Do Straight A’s Define Success?
Maimoonah Shafqat (’20)
Get straight A’s, get involved, go to a top school, be successful.
To the average Mountain Lakes student, the message is clear. Whether it comes from parents, teachers, coaches, or (most often) other students, there is the idea that to “succeed,” one must get perfect grades and an impossibly high GPA. It is a notion that is reinforced time after time. The belief that straight A’s are not always a direct ticket to success may fall on deaf ears (especially in Mountain Lakes High School), BUT as a recent New York Times editorial notes, straight A’s can be can be perceived in a negative way by some.
Simply put, our current grading system rarely measures things like emotional intelligence or creativity. Memorizing facts and formulas and filling out a Scantron correctly do not give a person the skills to inspire people and make meaningful connections. Students with the highest class rank are usually the ones most scared to rock the boat, instead choosing to stick to what they know. Everyone knows someone who took an easy class to raise their GPA. What’s wrong with taking a class that you know will challenge you and push you to look beyond what you already know?
The hysteria around grades and class rank leads many to witness the uglier side of high school—the bitterness between friends about grades and college acceptance, the rampant cheating, the obsession with grade inflation. Teachers are concerned when students are on the verge of tears because they received a B+ on an assessment (I’ve been there), and they are disappointed when students display more of an interest in grades than learning. Most teachers genuinely believe that their students can achieve success, and the truth is that grades have a very minimal effect upon one’s career achievements in the future. At a certain point (specifically after the first year out of college), grades mean little to employers.
Well, this is a noble idea in principle, but when Mountain Lakes students were asked if they would ever get a B on purpose, they were less receptive. One high-achieving anonymous sophomore commented, “Oh….I think…no. I don’t know if this is completely accurate because you’re cherry picking these examples [of successful people who have dropped out of college].” Another junior responded, “In a class or on a test…I always want to do well, because I need validation and recognition”.
It doesn’t take a professional researcher to realize that straight-A students suffer socially. Shunning social events to study or go to tutoring is not a foreign concept in MLHS. Evidently, more time spent making Quizlets and doing test prep with expensive tutors means less time spent with friends or being involved in one’s community. Nearly every job, especially those at the upper echelons of the world’s most lucrative companies, requires employees to be able to collaborate with others and develop connections. The most challenging jobs demand perseverance and resilience, traits more often found in students that take risks and aren’t afraid to fail.
Surprisingly, one high-achieving ML junior remarked (albeit hypothetically), “I mean, I would be fine with getting a B because the classes I’m taking are especially challenging, but also I think that if you get a B it shows that you’re human and you’re not perfect that everything…getting a B isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
Perhaps Mountain Lakes “culture” has pushed students into an academic race with a meaningless goal. Perhaps the blame rests with colleges that promise success while maintaining astonishingly high standards of admission. Perhaps it is the fault of parents that pressure their kids into attending a top 10 school. Perhaps it is all these factors combined.
In the end, students should remember this: valedictorians are not always visionaries.
This is Your Procrastination Intervention
Nikki Zanelli (’19)
It’s Monday night, 6:30 PM, and you have an English assignment due the next day. How many times have you said to yourself: “Just one more episode…” or “I’ll just close my eyes for just a second…”?
Fast forward three hours. You are now seven episodes in, its 1 AM, and you still have 2 hours of work ahead of you. Well…darn…
Whether it’s a choice between Netflix and essay writing, reading and listening to music, working and studying… we all face constant choices between things we would prefer to be doing with things we would not. As high schoolers, many of us face constant pressure to make the correct decision, the “smart” decision. Yet, many times this decision is difficult, especially when this pesky habit many of us have comes into play: procrastination.
While numerous aspects of our lives remain out of our control, the art of procrastination remains our choice. Putting interesting things ahead of those that are less so is simply human nature. In the moment, after a long day of school, sports, work etc., it’s compelling to do the things that we find more interesting. In the moment, the consequences of these decisions don’t seem so destructive. Yet, many times “watching that extra episode” or “taking that 17 hour nap” can be add up to become verydestructive.
This very serious and common issue plaguing high schoolers is called “chronic procrastination.” Perpetual procrastination can lead to an increase in anxiety as well as a severe drop in quality of work performance and efficiency. Additionally, the negative effects range from mental and emotional symptoms, such as lowered self esteem, to physical symptoms, such as fatigue. These effects can increase in severity and worsen over time.
Think back to all those times that a Canvas assignment was due at 11:59 PM and you were still typing at 11:59:42. Seconds later, you finish, upload the file and just as you hit submit…(11:59:58)…your computer buffers. Now your assignment is late.
In the grand scheme of things, one late submission is not going to ruin your life. But how about more essential deadlines, with greater potential for long-term impact, such as submitting college applications? The repercussions of a late submission, as you struggle to write a supplementary essay, could cost you entry into a school you would like to have the option of attending. What now?
Of course, this is an extreme case that rarely occurs. While procrastination seems like a manageable, simply pesky habit, it is important not to overlook the habits we develop in our four years of high school because they will carry over into our everyday life. For this reason, it is important to consider the effect your choices will have later in your life.
Next time, ask yourself: “Is that extra episode worth it?”
0
0
Average Rating