The Overachievers Analysis

Every fall millions of American adolescents gear up to apply for the thousands of colleges and universities across the nation. For many students this process is a simple-natural progression through a linear educational track in which no extra preparation, beyond a paper application, is required. However, for many students college preparation can begin as early as conception. Alexandria Robbins follows the stories of nine students from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. Whitman is known for and could be summarized by a simple term in which Robbins’ book is also titled: Overachievers. The author explores the hectic nature of helicopter parenting, bureaucratic admission processes, the culture of Ivy (a term describing the upper

Chapter 1: In the first chapter Robbins introduces the students she followed along with the overachiever culture that has rearranged high schools only purpose into getting students into the most prestigious Colleges and Universities rather than the school that would be the best fit for each student.

Living in a world surrounded by noises and sounds, one cannot deny that music lives all around them. Schools, street corners, sporting events, there is one thing you will always find: music. Music education is quickly becoming defunct in schools, as many try to decry its many benefits. A growing emphasis on the concrete subjects of math and science, whose benefits are more immediate, are pushing the creativity and imagination of music classes to the back of the budget. Music education is no longer described as stimulating and exciting, but rather unnecessary and distracting. But the benefits of having an education in music is undeniable. Simply being around music can have a positive impact on life. Music enables the human race to discover emotions that they have never uncovered before. The human mind is refreshed by music; “our imagination and memories are stimulated by the sounds, and summon feelings and memories associated with the musical sound” (Wingell 15). Without music, the world would be silent. Lifeless. No matter what language one speaks or what culture one is from, music is a universal language, connecting the hearts of people around the entire world. In schools throughout the nation, that connection is being severed because of budget cuts and lack of funding, but the benefits of music education are clear. The benefits of having an education in music are not only present in the classroom; a lasting impact is also left on the social and emotional growth of a person, though the gains may not be evinced immediately. Participating in musical education programs in schools can give students the opportunity to form lasting friendships and to gain skills that will last them their entire lives. Music education can be beneficial to students because it enhances students’ performance in the classroom, aids in improving student’s interest and engagement in school, and advances students’ social and emotional growth.

Elementary and middle school years (6-12) are Erikson’s fourth stage in which the child must resolve the crisis between industry and inferiority. During this stage, a child becomes more aware of themselves as individuals. It is important that a child learn the feeling of success; if not allowed enough success, they might develop a sense of inferiority or incompetence. Again, it is about the balance of industry and inferiority that leads to competence both intellectually and socially. Despite the fact that the Welsh school administration placed Jeannette in classes for students with learning disabilities, she knows she is smart. She was in honors classes in Phoenix and continues to excel academically under the guidance of her parents. She reads on her own and understands that education is important. Despite her placement in the lower classes and not having any close friends, she is able to develop a sense of industry.

To provide social commentary regarding the dismal, yet realistic possibility of government surveillance, a human’s capacity for violence, and loss of self, James Dashner creates a futuristic society in which children are under manipulation through supervision. In The Maze Runner, children are stripped from everything they have. This includes materialistic possessions, family, friends, and their memory of all of those things. The teenagers’ reality is living in an experiment and fighting for their lives by the result of a disease. In the world today, there are are a plethora of diseases, but even with advanced medical technology, a lot remain incurable. The Maze Runner presents a possible outcome of a terribly contagious disease. James Dashner uses social commentary to explain the negative aspects of a world which the government is almost in complete control.

‘He told me I have the wrong kind of fingers’” (7). When the father fell for it, the boy’s sisters also told the father similar stories so they could get out of their lessons. Even when all three children had stopped playing their instruments, their father still tried to get them to play, but with different instruments, “‘the trumpet or the saxophone or, hey, how about the vibes?’” (7). No matter what the children said, the father tried to get the children integrated into music somehow. When the children refused to play different instruments, the father tried to get the children to listen to recordings so they could be inspired, “‘I want you to sit down and give this a good listen. Just get a load of this cat and tell me he’s not an inspiration’” (7). No matter how hard the children pleaded into getting away from music, the father still tried to connect his kids into music

This schooling occurs close to three quarters of the course of the year, for twelve years and maybe even more. He calls this routine “deadly,” and the schools in which this is occurring are “forced confinement” and “virtual factories of childishness.” Children are told when they are going to do something, they receive a schedule made for them and must go to them at the assigned time, usually at the sound of the bell. The schools themselves “all too often resemble prisons.” This abrupt truth makes people realize that getting an education would be difficult to do, considering the teachers closely resemble the boring and controlled environment, the students must learn in. These factories where children are “shaped and fashioned” into a product of society’s “specifications.” This negative tone and views really allows the reader to see that school environments are not beneficial to everyone and can be quite negative.

