Jennifer Glickman, a 17-year-old high school junior, gets so stressed some days from overwork and lack of sleep that she feels sick to her stomach and gets painful headaches.
A straight-A student, she recently announced at a college preparatory meeting with her mother and guidance counselor that she doesn't want to apply to Princeton and the other Ivy League schools that her counselor thinks she could get into.
'My mom wants me to look at Ivy League schools, but my high school years have been so stressful that I don't want to deal with that in college,' says Ms. Glickman. 'I don't want it to be such a competitive atmosphere. I don't want to put myself in this situation again.'
High school has long been enshrined in popular culture -- from the musical 'Grease' to television shows like 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'Friday Night Lights' -- as a time of classes, sports and overwrought adolescent drama. But these days, junior year is the worst year in high school for many ambitious students aiming for elite and increasingly selective colleges -- a crucible of academic pressure.
Almost two-thirds of middle- and upper-middle-income high school students in the San Francisco Bay Area told researchers that they were 'often or always' stressed by schoolwork, according to a series of surveys of 2,700 students conducted last year by Stanford University researchers.
More than half the students reported that they had dropped an activity or hobby they enjoyed because schoolwork took too much time. More than three-quarters reported experiencing one or more stress-related physical problems in the month prior to the survey, with more than 50% reporting headaches, difficulty sleeping, or exhaustion. About 9% said they had illegally used prescription drugs like Adderall or Ritalin to stay up and study; 25% said they used stimulants like Red Bull or No-Doz.
'On the surface, these kids look like the most privileged group in the world,' says Madeline Levine, a psychologist who has been working with the Stanford study. 'But their parents know there is something wrong. They are not getting the basic sleep they need, the basic food they need.'
How did 11th grade become such a grind? High school has long been a painful rite of passage. And heavy workloads are typical for elite-college-bound kids in countries such as Japan, South Korea and France. Teachers and principals say homework in the U.S. started increasing in the 1990s, when national concern over falling test scores prompted the introduction of more standardized tests, increasing pressure on high schools to toughen their curricula.
The increasing competitiveness of college admissions -- fueled by a demographic surge in the number of teenagers that is expected to crest next year -- advanced preparation for applying to college to junior year from first semester of senior year. Guidance counselors, parents and college-admissions officers now urge students to start taking advanced-placement courses -- often with a minimum of 90 minutes of homework a night -- in junior year, as well as to start building a portfolio of extracurricular activities and community-service projects to bolster their applications.
High schools, too, have became more competitive, vying for top rankings on lists of the 'best' high schools by encouraging students to take advanced-placement courses, a common measure of high school excellence. More than 60% of the students at Farmington High, a public school in this middle- and upper-middle-class bedroom community near Hartford, take at least one advanced-placement course; 80% of all students go on to four-year colleges.
Faced with such pressures on their kids, some parents find themselves in the paradoxical position of urging their high school children to work less and play more.
Tim Breslin, principal of Farmington High, recently talked to his own daughter -- a junior at a different high school -- about cutting back some of her activities and classes. These include advanced-placement history and English, voice lessons, mock trial competition, vice president of student council, jazz ensemble, an SAT preparation course, crew and a boyfriend.
'I asked her: 'Do you think you can drop something?'' says Mr. Breslin. 'She said 'no.''
Ms. Glickman is a talkative, outgoing girl with an easy laugh and an open manner. She thinks about becoming an elementary-school teacher or maybe going into international relations. 'I love politics,' she says. Like most teens, she enjoys spending the occasional Saturday at the mall and going out to Chili's and Ruby Tuesday with friends. She attended the prom last weekend. But she also likes renting a movie and watching it at home with her mother. (Her father passed away in 1993. Her older sister attends New York's Colgate University.)
'When you talk to her, she is very mature and self-aware,' says Ms. Glickman's guidance counselor, Sheilah McConnell. 'But she can be silly as much as serious.'
