By Madie Blais
Staff Writer

Growing up I always got good grades. I never had to try for them, as many others had to and my love of learning was something I acquired very young from being a curious kid. School and learning were things I had always looked forward too. As I got older I saw other kids begin to stress out about grades and start to hate school. This always seemed like a foreign concept to me, how could you hate a place where you were learning so much?

In 6th grade I got my first “B”, which to me was no big deal, grades were just grades; they didn’t show how much I knew and was learning. When I brought my report card home my parents were pretty upset and I was dumbfounded. A “B” is still above average isn’t it? How could I be expected to maintain “perfect” grades all the time? I had forgotten some of the material, it wasn’t like I wasn’t retaining all of the important information.

After talking to some of my friends, they started talking about how they’re parents also expected all “A’s”, even though they had had a “B” average they’re whole life. This got me to thinking, when did an “A” become expected of people? A “C” was supposed to be an average grade.

For the first time in my life it had occurred to me that school wasn’t all about learning, it was about the grades.

Now it seems like more and more often, I observe people obsessing over their grades rather than enjoying the class and what they are learning. It seems very rare that I come across someone who is taking a class just because they really want to learn.

It has now become a competition among kids to be the “best student.” Of course this means straight “A’s” across their report card and the highest GPA, and SAT scores attainable.

Because school has become all about the report card grades, it’s very common to see people struggling and doing whatever it takes to get on the top, which is getting rather crowded now-a-days. People will work themselves to the bone and do whatever possible just to get the highest grade that they can. Teens today are more stressed out, with more mental disorders, such as depression, than ever before.

This is the most important time to maintain health for kids because they are developing in major ways. However, kids are losing sleep and are constantly under stress trying to complete assignments. All of this takes a toll on them, and leads to a broken down immune system. The stress puts the body in a constant state of fight or flight. All of this is detrimental to health and a major contributor to depression. Kids are sacrificing their mental and physical health for grades.

When did grades become so important to the point where they are valued higher than the health of a child?

School should be about learning, and enjoying what is being taught. Kids should be taught that, yes, grades are important, but health is more important. Grades do not determine how smart one is, and they do not determine if one will be successful and happy in life.

I think it’s very important for parents to tell their kids that no matter what grades they have, they are not a failure. It’s possible for kids to reach their goals in school and life, without killing themselves to be at the top. Losing a whole night of sleep just to finish all the homework they have, may not be worth it. Their mental and physical health is more important than school will ever be.