Introductory Essay By Betsy L. Angert | Originally Published at EmpathyEducates. December 22, 2013
For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. Approximately 4600 young lives are lost each year. A nationwide survey of youth in grades 9–12 in public and private schools in the United States (U.S.) found that 16% of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13% reported creating a plan…
~ Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Look what we have done to our young ones. We’ve locked them up in a world of “fun” and turned it upside down. Look what we’ve done to our sons and daughters. It begins at birth; we start to plan. Where are the best preschools? College may be pricey, but preschool will blow your mind, or your budget if you can afford to have one. The pressure is on – not just you, but your child. He or she must perform. Children as young as the age of 4, work to conform.
It may be an A or in the DNA, but whatever it is, it kills us. Oh, we can and do paint pretty pictures. But truth be told Kids ‘absolutely’ feel parents’ stress. Thirty percent [30%] of our young admit that they worry about family finances.
Still whether we are broke or with billfolds bulging, we look for the best, the best schools, the best grades, the best video games. And, oh yes, those test scores. In 2013, Washington D.C. charter schools announced that “for the purposes of assessing their academic progress and ranking schools according to the results students ages 3, 4, and 5 will be tested. The standardized exams are not intended to assess social and emotional learning. No,