Ms. Glickman typically wakes up at 6 to get ready for a school day that begins at 7:30 a.m. The night before, she packs her lunch -- usually a bottle of water, a ham-and-cheese sandwich, and a treat like Scooby-Doo fruit snacks. The cafeteria at Farmington High School offers a wide selection of dishes. But Ms. Glickman's packed schedule doesn't have time for a sit-down lunch because one of her elective classes, chorus, meets at lunchtime. Her chorus teacher lets the kids quickly grab lunch out of paper bags in the back of class.
As she moves from class to class, the demands of being a junior pile up. Honors Spanish -- 30 minutes of homework a night. Advanced-placement English -- 30 to 90 minutes a night, depending on which books or documents the class is studying. Honors pre-calculus -- another hour of homework. Honors biology -- 30 minutes more. At the end of the day comes Ms. Glickman's favorite class and her toughest -- advanced-placement history, with two hours of homework a night, including reading and regular essays.
Total: an average of four-and-a-half to five-and-a-half hours of homework a night.
'Sometimes at school I will stress out when I start adding up everything I have to do tonight,' says Ms. Glickman. She typically goes to sleep at 11:30 p.m., though sometimes she needs to stay up later to finish a project or study for a big test. 'There's not a lot of sleep going on,' she says. Her 98 average ranks near the top of her class, school officials say. 'I need to put in all the effort possible,' she says. 'If I get a grade back that I don't want, I say, 'Why didn't I work harder?''
As Ms. Glickman heads off to a study hall, a group of juniors gathers in a conference room to talk about the pressures they face. Many are taking two or three advanced-placement courses, playing sports and spending time on after-school activities.
'Sometimes you don't know whether you are doing things because you want to or because it looks good on your resume,' says Daniel Jin, who is taking four advanced-placement courses, plays lacrosse, is on student council and involved in an after-school community-service program. 'You have to be careful you're not doing things just to get them on your college application.'
Kevin Putney has a brother at Dartmouth. He says his brother finds college less pressured than junior year of high school. 'I know that my parents -- they want me to be happy. They would like me to get out more,' he says. 'But with all the work I have I can't get out as much as they would like.'
Students say that while parents may tell them to have more balance in their lives, they also feel pressure from parents to excel. 'If you get good grades, your parents let you do things -- a car when you get a license, a later curfew,' says Kelsey Darch, who has gotten both.
Todd Darch, Kelsey's father, says that getting his daughter a car means less driving for him as well as 'a reward for good grades and good behavior.' He says he only asks that his daughter 'put her best effort forward. If her best effort meant a C in a course, that would be fine.'
'Every week or so my Dad sends me a text message: 'Do what others won't today so you can do what others can't tomorrow,'' says Jordan Haviland. 'My parents have been so good to me, I feel like I would be letting them down if I didn't get into an Ivy League school.'
Mr. Haviland's father, Timothy, says he doesn't press his son to get into a certain college, although he suspects Jordan does feel pressure because his older brother goes to Harvard and his older sister to Brown.
'I think he probably wants to keep up,' says Mr. Haviland, who works for an investment company. 'These kids put a fair amount of pressure on themselves. They read the papers and go on the Internet and they see how many students are applying to some of these schools.'
Some students say that pressure comes from inside themselves as much as it does from parents. 'The whole game is who is beating [whom],' says Spencer Noon, looking across the table at Mr. Jin with a smile. 'In the end, if I don't get into Harvard and Dan Jin does, I will be upset.'
Mr. Breslin, the principal, says Farmington High sometimes reschedules tests and other events if students complain the pressure is too great. But he doesn't favor suggestions by some parents that the school limit the advanced-placement courses or activities that students participate in.
'We try to make it so kids make thoughtful choices about what they are doing. But if a student says they want to take an AP course or five AP courses, and their parents support them, it is very hard to limit that student,' says Mr. Breslin. 'They don't want to experience all this pressure, but they feel that in order to keep up with everyone else they have to.'
