Smart Flunking

I agree with the statement “someone may be very intelligent and still flunk out of three schools.” Poor academics does not necessarily reflect a lack of intelligence. It shows a lack of persistence and motivation. Many people that don’t do well in school are really smart, they just do not have the desire to get good grades. They may see grades as no more than a mark on a paper rather than a representation of knowledge gained and understanding.

For example, my uncle struggled throughout high school and failed out of his first college. After gaining maturity and concern for his future, he got on the right track. He completed his doctorate and is a senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and is one of the leading soil scientists in the world. Now definitely a man of intellect, his main concerns in high school were not academics. He had other interests that kept him from his studies.

I agree with Priya when she said that you don’t necessarily have to be “book smart” to be intellectual. Good test grades and completed homework are useful for judging people’s class work, but there is more to the human brain than a grade on a test. People can have a great deal of common sense and awareness without succeeding in school. Don’t get me wrong, grades are important but sometimes over emphasized. Teachers tend to stress grades and students will work for the letter grade instead of depth of learning. The letter doesn’t represent the student’s intellect, merely the effort to get the grade.

You can be smart but just not interested in the subject being taught, which could lead to the apathetic mindset that many students develop. Apathy is not a sign of unintelligence; these individuals may see the redundancy of completing mindless tasks for an accumulating grade that does not necessarily determine intellect. In other instances, students may just simply not realize the obstacles they are creating for their future and not foresee the impact of their actions.

You can be very intelligent and not be successful in school. Maybe its rebellion against the structure, or apathy toward the subject, or distractions outside of school that lead the student to flunk. But look beyond the grade to what the students knows and how they speak, to see their intelligence without the ranking of a letter grade.