There is a lot of media buzz lately about whether American society coddles children too much. I offer a recent New York Times article as an example: Click here. 

 

There are numerous anecdotes of over-coddling by parents and even by schools.  I once met a sociologist professor whose expertise and research was on the phenomenon of "helicopter parenting." He cited stories of parents showing up to job interviews with their grown child, or a mother who decided to accompany her college student to a meeting with his academic advisor. The outliers often get the attention and skew the public’s view of what is happening.

 

My own perspective is based on my experience at Colorado Academy. As a voluntary community, parents want their children to be at CA so their kids can be challenged.  Rarely do we get complaints that there is too much "challenge" at CA or that we need to “lighten up” on students.  This year, we have had a significant increase in applications, and prospective families tell us they want to be at CA because it is a place of challenge.  The parents that we encounter want their children to be in an environment where there is rigor and where there are high standards of excellence.  

 

To be sure, we are supportive in our community. We strive to be age-appropriate and equitable in our curriculum and programming.  We strive to be compassionate and live up to high ethical standards.   We strive to have a healthy and balanced perspective on helping students perform at a high level. We want to sustain an environment in which students’ quest for strong academics, the arts, and athletics emerges from an authentic interest and passion in those endeavors.

 

In that context though, our goal is to teach life lessons about failure, perseverance, and overcoming adversity. We strive to teach kids to set goals for themselves and to work toward those goals. Intentional programming, such as our outdoor education and service learning initiatives, are aimed at developing grit and determination, resourcefulness, and self-reliance.  

 

These characteristics are incredibly important for success.