Classes for Ms. Glickman end around 2:30 p.m., but her day isn't even half over. Typically she spends two hours after school working on the school newspaper, where she is news editor. She also volunteers for a program that works with disabled students and helps them participate in sporting events.
She used to play volleyball freshman and sophomore year but stopped because 'it was just for fun.'
'I knew junior year was going to be pressured,' she says. 'I like volleyball but if I played it, the practices would mean I would have four hours less for homework.' Also, she says, 'colleges don't want to see you do 10 things. They want to see you doing three things passionately.'
Since March, Ms. Glickman, like many of her classmates, has been attending an after-school SAT preparation course designed to boost scores for the important test in the fall. That means she doesn't get home until 9:30 p.m. two days a week to begin her homework -- interrupted by occasional forays onto Facebook to chat with and instant message friends.
When she went to a party on a recent Saturday night, she got home at 11:30 p.m. and did homework until 2 a.m. She slept in until 11:30 a.m. the next day.
'Over the weekend you have to choose,' says Ms. Glickman. 'Do you go out or stay home so you can get your homework done? You can never do an all-day thing.'
Maria Glickman, Jennifer's mother, grew up in New York, attended Catholic school and was the first in her family to go to college, commuting to New York's Pace University. 'I loved high school. It was more carefree,' says Maria Glickman. 'We worked hard. We had a lot of fun. There was a lot more time to just enjoy ourselves -- going ice skating, going bowling. I don't get that sense from kids today. They don't seem to find as much enjoyment in high school as I did.'
While Maria Glickman says she urges her daughter not to work so hard and that 'getting a B is OK,' she also has been encouraging her to look at Ivy League schools including Columbia and Princeton.
At a meeting in late February to kick off the college-application process, both her mother and Ms. McConnell, her guidance counselor, suggested that Ms. Glickman consider some Ivy League schools. Ms. Glickman is adamant: She wants a school that she thinks will be challenging but less pressured. She's interested in the College of William and Mary, American University, or Boston College, though she recently added Brown to her list. During vacation in April, Maria Glickman suggested stopping by Princeton on a family trip 'just to see the campus,' but her daughter said no.
'She said she doesn't want so much pressure in college -- she wants to enjoy her four years,' says Maria Glickman, who says she supports her daughter's decision. 'I want her to find a place where she will be happy and comfortable.'
Ms. Glickman recently started a project in her 'Personal Wellness' class. The assignment: change one aspect of your daily health routine to reduce stress, and keep a journal of your progress.
Ms. Glickman's goal: Getting more sleep by making sure she goes to bed at 10 every night. A friend of hers, another junior, tried the same goal recently and couldn't do it -- too much homework.
'I am really going to try,' says Ms. Glickman with a laugh. 'We'll have to see.'
