This document is a newspaper article that discusses the immense pressure high school students face to get good grades and build impressive transcripts to impress colleges. It notes that students feel overwhelmed by the workload from school, extracurricular activities, and other commitments. It also discusses how students feel intense pressure and view anything less than an A as failure, which takes a mental and physical toll. The document also includes a separate article summarizing and praising the TV show "Glee."

1. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009
The immense pressure to
impress colleges with near-
perfect transcripts is taking
its toll on ambitious high
school students.
By DREW MULLER
HATBORO HORSHAM
HIGH SCHOOL Every clique in high school ... check.
It really is a miracle that all
teens haven’t developed chronic
back pain. Every year, the
weight on the shoulders of
high school students piles up
with homework, extracur-
The joy
of ‘Glee’
riculars and whatever else
they manage to cram in
to their already full-
to-the-brim sched-
ules. The musical comedy series
How the hall- is one of the standouts
ways remain
hunchback-free
of the fall TV season.
remains a mystery By SARAH MCNAB
ARCHBISHOP WOOD
to me, because I If you haven’t been watching “Glee,” then
know on most you have seriously been missing out.
days I feel like an Easily one of the funniest shows on TV,
elephant is using “Glee” is a more grown-up, and much better,
me as a park version of “High School Musical.” It’s
another show that deals with breaking down
bench. Sadly, the the social barriers among high school
load only increases as cliques, but it is so funny that you will liter-
college looms closer. ally laugh until you cry.
The emphasis that The show, which airs 8 p.m. Wednesdays
society places on aca- on Fox, centers around Will Schuester, the
Spanish teacher at McKinley High, who is
demics and grades is trying to make Glee Club cool again and take
overwhelming, but the the club all the way to nationals. He faces
pressure teens put on many obstacles along the way, such as his
themselves to succeed may wife Terri pretending to be pregnant to keep
be even more so. their marriage together, and Sue Sylvester,
the coach of the cheerleading squad, the
“If I got a B, I would cry,” Cheerios, trying to destroy Glee.
says Neshaminy senior and fellow Deep down, the members of Glee Club
reality panelist Annabelle Abdo. have hearts of gold, but their drama and
Notice she said if. For any scheming is thoroughly entertaining. Rachel,
honors student, it is almost like the singing diva who practices so much her
neighbors filed a restraining order, is in love
an unwritten code — you just with Finn, the quarter-
don’t get B’s. Ever. back who splits his
And if you happen to receive time between foot-
that accursed letter, so pleasant ball and Glee. But
looking, but so evil, you’re a failure. he is dating Quinn,
the head cheer-
It’s as simple as that. The mind imme- leader, who is preg-
diately races, you can picture an admis- nant, but lies about
sions officer seeing that B and tossing who the father is.
your application aside. You snap back to Each character is
reality, shudder and study harder. unique and hilarious, but
the one who steals the
By no means do I intend disrespect to spotlight is Sue Sylvester,
anyone who has gotten those grades; I’m just played by Jane Lynch. She is
shedding light on the warped minds of honors the dedicated cheerleading
students. coach who will do anything to
If you think about it from a purely mathematical be a winner. Despite 95 percent
of the Cheerios being illiterate
standpoint, a C is average, making a B above aver- (at a football game, they try to
age. Ironically, students have mass meltdowns for spell “Go Team,” but instead
being above average. spell “To Game”), she treats
As I mentioned before, a B signifies failure, but a them like champions.
C, in the eyes of many students, means you might She makes remarks that are
borderline offensive, such as: “I
as well trade in your brain, hop in a puddle and often yell at homeless people:
become a single-celled organism. ‘Hey, how’s that homelessness
The bar is consistently set higher, leaving even working out for you? Why don’t
the most avid overachiever gasping for breath. you give not being homeless a
Students are at the mercy of the college monster, try?’ ”; and “Being pregnant is no
excuse for gaining weight.
bending over backwards to do whatever it takes, Procreation is a sign of weak-
and more, to stand out. ness.”
But for every student who separates him or her- She advocates caning, and
self from the crowd, there are hundreds of others despite the fact that she is
doing the exact same thing. Colleges advocate diver- blond haired and blue-
eyed, she says she knows
sity and well-roundedness, but with their high what it feels like to be a
demands, it seems to me they are creating an army minority.
of grade-obsessed androids, kids so caught up with Brilliantly written,
building the perfect transcript that their personali- “Glee’s” humor is so sub-
ties become one-dimensional. tle that sometimes it’s
easy to miss. Mr.
They sleep, eat and breathe school. Actually, for- Schuester blackmails
get the sleeping part. Being an insomniac certainly Finn into joining Glee
has its perks. while sitting in his office
All-night study sessions? Check. Extra credit with a poster above his
when you’re already acing the class? Not a problem. head that reads “#1 pri-
ority: helping the kids.”
The sad thing is, to most grade-conscious students, Puck, another football
these seem like necessities. player who joins Glee,
The constant pressure to go above and beyond in talks about how he
school has its consequences. Hatboro-Horsham jun- comes from a traditional
ior Lauren McNeil blames her (self-diagnosed) anx- Jewish family while eat-
ing sweet and sour pork.
iety problems on her education.
See GRADES, Page D2 See GLEE, Page D2
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