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Paly student tells of school stress

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Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#31

Post by thephyber »

xhdjejxjx wrote: post #19
tass wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should talk to a school counsellor about the load. What is the worst that can happen if you don't graduate on time? I'm asking because i don't actually know... Talk to a doctor about the other problems you're having - if it's stress related you'll at least have some evidence to back you up if you discuss workload with your school.

But you don't understand: that's what everyone else in the program is doing too.

What does what "everyone else is doing" have to do with _your_ personal physical and mental health?

Take an honest appraisal of what you think you can do and talk it over with both your major counselor and a school nurse. If your body or mental health can't handle it, take it down a notch and consider dropping a course and retaking it the next semester/quarter.

Half of the controversy of the suicides based on parental+peer pressure and competition is that the demands will never plateau or fall. They will continue to rise above the abilities of more than 99% of the people who enter the competition. There is no supply/demand curve where parents/peers and you will magically find an equilibrium. Learn to have your own expectations, independent of your parents and peers.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#32

Post by xirdstl »

xhdjejxjx wrote: post #13
JHSheridan wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Students are now asked to give up their present for a chance at a good future. So... an investment?

It's more than that, unless you consider investing your physical health part of the deal too. As a current mechanical engineering junior, the expectations have gotten really quite insane. In order to graduate on time you have to be taking 15-18 credits of the hardest classes offered at university. Right now I'm in an 18 credit semester, and next I will be taking 17 credits. Currently I'm in fluid mechanics, finite el…

What is "on time"? I graduated from an engineering university a decade ago, and it was commonplace for an undergraduate degree to take 4.5 - 5 years. There's no rush to finish in 4. You have the rest of your life to work.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#33

Post by DanBC »

Steko wrote: post #11

Context: cluster of suicides in Palo Alto schools Recent article in the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-sili... An article from Vice in September: http://www.vice.com/read/student-teaching-0000748-v22n9 NPR interview with a student from May: http://www.npr.org/2015/05/10/405694832/in-palo-altos-high-p... SF Magazine article in May: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Why-are-Palo-A…

The piss poor coverage of suicide in some of those articles is probably causing some deaths.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#34

Post by Retric »

xhdjejxjx wrote: post #25
bcassedy wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has this not always been the case for engineering majors? I seem to recall that graduating in 5 years was pretty much the norm for engineers.

You have to graduate in four or you're out of the program.

Summer classes can really help the load. Even if the school does not offer it you can generally self study a math class.

Another option is to accept a lower grade in a class. Ex: If getting a C on a project saves you 80 hours of work it can be worth it.

PS: Giving up sleep is false savings over time.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#35

Post by bluker »

paulsutter wrote: post #12

Competition is a choice. Some say it's for losers[1]. Either way, this is melodrama. Certain goals really do require sacrifices. But everyone choses their own personal goals. I do remember being a teenager, and I do remember that it was difficult to realize this. That doesn't make it any less true. [1] WSJ, "Competition is for Losers" http://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-thiel-competition-is-for-l...

Agreed. Everyone perceives the world from the tip of their own nose. Life could be much worse. As a counter point of view, my brother went to a high school just outside of Detroit. During his senior year the district ran out of money, most of the teachers quit but the students still had to "attend" class. The grad rate was < 65%. There were no after school programs or accelerators to attend. Most students and their families are living on welfare and/or working to help support their family. Homework is the last thing on their mind. Public education is flawed in many ways and it's usually those who show the most resourcefulness that survive in any scenario.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#36

Post by frame_perfect »

I went to Homestead High School (and have friends that went to Gunn/Paly) and the experiences I've witnessed have been similar.

One of my friends has parents that worked at Adobe. During his junior year, he was taking AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C E&M, AP Physics C Mechanics and AP Computer Science. He got straight A's both semesters, and got a 5 on all of the AP tests. I went over to his house during the summer and found that there was a huge hole on the bottom of the door in his room. He told me it was because his mom was so angry at him for something school related (something trivial like getting only a 2100 on the SAT) that she kicked the door in.

Another one of my friends' dad works at Intel. My friend ended up getting accepted into UC Davis (but rejected from UCLA/Berkeley/MIT), and, while I was in the room, his dad told him that UC Davis is for failures.

This problem has little to do with the schools themselves. It has to do with the parents, and the reason why people come to live here in the Silicon Valley. People don't move here to live a great life, settle down and have kids. They come here to advance their career, and ultimately, to make money. Here in the valley, if you don't have marketable skills, you are trash. And the kids who grow up here know that all too well.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#38

Post by joshvm »

About the time I was doing my GCSEs (16 yrs), Oblivion was released. Revision wasn't a priority when Tamriel was in danger. I'm still glad I spent my time playing Morrowind and Oblivion rather than spend my evenings overanalysing English literature.

On a more serious note, tne thing that surprised me about doing a PhD and attending undergrad classes* was that without the pressure of exams and homework, I listened and was interested. Far more interested than I was at undergrad when each hour was spent scribbling down notes.

*My undergrad was in physics, my PhD is in computer vision which I knew absolutely nothing about when I started.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#39

Post by frame_perfect »

ucaetano wrote: post #27

I don't want my kids to grow up in the Bay Area, period. I'll probably move to Europe when I have them. Sure, that means some career sacrifice (and wages) but it doesn't matter, I don't want them to grow in such an environment.

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, I thank you.

Re: Paly student tells of school stress

#40

Post by lfowles »

Retric wrote: post #34
xhdjejxjx wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to graduate in four or you're out of the program.

Summer classes can really help the load. Even if the school does not offer it you can generally self study a math class. Another option is to accept a lower grade in a class. Ex: If getting a C on a project saves you 80 hours of work it can be worth it. PS: Giving up sleep is false savings over time.

> Another option is to accept a lower grade in a class. Ex: If getting a C on a project saves you 80 hours of work it can be worth it.

Not that I'd recommend going as far as I did, but this was my college motto. 20% of the work for 80% of the grade, then move on to homework for the next class.

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