***分割符***
17岁的詹妮弗&#149;格利克曼(Jennifer Glickman)是名高二学生，因为课业繁重&#12289;睡眠不足，她几乎累的精疲力尽，甚至时常会感觉胃部不适，还会头疼。
这位全'A'生最近在跟母亲及学业顾问讨论大学报考问题时，宣布自己不想申请普林斯顿或其他常春藤盟校，虽然她的顾问认为她有能力进入这些学校。
“我妈妈想让我上常春藤盟校，但我的高中时光压力太大了，我不想在大学里重蹈覆辙，”格利克曼说。“我不希望大学生活也充满竞争，我不想再置身于那样的环境中。”
从音乐剧《油脂》(Grease)到电视连续剧《飞跃比佛利90210》(Beverly Hills 90210)和《胜利之光》(Friday Night Lights)，高中生活一直被流行文化美化为一段由课堂&#12289;体育运动和夸张的青春戏码组成的美妙时光。不过如今，对许多雄心勃勃地把目光锁定在那些日益挑剔的精英大学的学生来说，高二是整个高中生活中最艰苦的一年──学业压力巨大的一段炼狱时光。
斯坦福大学的研究人员去年对2,700名学生进行了一系列调查，调查结果显示，在旧金山湾区(Bay Area)，有三分之二来自中等收入及中高收入家庭的高中生表示“经常或总是”因繁重的课业而感觉压力很大。
超过一半的学生反映，由于功课占据时间太多，他们停下了原本喜爱的活动或爱好。四分之三以上的学生反映调查前的一个月曾经出现一次或多次跟压力相关的健康问题，超过一半的人反映曾出现头疼&#12289;失眠&#12289;精疲力竭等症状。约有9%的人表示，为了熬夜学习曾非法使用过类似Adderall或Ritalin等处方药，25%的人表示曾使用过红牛或No-Doz等提神饮料。
“表面上看，这些孩子是世界上最得天独厚的一群人，”参与斯坦福大学研究的心理学家玛德琳&#149;勒文(Madeline Levine)说。“不过他们的家长知道事情有点不对劲，这些孩子连基本的睡眠和营养都得不到。”
高二如何变成了一场折磨？高中时光长期以来都是一个痛苦的成长阶段。在日本&#12289;韩国&#12289;法国等国家，沉重的功课负担在那些有望上精英大学的尖子生当中是很常见的。据老师和校长们反映，美国中学生的功课在上世纪90年代开始逐渐加重，当时全国上下对考试成绩下降的担忧促使学校引入了更多标准化的考试，从而加大了高中的压力，它们不得不增加课程的难度。
高校录取竞争日益激烈使得申请大学的准备工作由高三第一学期提前到高二。青少年数量的激增加剧了入学录取竞争，而预计明年青少年数量将达到高峰。学业顾问&#12289;家长和高校录取人员敦促学生们在高中二年级就开始学习高阶课程──这意味着学生们通常每晚至少要做90分钟的功课，此外为了增加学校申请的优势，还要开始规划一系列课外活动和社区服务专案。
中学之间的竞争也日益激烈，学校为了争取在“最佳”中学榜上获得较高的排名，鼓励学生选修高阶课程，而高阶课程是评价一个高中是否优秀的常见指标。法明顿高中(Farmington High)是哈特福德(Hartford)附近这个中高档的“睡房社区”（上班族居住的社区──译注）中的一所公立学校，那里超过60%的学生至少选修了一门高阶课程，80%的学生会继续读四年的大学。
看着孩子肩负如此重压，有些家长很矛盾，他们敦促家里正在读高中的孩子少做一点功课，多一点玩耍。
法明顿高中的校长蒂姆&#149;布雷斯林(Tim Breslin)最近跟在另一所高中读二年级的女儿说，让她减少一些课外活动和课程。她要做的事情包括：高阶历史课和英语课&#12289;声乐课&#12289;模拟审判比赛&#12289;学生会副主席&#12289;爵士乐团&#12289;SAT预备课&#12289;划船，还有一个男朋友。
布雷斯林说，我问她是不是可以减掉一些，她说“不”。
