PRESSURE

There has been a scandal at our school. Two seniors pretended to be the principal and the vice-principal, and they sent out emails criticizing the house system. The emails looked like they really came from the principal, and he was understandably furious. “You have stolen my identity!” he shouted at 300 students in a meeting.

The students have since been caught, I think, and predictably, they were clever students who just did something stupid. Being seniors, they are under a tremendous amount of pressure. They are trying to get into top universities, so they have university applications, Extended Essays, ToK Presentations, world literature essays, math tests, performances, etc. The amount of pressure at our school is TOO MUCH.

The teachers are mostly to blame, because we give them too much homework. I feel like I am under pressure and competing with other teachers to get an increased market share of the students’ time. It is the corporate capitalist paradigm that we have so agreeably accepted in schools, and it is sick.

The principal says he will open up an honest forum where people can thoughtfully and respectfully exchange ideas, perhaps a website, blog, or wiki. I hope so. Something has got to give.

We all have to live with pressure, and pressure is certainly part of the modern urban Asian culture (some of you will remember Bus Uncle), but what I am seeing is ridiculous. I have seen kids on the basketball team frantically trying to do their math homework during halftime! Students are staying up to 03:00 studying for the test, and then falling asleep during the test! Typically, I shovel my lunch down my throat as I am walking down the hallway.

That reminds me, I skipped lunch today (too much pressure) and I’m hungry. Bye!