it's definitely toxic, but at the same time I do feel that the unrealistic expectations of my teachers prepared me well for the Real World. by the time I got to high school I realized that no one really did all the work. I didn't have to be perfect, I just had to stand out from the pack a little bit to get mostly B's and A's. people set high expectations on the off chance that someone might actually meet them, not because the sky will fall if they don't.