格利克曼是个开朗健谈的女孩，爱笑，容易与人交往。她想成为一名小学老师，或者从事国际关系方面的工作。“我非常喜欢政治，”她说。就像大多数青少年一样，她喜欢周六偶尔逛逛商场，和朋友去Chili's和 Ruby Tuesday吃饭。她上周末参加了毕业舞会。她也喜欢租电影在家和妈妈一起看。（她的父亲1993年去世了，姐姐在纽约的科尔盖特大学(Colgate University)念书。）
“跟她说话时，你会发现她很成熟，自我意识很强，”格利克曼的学业顾问赦拉&#149;麦克康耐尔(Sheilah McConnell)说。“不过她一方面严肃认真，另一方面也可能傻里傻气。”
格利克曼一般六点起床，为一天的学校生活作准备，学校七点半开始上课。前一天晚上她会把第二天的午餐包好，午餐通常是一瓶水，一份火腿奶酪三明治，外加一份喜欢的零食，比如Scooby-Doo水果点心。法明顿高中的餐厅供应的菜式很多，但是格利克曼的时间表排得太满了，无暇坐下来吃一顿午餐，因为她选修的其中一门课──合唱就是在午餐时间排练。合唱课的老师让孩子们在教室后面狼吞虎咽地把纸袋里的午饭吃掉。
随着她在各门课程之间穿梭，作为一名高二学生的要求也随之倍增。西班牙(Honors Spanish)语荣誉课程每晚要花30分钟；高阶英语每晚要花30至90分钟，具体时间要看使用哪些书或材料而定；初级微积分荣誉课需要再花一个小时；生物荣誉课程要花30分钟。一天中最后的课程是格利克曼最喜欢&#12289;也是最难的一门课──高阶历史课，每晚要花两个小时做功课，包括阅读和定期写文章。
加起来，她每晚平均要花四个半小时至五个半小时的时间做功课。
“有时，当我把晚上要做的事情加起来数数的时候，我感觉自己就要垮了，”格利克曼说。她一般11点半上床睡觉，不过有时要熬夜完成一个项目或备战大考。“没有太多的时间睡觉，”她说。据学校工作人员称，她平均分达到98分，差不多是全班最高的。“我要尽最大的努力，”她说。“如果我不满意自己得的分数，我就会对自己说，‘为什么我那时没有再努力一点？’”
就在格利克曼 着去自习的时候，一群高二学生聚在一个会议室里，正在讨论他们面临的压力。他们当中很多人选修了两到三门高阶课程，参加体育活动，花时间在课外活动上。
“有时，你不知道自己做这些事是因为自己真的想做，还是为了让简历看起来漂亮一些，”丹尼尔&#149;金(Daniel Jin)说，他选修了四门高阶课程&#12289;练习长曲棍球&#12289;加入学生会&#12289;还参加了一个课余社区服务项目。“你得提醒自己不是仅仅为了申请大学才做这些事情的。”
凯文&#149;普特尼(Kevin Putney)的一个哥哥在达特茅斯学院(Dartmouth College)读书。他说，他的哥哥发现大学生活比高二要轻松些。“我知道父母想让我开心，他们想让我多些户外活动，”他说，“不过这么多事情要做，我没办法像他们期望的那样多花些时间出去玩。”
学生们表示，虽然家长们可能告诉他们要保持生活学习之间的平衡，但他们还是从家长那里感觉到出人头地的压力。“如果你得到好分数，父母会批准你做一些事情，比如如果你有驾照，他们会给你一辆车，或者允许晚上晚一点回家，”凯尔西&#149;达奇(Kelsey Darch)说，这两样东西她都得到了。
凯尔西的爸爸陶德&#149;达奇(Todd Darch)说，给女儿一辆车，一方面自己可以减少开车，另一方面是“对好分数和好行为的奖励”。他说自己只要求女儿“尽最大的努力，如果一门课程经过最大努力后才能得到'C'，那也没关系。”
“差不多每个星期爸爸都会给我发一条短信：‘今天做别人不做的事，将来就能做别人不及的事，’” 乔丹&#149;哈威兰(Jordan Haviland)说。“父母对我这么好，如果考不上一所常春藤盟校，我感觉就辜负了他们的期望。”
