I have seen a few films that were in America where the parents of the main character make a big deal about what grades the kids get , or about being on a sports team. The Breakfast Club, Clueless and Bill And Teds Excellent Adventure are some examples. Are a lot of parents like that in America ?.
shareAre you asking if American parents want their children to succeed?
Yes
I mean, are they that comically strict? No! Do they care about their kid's lives? Yes!
sharein the 80s yes, today no. Todays parents raises spoiled kids who let them get away with anything and a school system that allows slackers to pass.
Not saying their isnt a lot of good parents who care about their kids (such as myself) but overall yeah..
-People sure do get angry if you don't like the same things they do
I meant are/were they that pushy and strict ?. It's good if parents want their kids to succeed, but it can ruin their self esteem if they are too pushy and strict (as we see with Russ and his father in this film, and in other films ).
shareNo, not all American parents are that pushy when it comes to school and sports. Growing up, I knew a few kids who would get grounded for getting Cs or Fs (we didn't have Ds). It was a lot more common for kids to have a privilege taken away, given more chores or have to do extra homework or extra credit work if their grades were slipping. And some parents (like mine) gave no punishment whatsoever for bad grades.
As for parents being pushy in sports.. in my experience it is a lot more common (unfortunately) to have parents, usually a dad, being extremely overbearing when it comes to their kid doing well in sports. While every parent wants their child to do well they know the most important part is letting their child just enjoy the game. But there is almost ALWAYS at least one dad who takes the game waaaaay too seriously. They criticize every move, yell at the umpires and coaches and expects their kid to be the VERY BEST. They put extreme pressure on their child to excel in whatever sport he/she is playing. And this kind of parent is seen in every league and in every sport from peewee all the way up to high school (and college if they go that far).
So to the answer to your question is yes almost every parent in America wants their kids to do well in school and/or sports. But no, all parents here are not overly critical and don't put unthinkable pressure on their kids to exceed in school or sports.
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It's not just about being strict... I doubt Big Russ would ground his sons for failing Maths or French.
I'm not American, but here in Britain we do have a stereotype of Americans as rougher and more "go-getter", like those parents in the US who teach their kids shooting.
Everyone that replied here more or less said no, parents aren't like that but didn't seem to answer your real question. In fact their answers somehow manage to strengthen the answer that, yes, parents make a BIG DEAL whether or not their kids make good grades.
Not only parents but everyone because it's such a social norm to think that grades are correlated with success every in such a intertwined fashion that there is no other alternative to being successful and well off.
Now, of course not all people see and TEACH otherwise but the overwhelming majority definitely and firmly believe grades are a really 'big deal'.
Where are your good grades, so where will be your good life ?
Getting bad grades could possibly mean repeating a grade or not having enough credits to graduate high school. No HS diploma=No job! Most schools (public and private) demand parents push their kids, as anything less than an A, means (to the school)the parent is not doing their job at home and could result in a CPS visit.
"The end of the shoelace is called the...IT DOESN'T MATTER!"