<p>I guess I paraphrased the m.s. principal unfairly-- (its been 2 years and )-- it may have been 250 kids on academic probation. The message was merely you can choose to challenge yourself in high school and take advantage of the education provided, or you can skate through without putting in much effort. Obviously you don’t have to take calculus in high school to be a success!
I do think many middle school kids are at a crossroads, and are struggling to figure out where they fit in socially and academically. He was just trying to nudge them to head in the right direction.</p>