Enough IS Enough

There is comfort in a crowd. The more I hear and read about stressed out kids and their stressed out parents, the more comforted I feel. I may lack perspective, but apparently lots of other people do, too. And it's not just parents.
A recent article in the Education section of the Boston Globe — “Schools crack down on academic overload”—gives me some comfort. Apparently, when it comes to academics, “enough” never is. Already-stellar students are doing whatever it takes to become super-stellar. Even if whatever it takes means going against the recommendations of parents, teachers, and counselors. One school mentioned in the article, Boston Latin, has a formal policy limiting a student’s Advanced Placement courses to three per year. Three! I took only one course and it alone had me up late many a night. The students can ask for a waiver, but in the majority of cases the request is not granted. Three cheers for Boston Latin. May other schools follow suit.