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I'm not bitter. I was just asking you all's thoughts on this matter. I just remember the "smartest" kid in my grade buttering up to teachers, studying countless hours for everything, and claiming the test was really hard when she knows she aced it (which my mother always said when other people do this it is to sike everyone else out).
If she studied for hours for everything she was a good student. Just because she was annoying and tried to psych you all out that doesn't mean she wasn't smart.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David910
That type of person really bugged me because she was just so desperate to play "the game". I was just looking for other perspectives on this matter. Not that there's necesarily anything wrong with what she did, it's just that there were plenty of other I'd say brilliants kids who, I just can't explain it, they made first honor roll and everything, but the buttering up wasn't there, they never claimed the test was impossible.
There was just a notable difference.
What's the difference if she claimed the test was hard? If she studied and got a good grade she earned the grade regardless of her annoying habits.
I'm not bitter. I was just asking you all's thoughts on this matter. I just remember the "smartest" kid in my grade buttering up to teachers, studying countless hours for everything, and claiming the test was really hard when she knows she aced it (which my mother always said when other people do this it is to sike everyone else out).
Why is "smartest" in quotes? Was she in reality not smart?
Studying for hours makes her a good student. And WAS the test hard? If so, she was not lying!
Quote:
Originally Posted by David910
That type of person really bugged me because she was just so desperate to play "the game".
Being smart, studying and acing tests is what good students do.
Sounds like the only game played was getting under your skin (and PSYCHING you out!).
You know what, I have the perfect phrase to describe her. She was completely "book smart" and not so much "street smart". Trust me, besides this, the girl is awesome, and super nice. But she's just really book smart.
I know someone that was "just book smart". Just did well in HS, joined no clubs, didn't have a lot of friends but did very well in class and on tests. In college, at Cornell, he found people similar to him. He continued to do well and got his masters from Cornell as well and now works for Google in Manhattan. He's much happier and more comfortable in his own skin now than he ever was in HS.
Many people are not happy in HS and go through the motions (playing the game) to survive and get out. HS is just a tiny part of life, and the person you are in those few years does not have to determine who you will be as an adult.
You know what, I have the perfect phrase to describe her. She was completely "book smart" and not so much "street smart". Trust me, besides this, the girl is awesome, and super nice. But she's just really book smart.
You HAVE to have common sense. Book smarts with no common sense is a waste.
Quote:
Originally Posted by toobusytoday
I know someone that was "just book smart". Just did well in HS, joined no clubs, didn't have a lot of friends but did very well in class and on tests. In college, at Cornell, he found people similar to him.
It really depends. My ex bf is EXTREMELY book smart, nearly a genius and a member of MENSA, attended an Ivy-League school (and LOVED to crow about it) but had few friends in HS, did no extracurricular activities, and has EXTRAORDINARILY poor social skills, unrealistic expectations (he expected his Ivy-League degree to MAGICALLY open doors to high-paying jobs with no effort on his part), and is even lacking on soft-skills (proper attire to interviews and work, how to interact with coworkers/bosses). He is NOT doing well, and is working a low-paying entry-level job that requires no degree.
Sometimes I really wonder what "smart" is. NOT knocking the students who study and get good grades - all parents should be encouraging kids to do this. But what is "smart"? Is being focused and learning material and being able to recite it "smart"? Is my ex in the example I just gave "smart? Is someone like me who made astoundingly poor grades but had a high IQ/tested phenomenally well "smart"? (I eventually went on to get a master's and am doing well). Is the one with little education who made $30,000 but invested and saved and stacked millions "smart"? I also have friends who went to top schools, have whiz-bang careers, but are impulsive in their personal lives and make risky, poorly-though-out decisions, putting their lives in serious risks. Is this "smart"?'' So what is "dumb"?
I don't have the answers. Maybe I should have made this into a separate thread. This is something that just popped into my head one day after dealing with my ex.
