Frank Bruni’s analysis of the book, “Overloaded and Underprepared,” focused on the disappointing situation that is present day’s academic environment. Students now are exhausted, both physically and mentally, from the challenges, expectations, and competition inherent in the education system. Bruni’s main concern seemed to be the lack of sleep youth are experiencing while pursuing the best grades, schools, and scholarships and being involved in the most activities. He points out that his problem has reached such epic proportions that one school actually trained sleep “ambassadors” to promote healthy sleep habits. Many students are getting only 5-6 of the 8-10 hours of sleep suggested for teenagers and young adults. Along with sleep deprivation
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Not knowing what this type of journalist was, I looked it up. Later, I learned that “Op-Ed” means his articles appear to be the opposite of the editorial page and consist primarily of commentary and special features. Bruni had provided commentary on various subjects;, including politics, culture, social issues, and education. One article in particular caught my attention due to its content hitting close to home, which caused and causing me to stop and think about what I am doing and where I am headed in life. In Bruni’s exposé, “Today’s Exhausted Superkids,” he explores aspects of a book he had read, “Overloaded and Underprepared.” His critiques of the high-pressured, fast-paced world students live in left me feeling comforted that somebody finally seems to understand and agree with “enough is enough.” I agree with Frank Bruni and his thoughts that exhaustion causes mental, emotional, and physical issues in children’s academics, and it is a product of society’s current definitions of achievement and …show more content…
Over time, classes have become far more complex, and more advanced placement or college preparatory courses have been added to the curriculum. Teenagers are now learning subject matter that had previously been reserved for college. There is no longer any such thing as a “perfect 4.0” grade point average because scales have on increased to 5.0 and 6.0 to account for the advanced courses. Now, a student can never be considered “perfect” because there is always something more one can do in order to make himself or herself better. If one has straight A’s on his or her report card, there still may be many students with a higher GPA than that person. The drive for perfection is real. Although, I am not sure where it came from or how it started, but the sense of panic created before each exam is stressful and mentally fatiguing. In addition, there is a growing sense of competition between the top-notch students. Where, in the past, students were able to help fellow students to understand and achieve, it seems now there is the fear that, if one helps another, that student might do better, be more successful, or “displace” the other person. This constant fear, panic, and competition begins to wear teenagers down. An increasing number of teenagers are taking some sort of antidepressant, where this was nearly unheard of in past
Not knowing what this type of journalist was, I looked it up. Later, I learned that “Op-Ed” means his articles appear to be the opposite of the editorial page and consist primarily of commentary and special features. Bruni had provided commentary on various subjects;, including politics, culture, social issues, and education. One article in particular caught my attention due to its content hitting close to home, which caused and causing me to stop and think about what I am doing and where I am headed in life. In Bruni’s exposé, “Today’s Exhausted Superkids,” he explores aspects of a book he had read, “Overloaded and Underprepared.” His critiques of the high-pressured, fast-paced world students live in left me feeling comforted that somebody finally seems to understand and agree with “enough is enough.” I agree with Frank Bruni and his thoughts that exhaustion causes mental, emotional, and physical issues in children’s academics, and it is a product of society’s current definitions of achievement and …show more content…
Over time, classes have become far more complex, and more advanced placement or college preparatory courses have been added to the curriculum. Teenagers are now learning subject matter that had previously been reserved for college. There is no longer any such thing as a “perfect 4.0” grade point average because scales have on increased to 5.0 and 6.0 to account for the advanced courses. Now, a student can never be considered “perfect” because there is always something more one can do in order to make himself or herself better. If one has straight A’s on his or her report card, there still may be many students with a higher GPA than that person. The drive for perfection is real. Although, I am not sure where it came from or how it started, but the sense of panic created before each exam is stressful and mentally fatiguing. In addition, there is a growing sense of competition between the top-notch students. Where, in the past, students were able to help fellow students to understand and achieve, it seems now there is the fear that, if one helps another, that student might do better, be more successful, or “displace” the other person. This constant fear, panic, and competition begins to wear teenagers down. An increasing number of teenagers are taking some sort of antidepressant, where this was nearly unheard of in past