Let me tell you my academic story so far:

A: I am a senior in high school who has combined type ADD. I struggle to perform basic tasks involving organization. Hence, at my rigorous college prep school, I struggle to survive. I am on academic probation and have a cumulative of 2.1. Thankfully, I have an IQ of 144 (not age adjusted) and an ACT score of 35. But a school obsessed with the correlation between GPA and college "success", would deny a student like me, Albert Einstein, or Alexander Graham Bell, the two former being some of the greatest minds o our time. So, do grades really correlate to "success" when you factor in that the student may not have applied himself, was bored, or had a learning disability?

B: To tho other extreme, we have your 4.0 goody two shoes, who is all about homework and study. Her tutor and her parents prepare her for everything: tests, homework, anything. She is not the sharpest tool in the shed but she works incredibly hard and has support all around her.

Now who would you pick?

A: The next great contributor to humanity

B: The manager of the McDonald's down the street

Although not everyone is at an extreme, next time this issue comes up, think about who the great thinkers of the world are, and ask yourself if grades are that important.

Learn more about this author, Pierre Rappolt.
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