It's looked down on if a student is a high academic achiever?

[frazzled]

7. Maybe not looked down on, but certainly not appreciated either

I remember when my son's computer science team won 2nd place in a prestigious international computer science competition that was held in Canada that year (we're talking teams from Russia, China, Europe, everywhere). Their success barely even got a mention in the school newspaper, buried in two sentences on an inside page, while the regular-season games in football, track, and other sports overwhelmed the front page with large stories and pictures.

There are pep rallies and lots of school spirit for sports in our schools, and the kids who participate and excel at that are looked at as heroes and get lots of accolades. But the kids on the math team or who participate in other academic competitions or pursuits, or who play in the orchestra, get ... bupkus. (And I'm not just talking about from the other kids, but from the administration and faculty as well.)

It's kind of sad. At least until you look at the kids 15 years later. Then you feel sorry for the football players.