Straight-A vs Flunking Students: Do Good Grades Matter? | Middle Ground

Summary

In this episode of 'Middle Ground,' the debate centers on the dichotomy between straight A students and those who struggle academically. The discussion explores the impact of grades on self-perception, the role of intelligence, and the influence of external factors such as family support and personal interests. It challenges the stereotype that grades are the sole measure of intelligence, highlighting the importance of diverse learning styles and the value of perseverance and hard work. The episode encourages empathy and understanding for all students, regardless of their academic performance.

Takeaways

• 🎓 The episode discusses the dichotomy between straight A students and those who struggle academically, exploring various perspectives on academic success.
• 🤔 It highlights the challenges faced by students who find it difficult to keep up with schoolwork and the impact of procrastination on their grades.
• 🏆 The transcript features students with high GPAs who emphasize the hard work and dedication required to achieve straight A's.
• 🎯 Some students express aspirations to pursue higher education in fields like nursing or neurosurgery, indicating the motivational role of academic performance.
• 😔 There is an acknowledgment of disappointment when not achieving expected grades, but also a recognition of the importance of not letting it define self-worth.
• 🧐 The conversation delves into stereotypes associated with straight A students, suggesting that they may be perceived as less social or less adventurous.
• 💡 It challenges the notion that grades are the sole indicator of intelligence, with some students arguing that different learning styles and personal circumstances affect academic performance.
• 📚 The importance of hard work is a recurring theme, but the script also points out the potential for cheating as a way to achieve good grades.
• 😕 Students share personal experiences of struggling with certain subjects and the emotional impact of feeling unintelligent because of poor grades.
• 🤝 The episode suggests that building relationships with teachers can influence grades, implying the human element in the educational process.
• 🌐 It concludes with a message of empowerment, emphasizing that everyone has their own form of intelligence and that grades are not the only measure of success.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the 'Middle Ground' episode discussed in the transcript?

The main topic of the episode is the comparison between straight A students and those who struggle academically, exploring their experiences, challenges, and perspectives on education and intelligence.

What is Curiosity Stream and how does it relate to the episode?

Curiosity Stream is a subscription-based streaming service featuring a variety of documentary and non-fiction content. It is the sponsor of the episode and is mentioned as a platform where viewers can explore more about education and its future.

What is the viewpoint of a student who identifies as a straight A student regarding their intelligence?

The student believes that their grades define their intelligence and that being smart is a significant part of their identity. They feel that grades can show someone's intellect and understanding of a subject.

What challenges do students who struggle with grades face, according to the transcript?

These students face challenges such as keeping up with the workload, procrastination, lack of understanding, and not receiving the help they need. They also deal with the pressure of societal and educational expectations.

How do some students feel about the concept of being defined by their grades?

Some students disagree with the idea that grades define intelligence. They believe that not comprehending a subject does not make them less smart and that people have different learning styles that schools may not accommodate.

What is the perspective of a student who has experienced both struggling with grades and excelling academically?

This student empathizes with both types of students, recognizing that some may not understand the material and need help, while others may not choose to do the work. They understand the frustration and challenges faced by both groups.

What are some factors that can influence a student's grades aside from their academic ability?

Factors such as personal life events (e.g., family issues), mental health, teacher-student relationships, and even the student's own motivation and attitude towards certain subjects can influence their grades.

What is the significance of the discussion about stereotypes associated with straight A students and those who flunk?

The discussion highlights the importance of recognizing that stereotypes do not define individuals. It emphasizes that being a straight A student or struggling academically does not necessarily reflect one's overall intelligence or worth.

How do the students in the transcript view the role of hard work in achieving good grades?

The students acknowledge that hard work can lead to good grades, but they also point out that hard work can take different forms, including studying diligently or even cheating. They recognize that effort is important but may not always result in the desired outcome.

What is the general consensus on the importance of education among the students in the transcript?

Despite differing views on grades and academic performance, the students generally agree on the importance of education. They express a desire to learn, understand the value of knowledge, and recognize the opportunities that education can provide.

What are some of the students' future aspirations mentioned in the transcript?

The students' aspirations range from pursuing careers in law, automotive technology, and dance to owning their businesses. They see education as a means to achieve these goals and to make themselves and their families proud.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Struggle of Student Grades and Perceptions

This paragraph introduces the episode 'Middle Ground' focusing on the contrast between straight A students and those who struggle academically. It acknowledges the support from Curiosity Stream and hints at a discussion on how grades may not fully represent one's intelligence. The participants share their personal experiences with schoolwork, procrastination, and the challenges of understanding certain subjects. The conversation also touches on the stereotypes associated with straight A students and the pressure some feel to maintain high grades for their self-image and future aspirations.

05:02

🤔 The Debate on Intelligence and Grades

The second paragraph delves into the debate about whether grades are an accurate reflection of intelligence. Some participants believe grades are a testament to their intellect, while others argue that understanding concepts does not necessarily correlate with high grades. The discussion highlights the importance of learning styles and the limitations of traditional grading systems. It also addresses the pride some students take in their academic achievements and the belief that anyone can achieve good grades with enough effort, despite the potential for dishonest means.

