In a nutshell, what is overachiever culture and what is it doing to our children?
Overachiever culture is a hypercompetitive culture that ruthlessly prioritizes prestige and a narrow definition of success. Its effects on the American educational system are destroying children and teens. They are hyperventilating over the pressure, which is contributing to depression and suicide rates. They are forcing themselves (and being forced by adults) to play competitive sports even while seriously injured because of the hope of a scholarship or an admissions edge. They are working so hard and piling on so many extracurricular activities that they have become the most sleep-deprived age group in the country. Parents and students are sacrificing health, happiness, and character, all for the sake of a name-brand college. I firmly believe, from this investigation and from my personal experience, that overachieverism – and the perfectionist workaholism that accompanies it – is an addiction, and a dangerous one. What are some of the more shocking effects of overachiever culture? Th