As the final addition to this social issue, Laredo charter and public schools have become victims of this change in not implementing music into their curriculum. This issue particularly narrows its intended audience to the United Independent School District, and how the district is not doing an exceptional job in contributing to student’s performance in school. Students in class performance have suffered greatly, grades from exams are constantly failing, and greater budget cuts are being made to fix the problem in adding more mathematics, history, and science courses. Not only does this apply to elementary schools, but also middle schools, high schools, and even the college systems in Laredo being greatly affected. Authors Jamey Kelley and Steven

Botstein starts his argument by stating the various parts of the high school experience that are harmful and pointless to students. The first is the “untouchable” category which consists of coaches and high school athletes whose exclusive ranking is based off of the team’s success rather than their own educational achievements. Secondly, Botstein addresses teachers and curriculum that “hold so little sway” over the minds and attitudes of students, since the average student is constantly worried about growing up, popularity, and their friend groups. Next, Botstein claims that the “primary reason” high schools are flawed and broken is that the teens in the twentieth century era are maturing “substantially earlier” than in the past decades. Lastly, Botstein develops a new method for teenager’s education experience by eliminating the 10th through 12th grades, permanently making high school obsolete. If Botstein’s plan is achieved, teenagers will have many different options to choose after their secondary schooling. Students would be able

Journalist Alexandra Robbins ventures back to her old high school to examine the competitive efforts students are having to take to compete on the battlefield that is the education system in her book, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids. Robbins explores the lives of multiple students who are stressed and pressured to maintain good grades and get into an Ivy League college. This text allows for intriguing insight on how the educational system has “spiraled out of control” and displays the different measures students must now take to be the best. Robbins’ The Overachievers is an eye-opening bestseller which exposes the social pressures and anxieties students must overcome in their high school lives as they attempt to impress and prove to colleges they are worthy of acceptance.

Alison Kong EN 102 The education system in America is broken according to “Lives on the Boundary” by Mike Rose. In this excerpt Mike Rose gives the audience a greater understanding about the decline of the education system. Rose gives examples of how and why education should be equal for everyone. Also, that the importance of great books and a proper curriculum is very significant to our education system. Rose further explains to his audience that these “Great Books” don’t contain real experiences that students could eventually come across during their time at school.

Botstein starts his argument by stating the various parts of the high school experience that are harmful and pointless to students. The first that Botstein addresses is the “untouchable” category which is made up of coaches and high school athletes whose exclusive ranking is based off of the team’s success rather than the educational achievements of the players. Secondly, Botstein addresses teachers and curriculum that “hold so little sway” over the minds and attitudes of students because the average student is constantly worried about growing up, popularity, and their friend groups. Next, Botstein claims that the “primary reason” high schools are flawed and broken is that the teens in the twentieth century era are maturing “substantially earlier” than in the past decades. Lastly, Botstein develops a new method for teenager’s education experience by eliminating the 10th through 12th grades, permanently making high school obsolete. If Botstein’s plan is achieved, teenagers will have many different options to choose

On the main character’s first day, he sings a European song that he learned from one of his school friends back home in front of his new class. After the class, a Japanese teachers scolds and beats him simply because the song was of a foreign nature. The boy is defended by his own teacher, a Korean. This further stresses the ongoing fight against Japanese ethnocentrism that was so prevalent, even in such places as the schoolroom.

Schools with music programs have a higher estimated graduation rate estimated at 90.2% and a higher attendance rate around 93.9% (11 Facts about Music Education 7). In comparison, schools without music programs; however, average a72.9% graduation and an 84.9% attendance (11 Facts about Music Education 7). Additionally, students who study art are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and three times more likely to be awarded for school attendance than those who do not (11 Facts about Arts in Education 2). Despite the benefits of having a music and art program, they are often the first things to go when a school starts budget cuts. Due to, schools today focusing on four main core values: Math, Science, English, and History. Consequently, by focusing on these four main core values schools are crushing the creativity of students. Ken Robinson successfully argues this viewpoint in his TED Talk, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” By enthralling the audience with humorous rhetorical questions, creating connections with the audience through logical and relatable examples, and by keeping a fairly concerned tone throughout his speech to convey the urgency of the issue at hand Robinson effectively and subtlety attacks the modern world’s education system while at the same time informing his audience how schools are squandering the creativity of their students

The book Songs in Their Heads: Music and It’s Meaning in Children’s Lives by Patricia Shehan Campbell is an anthropological study of samples of children in the US and their relation to music and music making. The book is broken into three parts: children at musical play, conversations with children about music, and children’s musical education. Campbell’s study focuses on what children musically are and what they musically become through parents and teachers.