<p>okay i havent read all the responses in the thread but OP come on. you’re asking these people, “why dont you realize that doing well in high school is necessary to be successful?” my question to you is why does everyone have to be successful? you have to remember that not everyone is like you. we’re not talking about morals that need to be upheld; this is pure ambition. So yeah, happiness can be a little better than success sometimes and it really shouldnt matter which path you choose (and most of the time you can combine them).</p>
<p>second, you claim that high school success is needed for real world success. that’s completely false. A B/C student can get into an nonselective university and pick it up from there. there are so many different paths to success man…okay im gonna stop there because its starting to take a turn for the cliche</p>
<p>I’m in an easy English class (not AP Lit).
After being in AP Lang last year… I can’t believe it.
I’m definitely not a genius in English but I’ve always aced the class…but these kids probably cannot read at a sixth grade level (they are seniors).
Today, in my class of 30, one other kid and I actually did our homework.</p>
<p>I’ve actually been thinking about this question for the past few days. I say it’s a combination of nature and nurture. You might be born to parents who don’t have naturally high IQs, but you can work your way up with hard work and determination. The exact opposite is also true.
I believe the real reason is that those raised in “disadvantaged” families (not trying to be condescending here) end up being surrounded by friends that are also “bad” influences. The effects end up compounding - similar to the popular axiom that your friends help define who you are. One of my friends (not too smart but definitely hardworking) would have taken all honors classes, but one of his friends convinced him not to, convincing him by telling him he didn’t need to go all “tryhard”.
Plus, many people don’t understand the real value of learning. It’s “free” (taxpayer) education and it can make your future so much better.
One of the biggest problems in my school district is that many students aren’t taught about the workings of the system(s) and why it matters. E.g. The student that knows that honors will help them get into (a better) college will try to take honors classes.</p>
<p>Love the responses (for the most part, hahah). </p>
<p>@NNormal, I said “for the most part” in the topic, I don’t know if you read that or not, but what I meant with that short phrase is that it is not totally necessary. You said that, and I also feel that B’s and C’s are not bad especially with most B’s and will definitely land you into a good college. I’m talking about the C and D kids which inhabit my class. </p>
<p>@neutron, I love the quote</p>
<p>For the rest, I agree that certain traits denote some sort of inability to grasp concepts that we do. Most of them CAN do it, I actually got the results of the friend who I tutored physics test score. He got a 94. He went from an F to a D+. I’ll keep working with him.</p>
<p>I graduated with my four year degree after doing pretty well in high school (high GPA, mid-30s ACT, slew of APs, whatever). I graduated with my BA and BS and moved back home to go to grad school (it’s a commutable distance). I called up some close friends from high school and asked if they wanted to rent out my house with me. They jumped on board. </p>
<p>They are:
-A regional managed at a national fast food place. No, it’s not glamorous BUT she gets paid about what I’ll make my first few years with my MPH from a prestigious university only a few years earlier. She was one of my best friends in high school. She had about a whopping 1.x GPA and ended up dropping out and getting her GED later on. </p>
<p>-A chef and kitchen manager at a very nice local restaurant who already makes more than I probably ever will. He lives with me because he didn’t want to live by himself and preferred a house to an apartment. He basically only passed high school because I did most of his homework for him junior and senior years. I think he had a whopping 2.1 when he graduated. </p>
<p>-My fiance who has graduated with a BA works part time jobs at a dog kennel and as a care taker for special needs children. He makes enough that we pay our bills, but just barely. Part of that is because I made him take whatever job was first offered to him- we needed the money! But partially because there just aren’t a lot of full time jobs around here for people without experience. </p>
<p>My point? Some people just hit their stride later in life. If you had told me that roommate A would be doing anything other than flipping burgers (no, she doesn’t work at McDonalds), I’d have looked at you like you have two heads. Instead, she has a 401k, a decently nice (new) car, and a good, secure job. But, she was one of those slackers in high school. Hell, she had to retake earth science 3 times! Roommate B we all knew would be successful, but only if you were his friend. If you saw him in class, you’d probably see him as a slacker (which he was), but is actually very intelligent. My fiance had a 4.0 in high school (unweighted) and is doing the worst out of all of us. So… things can be deceiving ;)</p>
<p>Some people have things they care about much more than school. Examples at my school include one or two artists who want jobs as graphic designers/insert artsy job here and know they can get to the colleges/jobs they want with subpar academic grades.</p>
<p>Others have a more carefree view of life. These are the ones that are satisfied with B’s, and maybe an occasional C, even though they could probably do better. Either they do not wish to be highly successful (with ambition comes lost sleep and lost time), or they believe that the difference between straight A’s and straight B’s is not life-or-death.</p>
<p>Some are disadvantaged. The simple fact is that, at some public schools, it can take hours for a school-bus-riding student to get home. All that lost time is valuable. That’s just one example of luck.</p>
<p>And others, the ones with the C’s and D’s, may either don’t care at all, or are trying but can’t cope. Even then, it’s not as if their world will end. The nice thing about being young is that there are always opportunities. One failure, or even several, is not reason for panic.</p>
<p>@blah, “for the most part” means that for many, but not all. I addressed the second one already, I forgot to put “for the most part”, so the same goes for that. Fun is important, but the context in my situation suggests that they have too much fun ex. drugs, alcohol. They’re failing their classes, maybe you don’t think it is as serious as it is, I didn’t really suggest that in the original post. Fun is always not as important as grades, even though it may work out for you in the end, everyone has different situations that have different endings.</p>
<p>Being happy and helping others be happy are more important than anything else. People get good grades either because it makes them happy now (learning, sense of accomplishment) or they think it will make them happy in the long term (good career, using knowledge/skills to benefit humanity), and the idea of being happy in the long term makes them happy now. Outside of this context, grades and school mean absolutely nothing. </p>
<p>(Also, having fun and getting good grades aren’t mutually exclusive, and I don’t just mean that in a “because you can do both” sort of way. There doesn’t need to be a dichotomy. It’s true that there’s nothing fun about grades in themselves, but having a sense of accomplishment is fun, and learning about a subject you care about is fun.)</p>
<p>low expectations from teachers! Our school is a complete joke because teachers set low expectations. I think having it be more rigorous to all, even regular classes, would foster competition and less apathy. It’s cool to do bad because it’s kind of expected. High school kids are pets basically.</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who “have too much fun” (weed, beer) and have extremely good grades. Do amazing at sports too. It’s all about managing and keeping your “fun time” contained to certain times only</p>
<p>OP needs a reality check… high school is stupid and a lot of people at your school realize that. You need to stop deciding what’s most important for everyone and quit judging others for where they focus their priorities.</p>
<p>Most people that I know do badly at school are generally pretty depressed or anxious or something. High school is a horrible experience for a lot of people, and when your world is far from perfect it’s hard to look past that and work hard for the future.</p>
<p>Most people that I know who drink and do drugs are actually extremely smart, although I go to a very “preppy” school so that might have something to do with it. The senior salutatorian is a huge party girl.</p>