Just how much pressure are we putting on our high school students to get those make-or-break grades, and even more so – the highest possible SAT or ACT scores to get into college? Must every child have that much coveted four-year education? Just how far will we push our kids to make that happen?
In Sunday’s New York Times, Alan Schwarz reports on the “Risky Rise of the Good-Grade Pill,” and students who snort the ADHD drug, Adderall, just prior to taking their grueling SAT exams.
Like most of the mothers I know, I forked over hundreds of dollars in SAT-prep classes (on credit), sprung for the weightlifting-worthy study guides (on credit), and witnessed both my kids pull out all the stops on at least some of these exams.
But to my knowledge, they weren’t indulging in a prescription drug to heighten their focus before putting Number 2 pencil to paper. Yet how would I know – really? How would any parent know if their teens are abusing legal drugs for good grades? And more disturbing – if we did, would we object?
Mr. Schwartz describes the scene in a suburban New York City parking lot, quoting a student:
Before opening the car door, [the boy] recalled recently, he twisted open a capsule of orange powder and arranged it in a neat line on the armrest. He leaned over, closed one nostril, and snorted it. Throughout the parking lot, he said, eight of his friends were dong the same thing.
Prevalence of Teen Prescription Drug Abuse
The article reports that scenes like this are taking place across the country, where pressure to perform is raising the stakes for teenagers, and access to these prescription drugs doesn’t seem to be an issue. Clearly, growing competition for grades and test scores is.
And incidentally, when it comes to those ADHD meds, Mr. Schwarz points out:
The number of prescriptions for A.D.H.D. medications dispensed for young people ages 10 to 19 has risen 26 percent since 2007, to almost 21 million yearly, according to IMS Health, a health care information company — a number that experts estimate corresponds to more than two million individuals.
I don’t consider myself even remotely qualified to comment on those ADHD med statistics, which nonetheless seem worthy of scrutiny by those who are. So setting those numbers aside, as I see it, the problem is (at least) two-fold:
- our expectations in an increasingly competitive society, and
- the prevalence of prescription drug abuse, with easy access of these meds to our kids.
While we might dismiss the former as “just the way it is,” the latter has far-reaching consequences not the least of which is the way these drugs alter an adolescent’s brain chemistry.
Pills, Pressures, and Parental Responsibility
So I ask again – how would a parent know? How does our vigilance for the usual suspects – alcohol or other illegal substances – allow this particular sort of abuse to slip through the cracks? Is it simply not on our radar? And if it were, would we be as complicit in turning away as we are to the shared pot of coffee at midnight, as the adolescent pulls another all-nighter to complete college apps, or prior to a major exam?
I’ve expressed my views that perhaps we should not be parenting every child for the college track, or at the very least we might consider letting our teenagers take more time in making choices. Admittedly, that’s no easy task for a parent, especially in this economy.
I’ve expressed concern over my own laser focus when it comes to academic achievement, which I passed along to my sons. I’ve second-guessed myself many times, as I sat with one of my sons through the night – as I was writing on deadline, and he was working on a project or prepping for a test.
As I down another cup of coffee to keep going, is my presence an example of work ethic – or unreasonable performance expectations in an unreasonably competitive world?
“Reasonable” Stress?
We might debate what is “reasonable” even for the adults, and I would argue that “reasonable” is a function of circumstances. As a single mother trying to pull the weight of two parents, without a salaried position and its benefits, when it comes to the hours I keep or the manner in which I work, my “reasonable” won’t be the same as that of the two-income salaried household with a more predictable income stream.
But I’m an adult. My decisions regarding my own habits include clear knowledge of my body’s rhythms, mindful adherence to healthy eating, no nicotine, very little alcohol, and virtually no drugs whatsoever other than the occasional Advil for a migraine.
But what about a high school or college student up at all hours to perform, or abusing stimulants before taking a test? Is it any wonder that when the weekend rolls around – or the summer, for that matter – that it’s followed by days on end of sleeping, with the cycle to start up again Monday morning or with the new semester?
- In our Pill For Every Ill society, how do we get a handle on the contagion that has become our legal prescription drug use?
- How do we stop these legal drugs from making their way into the hands (and bloodstreams) of our kids?
- When will we address an educational system that puts increasing pressure on standardized measures of achievement, and an expectation that every student attend college? And what about the burden of cost – to get there, but less attend?
- How many of these issues boil down to economic burdens – the drive from high school and before – to perform, perform, perform – in order to get and keep a job?
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Some stress is good for ya–it can motivate you to try harder. I’m just sayin’…
Agreed, Gandalfe. The issue is finding the elusive “some” – and ensuring that our kids aren’t damaging their health in the process.
I think you have to know the circumstances of stress. Some is good. Some is just life. Some is only the result of a pile of bad decisions and adding sleeplessness to it is no help. We can only do our best, and part of that is self care. And there are consequences to procrastination. (I speak from watching a loved one make life harder by working long long hours – but not smart hours.)
I started talking about drugs to my girls early. Like three years old early. We only take medicines when our doctors tell us to. Period. I think taking these meds for ‘focus’ on the SAT is short sighted. The side effects can be brutal. Someone I know tried this – taking ADD meds to ramp up for big projects, but it only lead to brutal anxiety that needed medication that left her deeply apathetic. Drugs are drugs. They can be wonderful, if medically necessary. But taken for better grades or a better time – it’s playing with fire.
