Over the past few days, there’s been a lot of conversation in our house around this article from the NY Times, detailing teen abuse of the legal drug, Adderall. It was a frightening realization of what students are doing to ‘make the grade’ in high school, college, and graduate studies.
It did make me pause to reflect: are we pushing ourselves and our children unrealistically, and why are we doing it? Is a grade or a promotion or a PhD worth the risk or our health, or even worse, our lives?
I’m not one to settle for mediocrity, but there is a limit. I hope that parents and educators will teach the rising generation to strive for excellence and do their best, even if that might mean receiving a B or even a C. At some point, we have to learn that there is room for disappointment AND excellence in our lives.
-Mandy
the graduate wife 