work harder and to do more, and for what? I wonder what is the point of a life full of work and doing if you can’t just exist and enjoy the gift of life?
I wonder what’s the sense of all this accumulation of goods and wealth if we have no time to enjoy any of it in the pursuit of more and more?
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I wonder those same things. It is hard to ignore.
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So tragic.
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I’m a high school teacher and I see the stressful pressure our students are under constantly. And with the upper level students, they want to do it ALL. Be great students, be athletic, clubs, and even some work!
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Yes there is no balance anymore
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This isn’t am education problem, this is a societal problem. In the last 2-3 years, I think it has become worse for high school students. When I hear kids talking about constantly pulling all nighters and taking days off from school to get things done, there really is a major issue we all need to look at and change. I’m so sorry for the loss of such a young life.
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Yes it is societal and trickles into everything else. As a parent I am shocked at the workload my kids have. My 8th grader has so much work he had to drop out of sports and my daughter spends countless hours doing work. Unfortunately, a lot of it is busy work but what I am finding with my younger is these kids are handed a packet that they read the chapter and work on all week in class. He has 2 quizzes a week in biology and there is no teaching going on just searching for answers and missing the content of the information. They fly through chapters and the content they need to learn cannot possibly be done in the amount of time they have to actually learn it. I do believe whatever is going on is lose-lose for everyone š¦
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Unfortunately, high stakes testing is driving curriculum, and I am guessing this is across the nation. I’m in Texas, and it truly is ridiculous. Testing begins in 3rd grade! OMG. Kids should be learning to love learning not worrying about state exams when they are 9! But I can tell you the change will have to come from outside, parents. While as teachers we hate testing, the system is set-up to keep us compliant. School accountability is also tied to scores so it becomes even more dysfunctional. I hope for our students sake we all can change this system soon. The only people winning are the testing corporations. They are making billions.
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The parents are very active here. I am in Oklahoma. On top of that testing, these kids have EOIs. Wth? I have lived in three states and it is clear to me that Oklahoma indeed does rank far below the other states. I am hoping Oklahoma fights hard to get the changes we need š
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I hope we can all pitch in and get the changes made needed to benefit our students! š
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I hope so too š
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Heart-wrenching! š¦
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It’s not that we have too much responsibility. It’s that all we do is bullshit.
I’ve also been to the military and it was extremely tough. I constantly broke down and practiced aiming at myself with a gun. The thing is, even though it was harder than school it was also more worth it. The military had purpose. I was in a small base that had a community that needed me. Basically, I MATTERED.
Kids don’t matter in school. The parents judge them based on standardized tests. Standardized tests are Sysphic and test nothing. The kids have no time for a social life thanks to all the studying. They don’t have any places to go to meet people. Of course teenagers will be suicidal – who wants to live a life in complete isolation like this?
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You hit the nail right on the head. I totally agree!
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