I think a big part of this is our stress we put on our kids. You don’t need to get all As or go to Harvard or make six figures to live a good life.
I do hope you read the linked NYT article, Kate. It goes into just how easy it is for kids to get these prescriptions, to get pills at school from other kids, and some of the very damaging consequences.
I applaud you for speaking to your kids as early as possible about drugs. And the conversations need to continue, and continue, and continue…
We also need to be vigilant about the ‘off the shelf’ ingredients our kids are consuming.
Super caffeinated drinks like Red Bull and V … people assumed because they are on supermarket shelves it’s okay …
There is so much rubbish readily available and marketed straight to this age group. It’s a disgrace – our age group was never exposed to so many toxic ingredients – sodium, chemicals and sugar and caffeine laden ‘energy’ drinks …
Something needs to change …
Absolutely, Vicki Lee. And it’s frightening to read about the products they combine for a variety of effects. I don’t know how we stop it. Some of it is adolescence. But I can’t help but feel that the amount of pressure that we put on kids has something to do with it. As with many other “band-aids” we rely on to get through the day, are we dealing with the underlying societal issues that require our kids to find so many ways to escape – or to get through their own days?
I am not sure when it happened or how it happened, but labeling our children and drugging our children seem to have become a part of the educational process. Good intentions gone awry? Maybe it is a result of the standardized testing. Is there a desire for standarized kids in our schools?
There is so much pressure on kids to achieve, to excel at everything, that it is no wonder they are resorting to whatever means they think will help them. Despite what they think, most teens do not have the maturity to recognize the danger of misusing prescription drugs (or illegal drugs) until it is too late.
Things are so far gone I don’t know where to begin.
“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can’t take part. You can’t even passively take part. And you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.”
― Mario Savio
I find this information horrifying. Are we becoming a society that can’t function or deal with stress without mother’s little helperto get us through stressful situations? I totally agree that, while there are benefits to having a college degree, not every child is cut out for college. Or at least not ready only a few months after high school graduation. Very thought-provoking post.
It is indeed horrifying, Lisa. I agree. (And worry about everything we don’t know about…
I think this is horrible. Why always so much pressure on kids to be something the parents envision – not everyone is going to be the next high flyer?! Not every job requires academic qualifications and not every child is suited to an academic education: with so much over-emphasis on children these days, why are parents not satisfied just to try and offer their kids a happy life without pressures like this? Whatever happened to “normal”?
Utterly ridiculous in my view.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, MeID. And welcome.
As to your points – I agree 100%.
Drugs for studying — bad idea. Drugs in general (licit or illicit) — usually bad idea (I don’t take any, of either kind).
SATs — a good concept that has become so commercialized that its original value is badly compromised. SATs exist because school grades have become even more compromised — I see all these “A” students who are quite mediocre in my book.
I’m concerned that, considering your financial pressures, you felt compelled to pay for SAT tutoring/lessons. I had an old SAT book or two that I told my kids they could look at to get an idea, and that there were sample questions on line. That was it. My kids did not go for this type of competitiveness and measuring against others, excepting some sports participation. But even that competitiveness was nothing compared to how serious student athletes train today, which becomes seriously counter-productive for good long term health (but that’s another story of how “healthy” gets misused, thinking of your later posts on food and some so-called “healthy” foods that have “healthy” added chemicals).
Interesting. My oldest, who has always scored poorly on standardized tests, took the SAT twice this year as well as an AP exam and an SAT subject test. Although we also paid for a prep course (which she feels helped her) we also tried to downplay the test telling her to not study the evening before, get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, etc. To my knowledge she wasn’t snorting her little sister’s ADHD meds, but perhaps I should have counted the pills! But in all seriousness, I don’t think she feels a pill is going to magically enable her to get 2400 on the SAT and, NY Times sensationalism aside, I wonder how many teens really do. (And I’m with you, I hate, hate, hate this pressure on our kids at a time when they’re still kids.)
Did you find it brutal watching your kids go through this testing? Between AP, IB, state-required testing, SAT, subject tests… it all seems like too much. Then I think back and realize I went through almost as much, but not the SAT prep, and no IB.
Still, did you feel somehow complicit in the pressure? (Just curious.)
Yes, hate it that the competition is so dreadful. As to the NY Times and sensationalism, these days it seems hard to ascertain the truth extent of a problem versus hype, regardless of the source. Still, the principle is one which bears thought and discussion. The easy availability of leftover prescriptions (in our own medicine cabinets), the easy availability of (even prescription) drugs in schools is something many of us don’t consider.
And we likely should.
I went through college without any drugs even though I have severe ADHD, which I didn’t find out until age 53. If anyone should have been on meds for ADHD it was me. So I’m not against them for people who need it. That is people who absolutely need them because the alternative is a ruined life. I made it, but by the skin of my teeth and have heart disease to prove how hard I tried (stress). In spite of my efforts at holding down a career, I lost jobs every couple of years and my family suffered with me, unfortunately.
All that being said, I think the drugs are being over-prescribed because Pharma companies are making billions. I putting less pressure on kids to conform to this outdated educational system would be a good start. Also we need to hold these kids who are giving or selling their prescriptions accountable as drug dealers are. And educate them that yes, some people need them but for others it can cause problems far beyond bad grades.
I’m researching for a documentary on ADHD and now realize the public is ignorant to fact that while too many kids are being prescribed these drugs who don’t have ADD or ADHD, many millions go diagnosed at all. It’s not as black and white as the over sensational media would have you believe.