Robbins Talks About Overachieving Issues

Book Help Web Interview With Alexandra Robbins

High school reunions inspire us to all sorts of things. Some people dye their hair, go on a diet, or hide under their bed.

New York Times bestselling investigative journalist Alexandra Robbins went back to school and stayed for a year. During that year, she followed nine students who were attending Whitman, the high school Robbins graduated from 10 years before. These were all high-achieving students facing pressures that have been ratcheted up to unbelievable levels.

Following the year spent with these students, Robbins gathered her research into a highly compelling work, The Overachievers: The Secret Life of Driven Kids. In this highly readable expose, Robbins shows the effect college admissions frenzy is having on these students and their families. In doing so, she tells a story that is less about these nine students and more about society worldwide and how we are sabotaging our children and our future.

Each chapter is filled with anecdotes from the lives of the students, followed up with hard facts and reports about the issues that affect them-from sports rage to cheating to drinking and drugs to standardized testing to college counselors and admission processes.

Alexandra Robbins answered some of the questions we had about her research and book.

Book Help Web: What has been the reaction from the teens in the book and the other people who were talked about?

Alexandra Robbins: I'm regularly in touch with the students, 7 of whom I took to dinner a few nights ago. They've told me that they enjoyed The Overachievers, and many of them have said they are excited that their voices might make a difference in other families' lives. To learn what they think individually of the experience of reading about themselves (as well as what they're up to now and what they would like readers to know), readers can visit alexandrarobbins.com -- after they read The Overachievers -- and log in to the updates section.

BHW: Are you keeping in touch with the teenagers whose lives you followed for a year? Do you think you will ever write a follow-up book on them?

Robbins: Oh absolutely we keep in touch. I hear from some of them almost every day. They are all very dear to me, and many of us will be lifelong friends, I hope. They're great! I wouldn't rule out a follow-up book someday if the topics were relevant, but that would be up to the students.

BHW: Did you share the perceptions other students had of them (for instance, did Taylor know that she was looked upon as "the popular girl")?

Robbins: Yes, they all saw their sections before I turned the book in to my publisher because I needed to make sure I captured their voices and views accurately. I did not share the perceptions other students had of them until after the three semesters of following them were over.

BHW: How difficult was it to remain an impartial observer in the lives of these teens and not to offer them advice or to help them pull back from their overachieving ways?

Robbins: It was hard at times not to step in and help them fix things; sometimes my heart broke for them. I tried my best to remain a supportive sounding board. They knew I was (and am) there for them, whenever, wherever. (More than one of them happily referred to our chats as "free therapy"!) Now that the book is finished, I readily dispense advice when they ask me to.

BHW: The picture you painted of pre-school admissions in New York was very bleak and almost unreal. Is this just a New York thing or do you think it is spreading to other areas of the country?

Robbins: It's not just happening in New York. The numbers game is going on in many areas. There are many pockets in the U.S. where parents fear that if they don't get their child into the proper preschool, they've lowered his chances at getting into an Ivy League school 16 years down the road.

BHW: What was the most surprising thing you learned while researching this book?

Robbins: I was stunned by the lengths some parents and students would go to get an edge. If I had to pick one shocker in particular, it would be that not only are non-ADD students buying black market ADD drugs to dope for tests, but also some *parents* are calling doctors, trying to get prescriptions for their non-ADD children simply to drug them for finals. That's twisted, and sad.

BHW: What sort of reaction have you gotten from other students (not the ones at Whitman) to your book? From parents? From schools?

Robbins: The reaction across the board has been wonderful, and I'm so grateful for the feedback. I'll be spending the school year lecturing at schools and communities across the country, so I've been flooded with requests to speak. Students, parents, and schools are telling me that The Overachievers is exactly the book they need, and that it's a great read, too - What more could a writer ask for? I should take this opportunity to thank the readers who have emailed me. I read every single note, and am warmed by the support!

BHW: You returned to Whitman ten years after you graduated. Was the intense push toward overachievement present then or has it changed in intensity since you were there?

Robbins: The intensity has definitely ratcheted up significantly since I attended high school -- and this isn't just at Whitman, but at high schools across the country. I was able to take journalism, home ec, art, and gym, for example, without worrying about how they would look on my resume`, and I didn't stress about piling on AP classes in subjects that didn't interest me. Overachiever culture was perhaps a blip on the radar screen when I was in high school. Ten years later, it's pervasive.

BHW: At the end of your book, you give some excellent, pragmatic, and caring actions that can be taken to help alleviate the pressure put on these driven kids. How optimistic are you that this advice will be followed? Which do you think is most likely to be acted upon first?

Robbins: Thank you. I do believe that some of the advice will be followed; I've already heard from parents who say that The Overachievers has changed the way they think about their children's educational experience. As for which suggestions will be followed first, I suppose that depends on the family or school. I am optimistic, though. I think we can turn this frenzy around.

BHW: How would you respond to those people who claim that the upcoming generation is lazier and has less of a work ethic than the Baby Boomers?

Robbins: I would say that those people haven't talked in-depth with the kinds of students I did. The students I spoke to are dynamic and want to contribute to society. Look at Ryland, for example-he was perceived by some of his classmates as The Slacker, but he spent more time doing community service and environmental activities than most students spent on all of their other activities combined.

BHW: You've written a number of intense looks at "secret lives." Do you have another one planned? If yes, what is it?

Robbins: No, I think that the messages in The Overacheivers are too important to move on from at this point. I am so proud of the students I followed and I want to make sure their stories get heard, so I'm devoting this year to speaking to communities and schools about these issues.

--B. Redman