10:03

👨‍🏫 Impact of Teachers and Personal Circumstances on Academic Performance

This section explores the influence of teachers and personal life on students' academic performance. It discusses the importance of building relationships with teachers and the challenges faced by students from different backgrounds. The paragraph also touches on the self-esteem issues some students encounter due to their grades and the varying levels of support they receive at home. The conversation reveals the complexities of the educational experience, including the role of parental involvement and the impact of personal struggles on academic success.

15:05

🎓 Aspirations, College Plans, and the Value of Education

The fourth paragraph focuses on the participants' aspirations and their views on the importance of college education. Some express a strong desire to attend college for various reasons, including personal growth, career goals, and the opportunity to make their families proud. The discussion also considers the broader value of education, with some participants reflecting on the privilege of access to education and the need to appreciate it. The paragraph emphasizes the individual motivations behind pursuing higher education and the diverse paths students envision for their futures.

20:05

🏆 The Complexity of Success and Self-Worth

In the final paragraph, the conversation centers on the participants' self-perception of their intelligence and the complex nature of success. The dialogue challenges the traditional definition of 'smart' and encourages a broader understanding of intelligence that includes street smarts and self-awareness. The participants share their belief that everyone has unique strengths and knowledge, and that grades should not define one's self-worth or intelligence. The episode concludes with a group hug and a reminder that personal qualities and self-knowledge are what ultimately matter in life.

Keywords

💡Straight A's

Straight A's refers to a student consistently achieving the highest grades in all their courses. In the video, this term is central to the discussion on academic performance and its impact on students' self-perception and future aspirations. For example, one student mentions having a 4.2 GPA and working hard to get straight A's, which shows the dedication and effort required to achieve such academic excellence.

💡Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing tasks or actions. In the context of the video, it is identified as a challenge for students, especially when balancing schoolwork with other interests or distractions. A student admits to struggling with procrastination, indicating that it can hinder academic success and contribute to stress.

💡Intellect

Intellect refers to the capacity for intellectual growth or development, often associated with being intelligent or knowledgeable. The video explores the idea that grades can be an indicator of one's intellect, with some students believing that high grades reflect their intelligence. However, others argue that intellect is not solely measured by academic performance.

💡Stereotype

A stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. The video discusses how students, particularly those with high or low grades, are often subject to stereotypes, such as the 'nerd' or 'flunking student'. These stereotypes can influence how students perceive themselves and others.

💡Hard Work

Hard work is the effort put in to achieve a goal or complete a task. In the video, hard work is presented as a key factor in achieving good grades, but it also highlights that hard work can take different forms, including studying diligently or even cheating to get ahead. The discussion emphasizes the importance of recognizing the various ways in which students can work hard.

💡Cheating

Cheating is the act of using deceitful practices to achieve unfair advantage, especially in exams or tests. The script mentions that cheating is common among students, with some suggesting that it can be a form of hard work in itself. This raises questions about the ethics of academic success and the integrity of grades.

💡Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to the value or confidence one has in oneself. In the video, self-esteem is linked to academic performance, with students expressing how grades can affect their sense of self-worth. A student shares a personal experience where receiving lower grades due to an unfair teacher negatively impacted their self-esteem.

💡Education

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and habits. The video script delves into the broader concept of education beyond grades, discussing its importance and potential future developments. It suggests that education is not just about academic achievement but also about personal growth and development.

💡College

College typically refers to an institution of higher learning that grants degrees. In the script, college is presented as a common goal for students, with various motivations for attending, such as pursuing a career, personal growth, or family expectations. The discussion reflects on the value and aspirations associated with higher education.

💡Success

Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. The video explores different definitions of success, challenging the notion that academic grades are the sole measure of it. Students share their perspectives on what constitutes success, including personal achievements, career goals, and the desire to make a difference.

💡Smart

Smart, in the context of the video, refers to intelligence or the ability to acquire and apply knowledge. The script challenges the narrow definition of being 'smart' as only academically inclined, emphasizing that everyone has their own unique form of intelligence, whether it's book smart, street smart, or other forms of knowledge and understanding.

Highlights

The episode explores the dichotomy between straight A students and those who struggle academically.

Curiosity Stream is highlighted as a sponsor offering a streaming service with a wealth of documentary content.

The episode discusses the challenges of maintaining high grades, especially for students who procrastinate.

Some students express the difficulty of getting help and understanding certain subjects.

The perception of straight A students as preppy and homebound is challenged.

A student shares the pride and hard work behind achieving a 4.2 GPA in high school.

The episode touches on the aspirations of students, from nursing to neurosurgery.

Students express varying views on whether grades define intelligence.

The importance of different learning styles and the limitations of traditional grading systems are discussed.

The pride in being a straight A student is tied to personal and familial honor.

The episode debates the idea that anyone can achieve good grades through hard work.

Cheating is acknowledged as a common issue in schools, affecting the value of grades.

The impact of personal circumstances, such as family issues, on academic performance is considered.

The role of parental support in education, both academically and emotionally, is highlighted.

Students share their self-awareness regarding their study habits and the grades they receive.

The episode concludes with a group hug and a message of self-worth beyond grades.

