'Robo-students,' 'helicopter parents' and their pursuit of happiness 'Robo-students,' 'helicopter parents' and their pursuit of happiness (March 30, 2005)

Author of landmark book on student stress says the phenomenon is getting worse

by Alexandria Rocha

Four years after Denise Clark Pope chronicled the effects of student stress, the Stanford lecturer and author says the problem has only gotten worse.

High school students are still loading on the advanced placement courses, extracurricular activities and sports; getting very little sleep; missing out on the normal teenage experience; and viewing education more as a career step than a passion.

Pope's book, "Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic and Miseducated Students," highlighted the issue in 2001 and grabbed the attention of parents and education officials in Palo Alto.

The book followed five high-achieving students through a school year and discovered the troubling lengths each would take to succeed. For example, one student Pope followed signed up for seven Advanced Placement courses in one semester, slept three to four hours each night, and by the end of the year was suffering from an ulcer.

To further examine the issue, Pope helped launch the Stanford Stressed-Out Students (SOS) project last year.

Last week, dozens gathered in Mountain View to hear Pope discuss stress and adolescents. Earlier, the Palo Alto Council of PTAs held a meeting on fostering resilience in stressed-out youth that featured Pope's SOS co-chair, Mollie Galloway, as a guest speaker.

Gunn and Palo Alto high schools have also signed onto the SOS project, implementing various strategies and activities to help reduce student stress. For example, Paly holds yoga every Thursday after school. Last fall, there was also a book club for students and teachers to read and discuss "Doing School."

The battle is far from over, as Pope is still seeing an influx of teenagers struggling to be "super students." It is mid-spring break and rather than relaxing, many teens are spending the time visiting colleges.

The Palo Alto Weekly recently asked Pope to answer some questions relating to stress, hopefully shedding new light on the issue for parents, students and educators still in the dark. Her answers were edited for the sake of clarity and space.

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