Hey everyone! I hear fairly often the term "game" used to describe academics in High School. What this essentially means (for those who don't know), is that the students willing to "play the game" (or just work their asses off) are the ones getting the 4.0 or whatever and that High School does not truly indicate true smarts. I think it implies that some of the smarter kids see what's going on and decide they are not going to play the game (and the rat race that comes along with it in terms of colleges), while people who aren't very smart decide to play the game and get a 4.0
So, I was wondering what you all thought of this idea of high school as merely a "game". I, to some degree, agree with this idea. I think that some kids who are really smart just decide they don't want to get involved in this rat race and decide to just back off a bit.
One more thing...I think this who idea is more centered at the top public and private schools in the country and not in your average-joe school. I think at the top schools, a top college is seen as the holy grail of academic achievement and people will just submit themselves to academics in order to get the bragging rights of saying that they got into a top school (and thus playing the game).
What do you all think?
I think you're not a parent. And don't understand the concept of family support, ambition, and making excuses for flailing around in life blaming everyone else for lack of personal responsibility and motivation.
AND it has nothing to do with "just saying they got into top schools". Or are you saying those top schools are not anything special in terms of academics.
I'm not bitter. I was just asking you all's thoughts on this matter. I just remember the "smartest" kid in my grade buttering up to teachers, studying countless hours for everything, and claiming the test was really hard when she knows she aced it (which my mother always said when other people do this it is to sike everyone else out).
That type of person really bugged me because she was just so desperate to play "the game". I was just looking for other perspectives on this matter. Not that there's necesarily anything wrong with what she did, it's just that there were plenty of other I'd say brilliants kids who, I just can't explain it, they made first honor roll and everything, but the buttering up wasn't there, they never claimed the test was impossible.
There was just a notable difference.
So? People everywhere do that. Ever watch Dance Moms? That doesn't mean they don't earn their achievements. Aced it? So saw her in her house and saw the hours she was putting in to "ACE" the test then lie? As if ACING a test is a bad thing? And what's wrong for commenting a test is "hard"? I know people who's moms drill them in spelling words while' they're in the SHOWER every Friday morning "test day". Fathers who run the BBALL for hours at night to get the kid on the team. Etc Etc.
But now we see your mom planted this seed of paranoia and excuse making in your brain at obviously an early age! It doesn't matter what everyone else does, you should be doing YOUR personal best not worrying about "not sucking up" or whatever you think is cool that week. Cool and critical of "the system" will get you nowhere.
Kids need to be "trained"/"indoctrinated" to believe in The Game.
That could be part of the reason for no recommended reading list. A really good list might explain too much of the Game and demonstrate that a lot of high school teachers are not so smart.
Try The Screwing of the Average Man (1974) by David Hapgood.
It talks about The Game beyond high school.
But now we have these cheap computers everywhere. What are they going to do to The Game. To a certain extent I believe our educational system needs for students to not make the best use of these things. Maybe tablet computers are
I'm not bitter. I was just asking you all's thoughts on this matter. I just remember the "smartest" kid in my grade buttering up to teachers, studying countless hours for everything, and claiming the test was really hard when she knows she aced it (which my mother always said when other people do this it is to sike everyone else out).
That type of person really bugged me because she was just so desperate to play "the game". I was just looking for other perspectives on this matter. Not that there's necesarily anything wrong with what she did, it's just that there were plenty of other I'd say brilliants kids who, I just can't explain it, they made first honor roll and everything, but the buttering up wasn't there, they never claimed the test was impossible.
There was just a notable difference.
Your mom did not do you any favors in teaching you this lesson. And of you appear to be projecting your own insecurities onto those who made good grades, which does in turn make you sound bitter or at least fault- finding.
So you had a suck-up in class. There's always at least one. They can be so annoying. I say let your work do the talking. Besides, if doing well and learning along the way is a "game," and you do those things, how can you lose?
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