Sandy Bass is mistaken when she states, "There's no family that gets through private school without an SAT tutor." Neither my daughter, a recent Riverdale grad, nor my son, at Dalton, used an SAT tutor, much less a subject tutor. It's not necessary.
This hyper-competitiveness is horribly unhealthy for the students. And I don't think it's coming from the schools. Riverdale, in particular, is a terrific place, with caring, dedicated teachers and administrators who truly care about educating kids, and they don't make a big deal about grades.
You do not have to buy into the madness. Teenagers should be having fun, as well as learning, during high school. Everyone, please realize that this trend, while troubling, is not as widespread as the Times piece suggests.
