Yes.
All of that.
Welllll... I dunno if I agree that Honors/AP is what it once was, though...
and today's 4.0 student really
is only about as capable (in-my-jaded-opinion) as the 3.7 student of 30 years ago. Grade inflation is a real phenomenon. I feel it's being driven by the quantity-as-rigor philosophy. That way anyone who
can plow through that much material really
can earn an A.
DD has even noticed that in some classes. It just doesn't feel that authentically
rigorous to her-- but like an avalanche of busy-work. Crushingly so, but still. So what I see is that the semi-Tigers are mostly
incredibly hard working. It's not the same as being capable of deep critical thinking, though. There just seems to be this grinding pressure for more-more-more and perfect-perfect-perfect now. Even kids like mine that are more or less
capable of doing it well... it just feels
wrong. 
PS. I plan to enter the lottery with my Nigerian earnings. But when I win, I'll share with everyone. So it's okay.