哈威兰的爸爸蒂莫西(Timothy)表示自己不勉强儿子非要考上某所大学，不过他感觉乔丹是有压力的，因为哥哥上的是哈佛大学，姐姐上的是布朗大学。
“我觉得他会不甘落后，”供职于一家投资公司的蒂莫西说。“这些孩子给自己不少压力，他们看报纸，上网，知道有多少学生正在申请这些学校。”
有些学生表示压力来自自身，也来自父母。“整个游戏就是要看谁将击败谁，”坐在桌子另一边的斯宾塞&#149;努恩(Spencer Noon)微笑着看着他对面的金，一边说。“如果最后我没有考上哈佛，而金考上了，我会很郁闷的。”
法明顿高中的校长布雷斯林说，如果学生抱怨压力太大，学校有时会调整考试和其他活动的安排，但他不赞同某些家长建议学校限制学生参加高阶课程和活动的数量。
“我们争取让孩子们自己经过深思熟虑后选择要做的事。不过如果学生说他们想选一门高阶课程或者选五门高阶课程，并得到家长的支持，我们很难限制这个学生，”布雷斯林说。“他们不想承受这些压力，但为了跟上别人，他们不得不这样。”
格利克曼大约下午两点半上完课，不过她一天的活动甚至还没完成一半。一般她会在下课后花两个小时为校报工作，她是校报的新闻编辑。她还志愿参加一个帮助残疾学生参与体育活动的计划。
高一的时候她经常打排球，不过现在不打了，因为“那只是闹着玩”。
“我知道高二的压力会很大，”她说。“我喜欢打排球，不过如果坚持练习的话，做功课的时间就会少掉四个小时。”她还说：“大学不希望你同时干十件事，而是需要你充满热情地干三件事。”
自3月份起，格利克曼跟很多同学一样，参加课后的SAT预备课程，这些课程是为秋季的重要考试冲刺而设置的。参加这个课程就意味着每周有两个晚上她要九点半才能回家开始做功课，其间还要打断一下，偶尔上网到Facebook上去跟朋友聊聊天或发发短信。
最近一个周六的晚上，她参加一个派对，11点半回到家，做功课做到凌晨两点，第二天一直睡到中午11点半。
“到周末，你就要取舍了，”格利克曼说，“出去还是待在家里把功课做完？永远都不可能一天只干一件事。”
她的妈妈玛丽亚&#149;格利克曼(Maria Glickman)小时候在纽约长大，上的是天主教学校，是家里第一个上大学的，每天在家和纽约佩斯大学(Pace University)之间往返。“我热爱高中的生活，那时要无忧无虑一些，”玛丽亚&#149;格利克曼说。“我们那时学习努力，有趣的事很多，有很多时间玩耍，比如滑冰&#12289;打保龄球。我从今天的孩子身上看不到这些，他们似乎不像我当年上高中时那么快乐。”
虽然玛丽亚&#149;格利克曼说，她叫孩子不要那么拼命，“拿个'B'也没关系”，不过她也一直鼓励女儿考虑上哥伦比亚&#12289;普林斯顿这样的常春藤盟校。
在2月底的一次大学报考流程启动会议上，格利克曼的母亲和她的学业顾问麦克康耐尔都建议她考虑常春藤盟校。格利克曼的态度很坚决：她要上一所自己认为有足够挑战性但压力没那么大的学校。她有意报考威廉玛丽学院(College of William and Mary)&#12289;美国大学(American University)或波士顿学院(Boston College)，不过最近她把布朗大学也纳入考虑范围。4月的一次假期，玛丽亚&#149;格利克曼提议在家庭旅行途中顺道去一趟普林斯顿大学，“只去看一下校园”，但被女儿拒绝了。
“她说，不希望大学有这么多压力，她想享受自己的四年大学时光，”玛丽亚&#149;格利克曼说，她表示支持女儿的决定。“我希望她能找到一个开心&#12289;自在的地方。”
格利克曼最近开始参加她的“个人健康”课上的一个项目，任务是：改变日常健康习惯的一个方面以减少压力，并记录你的进展。
她的目标是：确保每天晚上十点上床睡觉，睡眠多一点。她的朋友&#12289;另一个高二学生最近也尝试实现同一个目标，但没有达到──因为功课太多了。
“我真的要试一下，”格利克曼笑着说，“我们等着瞧。”
