If you’re in high school there’s a good chance that your life revolves around grades, tests, and your GPA. We’re taught from the time we’re young that to be successful and happy in life we need to go to college, which means there’s no room to slip up now. So be it if we need to sacrifice sleep, mental health and our social lives, as long as we get our A’s.

      This is the mindset that is pushed on us relentlessly, and in all honesty I truly believe the adults in our lives mean well. Most of them just want to see us succeed in the system that we’re given, which I don’t blame them for at all. I’m more fed up with the education system itself.

      I’m not saying education isn’t important, I just don’t believe the current grading system is the best way to help us learn. Believe it or not, most students don’t show up simply for the pursuit of knowledge; instead we’re trying to avoid being grounded when our report cards come out or we’re trying to assure acceptance into a higher education program after we graduate.

      So when it comes down between learning the content or just getting our assignments done so we can move onto the next thing, many students will choose the latter every single time. I don’t think I know a single teenager who hasn’t filled in random answers on their math homework, used SparkNotes to write an essay, or copied a friend’s assignment that they didn’t have time to do because they knew they’d get credit for completing these things even if they gained nothing in the meantime.

      Students are also much more inclined to play it safe and not think outside the box because any potential mistakes can mess up our score. For teachers, grades might just be a way to show us where to improve, but to us they’re our ticket to the next chapter of our life.

      Point being, not only is the pressure of grades super damaging to many people’s mental health, but the importance placed on grades usually end up having an opposite effect and holding us back from knowledge anyway. Everybody thinks in a different way and at a different speed. These differences should be honored and incorporated into school instead of repressed in the name of a high GPA.

      A late assignment that a student took the time to understand is more valuable than an on-time assignment that a student used Google for. An essay where someone uses creativity and higher-level thinking is worth more than an essay where they write exactly what they think their teacher wants to hear. Being allowed to learn without fear of being penalized for every mistake is essential.

     Right now, for many student’s school is simply about getting the grades needed for college no matter the cost, which helps no one. But if it was about meeting students where they’re at and helping them find interest in the topics we’re being taught, we would leave high school with such a richer education than ever before.