Alarmed by increasing suicide rates and substance abuse among young people, high school principals are fighting back by creating a consortium called "SOS" or "Save Our Students." SOS currently has forty-four member schools located all over the country. Some administrators are easing up on homework demands, requesting parental permission for AP classes, and even requiring mandatory yoga classes. School districts in 19 states have already implemented later start times, some as late as 11:30 AM, so students can get more sleep.
One of the most outspoken advocates of stress reduction is Paul Richardson, principal of Needham high school in the Boston suburbs. Richardson received criticism from high-profile people like Rush Limbaugh and Jay Leno when he stopped publishing the student honor roll in a local newspaper. Now he is under even more heat for his "Stress Reduction Committee" which recommends measures like mandatory yoga classes and homework-free weekends and holidays. Needham encourages students to think in terms of colleges that are the right match for them, instead of those with the most prestige.
"It's not that I'm trying to turn the culture upside down," he told the New York Times on October 29. "It's very important to protect the part of the culture that leads to all the achievement. It's more about bringing the culture to a healthier place."
Many high-achieving students are stressed out from making grades, setting up a resume of after-school activities and volunteer work, running for leadership roles in organizations, writing perfect college applications and acing their SATs. Needham and others believe that drug and alcohol use is related to high stress levels. These kind of students often need to better cope with setbacks, "so they don't fall apart if they get a B-minus," he said.
Needham is a graduate of Harvard University.
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