It seems that the oldest and the youngest child always have it better than the middle children. In this case, just the oldest has it best. In school the oldest child usually sets the bar for expectations; but what happens when they’re not met?
Many students who have older siblings have a hard time living up to their older siblings expectations whether they are good or bad ones. When you have older siblings and they get really good grades and are very involved in school, they expect you to be just the same. But what if school just isn’t for you? If you’re someone who does not enjoy school and gets through school just by school passing, your teachers will more likely than not, make a comment comparing you to your sibling, pointing out how you may not be as scholarly as your older brother(s) or sister(s).
If you’re coming into school after your older sibling(s) and your older sibling(s) did really awful in school, all your teachers will look down on you and not expect much of anything from you. After all the judging and comparing is said and done, you can do one of two things; live up to the expectations or completely rebel.
Rebelling against the title that your sibling(s) have left for you can be rather hard and can either be really good on your part or really bad. If your brother/sister was a straight A student that was very active in school then rebelling against this would set a bad reputation for yourself. You would essentially get bad grades, do bad in school and not be very active at all in school. This should never be the way to go.
On the other hand, if your older brother/sister had really poor grades in school then rebelling against this isn’t such a bad idea, you can make your own reputation and do better in school than your sibling(s) did.
But why should people have to live up to the expectations of their siblings? If a teacher had a student who has younger siblings and then one day has that sibling, they should teach with an open mind and not expect more or less from their current student. After all, everyone is their own person and teachers should not compare.
I have older brothers and as soon as every teacher who had my brothers in the past find out my last name their reaction is always the same, “you’re so-and-so’s sister?” and then a comment is made about how good/bad they were and how I am expected to act. I’m either told that I should act more like one or that I should do better than the other.
No younger sibling should have to be judged by how good or bad their older sibling(s) did or did not do in school in previous years. So, assert your own identity. Be yourself and hopefully others, including those who know your sibling(s) will see you for you.
