Embrace potential

Show appreciation, not apathy

Recently, I’ve found a disheartening trend among my high school peers to brag about inadequacy in school. It seems my social media feed is full of pictures of 2 a.m. homework for assignments we all knew about for weeks and, occasionally, failing course marks with captions like “LOL.” Certainly, I understand sometimes forgetting about assignments, but these posts are not far and few between; it’s every night, perpetuating the glorification of mediocrity.

For example, if you walk into any classroom, you’re bound to see more than one student frantically copying someone else’s work for the next period. Teachers see it, and because it would be impossible to crack down on every instance of such, they’re reduced to only rolling their eyes. Not trying in school is seen as relatable comedy, and I am left to wonder if education and academic achievement have always been perceived as having no significance.

I was recently in a class, and the absent teacher had assigned some simple book work. The kid that sits next to me spent the entire period googling the answers. I asked him why he didn’t try to do the reading, to just apply his attention for a small amount of time rather than mindlessly typing into Google. I reminded him that we had learned this in class; he’d know the answers if he just read the question and tried, and I would be willing to help him if he couldn’t understand something. He quickly dismissed me, saying that he was only taking the class to get the credit so he could graduate.

He had no interest in understanding,