The Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins Essay - 2319 Words

The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins is a non- fiction book that follows the lives of nine high school/ college overachieving students. On the outside they look healthy, happy, and perfect, but upon closer look the reader realizes just how manic their lives and the lives of many other high scholars are. It is no secret that high school and college has become more competitive, but the public doesn’t realize just out of control this world is. â€Å"Overachieverism† has become a way of life, a social norm. It is a world-wide phenomenon that has swamped many of the world’s top countries. Students are breaking under the immense amount of pressure that society puts on them. They live in constant fear that they will not live up to society’s, or†¦show more content†¦They can’t do that if they spend every hour eating, sleeping, or studying for fear that they won’t be successful. Students are completely burned out by the time they get to col lege (Robbins). This lifestyle of overachieving starts at an early age. It used to be you didn’t need to start an activity or sport until middle school or high school. Many people now know that if you want your child to excel in something, you have to start at an early age. Boys start little league baseball and pee-wee football at seven or eight years old. Girls start dance or tumbling classes as early as three. Toddlers are being tutored at age two. While all this may be hard to take in, what may surprise you is that you don’t even have to be born yet to start your education. â€Å"A California obstetrician has developed courses to further the intellectual skills of her students. The students? All fetuses. Then name of the school is, I kid you not, Prenatal University† (Robbins 334). The early education market is booming, â€Å"parents are lured by the possibility of nudging their children ahead of the pack even before the age of one† (Robbins 335). Parents are so obsess ed with their child being number one that they will pay $16,000 tuition for a private preschool. But to be enrolled in such preschools, toddlers must go into an interview (much like college which is seventeenShow MoreRelatedOverachievers by Alexandra Robbins1440 Words   |  6 PagesElsy Alfaro Mrs. Brayer Ap English Literature 5 October 2012 The Overachievers, Non-fiction Alexandra Robbins, 2006 Brief Summary and Arrangement: This non-fiction novel is categorized into seventeen clear straightforward parts: chapters one through seventeen. 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 UniversitiesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Overachievers : The Secret Lives Of Driven Kids Essay1173 Words   |  5 PagesJournalist 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. 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Student’s are split into two basic sections; popular and, well, the average. Regardless of what your label is, every student experiences stress and the pressure of competing to get the highest grade. The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbin s follows six students in different categories and how the education systemRead MoreJohn Lennon s Life Of Wealth And Prestige1126 Words   |  5 Pagesinto a highly coveted school and become â€Å"successful†. A student having too much on his or her plate will generally face stress, anxiety, and possibly even chronic mental disorders. According to an article by Stefanie Weisman, â€Å"although overachievers accomplish much, many of them also suffer from stress, depression, and anxiety.† Not only that, an article for the Washington Post by Lori Aratani states that, â€Å"more than half the D.C. area adolescents surveyed -- 58 percent – said school wasRead MoreEssay about College Is Not Worth It: The Fleecing of Americas Youth3314 Words   |  14 Pagescan go to. Students all over the world dream of being accepted into these awesome universities that will apparently secure them a happy, long lasting life. Unfortunately, it costs an arm and a leg to go, averaging $58,927 (1). In The Overachievers, by Alexandra Robbins, she believes that the truth behind Ivy League rankings will surprise people. She reveals a secret about the U.S. News World Report’s â€Å"America’s Best Colleges† issue that annually ranks every regionally accredited four-year collegeRead MoreDecreasing Academic Stress in Schools1080 Words   |  5 Pagesstress. Walt Whitman High School senior, Julie, experienced hair loss as a junior. When Julie’s mother took her to the doctor, â€Å"†¦the doctor informed her that thinning hair was ‘not unheard of among junior girls, as stress can cause hair loss.’† (Robbins 2). Julie is not alone in this situation; high School junior Nora Huynh, was devastated when she did not get a 4.0 GPA. Nora is taking college level work at 16 but the pressure is taking a physical toll. She is tired, increasingly irritated with her