Curiosity Stream is promoted with a special offer for the audience to explore more on education and the future.

Transcripts

- Welcome to this episode

of "Middle Ground" straight A's versus flunking students.

- A huge thank you to our sponsor's Curiosity Stream

for sponsoring this episode.

- For those of you who don't know,

Curiosity Stream is an amazing subscription

streaming service that has a ton of great titles

from documentary and non-fiction filmmakers.

- So make sure to stick around to the end

to find out how you can get 30 days free

and also hear about some of our favorites.

- But first, here's the episode.

- The idea of being a straight A student I can't relate to

because I'm always wanting to go out

and like I have a essay due

or like there's a paper that I have

and you know there's a paper but there's a skateboard.

I'm gonna hop on that skateboard, like--

- [Producer] What's the hardest part about being a student?

- Definitely keeping up with all the work, especially

when you're like me and you procrastinate a lot.

- Sometimes I just don't understand

and I just don't get as much help as I would want.

- [Producer] When you think of a straight A student

what do you think of?

- What first comes to mind is like preppy,

doesn't really go outside of like their house kind of.

- I got a 4.2 GPA exiting high school.

I worked my ass off to get straight A's.

- I wanna get a nursing degree, but if I want to,

I'll go to medical school and become a neurosurgeon.

- Of course I'm disappointed in myself that I let myself

fail but I'm not gonna beat myself up for one letter grade.

(upbeat percussion music)

- I'm Randy, I'm 15 and I'm going into my sophomore year.

- I'm Grace, I'm 16, I'm going into my junior year.

- Hi, I'm Tanzy, I'm 16 and I'm going into my senior year

of high school and I'm also a freshman in college.

- I'm Cooper, I'm 18 and I just graduated senior year.

- I'm Nadia, I'm 15 and I'm going

into my sophomore year of high school.

- I'm Naema and I'm going into my sophomore year.

- [Producer] Can I get my flunking students on the left

and my straight A students on the right?

I believe my grades define my intelligence.

- I definitely think my grades define like how smart I am.

Like that's the biggest like security point I have like

in like as a person and I've just always been smart

and like I always want people to think I'm smart.

- Yeah, I believe like that's really true for me.

I believe like some subjects will enable you to

show your intellect in some way, shape or form, like math.

But I do think that grades can show someone's intellect

whether it's you know, understanding a concept

or enabling themselves to you know, grasp a subject.

- [Producer] Let's bring in our disagreers.

- I didn't step up because I don't believe

because I'm not comprehending the concept of geometry

or algebra or poetry, that does not make me dumb

or that does not make me less smart of a person.

- Yeah, I think also people have different styles

of learning.

- Oh absolutely.

- And a lot of times schools try to put you in this mold

of how they want you to get a certain grade.

And people aren't always made

for that mold and it's really important

that I think schools take into account

that not all people are willing to learn by reading a book.

And so to measure that based

on a certain letter is I just feel

like so like superficial it's looking at it so one-sided.

- [Producer] Are you proud of being a straight A student?

- I am because it kind of like shows all my hard work

and all that because I come from

like a family that really didn't have anything

and being a straight A student allows me to pay homage

to all the hard work

and so it makes me really proud to be able to, you know

honor them in some sort of way.

- [Producer] Anyone can get good grades

if they work hard enough.

- Of course, like if you try your hardest

and if you do all your work, you do all your homework,

of course you're gonna get good grades.

Just 'cause you're not comprehending it doesn't

mean that you're not gonna get the good grade.

Yeah. You might struggle.

But with help and hard work,

you're gonna get there eventually.

So I definitely think there's two sides to hard work itself

because working hard, that can mean like

studying and like working super hard to better

your own skills.

But you can also work super hard to cheat and work super

hard to get answers to the test and work super hard

in that manner.

But at the end of the day it still might get

you a good grade on either side.

- [Producer] You guys think cheating is pretty common?

- Yeah!

- Definitely!

- For the most part a lot of people tend to cheat on tests,

copy homework and depending

on how the teacher might grade, like the grading system

85% of your class grade could be homework.

You cheat on all your homework assignments, you

you have a B right there.

- Exactly.

- If you are the type

of person where you can put your mind

to something and never give up on it, you'll get that grade.

- I've had a seventh grade teacher,

my English teacher, and I tried my hardest in her class.

Meanwhile I didn't know innocent me

that she was full-blown racist, okay?

So I was sitting there in that classroom

working my hardest making C's knowing I can make A's

and it like put me down so much with my self-esteem.

- It also like depends on your personal standpoint

with the actual teacher themselves.

If clearly if you're provoking a teacher,

you know like I do it all the time like they're not gonna

like you but like I've learned that but

- That's a lesson in itself, that's like an experience

of learning is that you need to make friends

with your teachers, they'll wanna give you a good grade

if you're friends with them.

- There's some concepts, and I'm going back

to like personal like experiences

in eighth grade I couldn't get exponents to save my life.

I went to tutoring, you know, I stayed after school

had parent teacher conferences

because they thought I was being a bad kid and not studying.

They thought I was failing on purpose.

It took me my freshman year of high school to realize like

oh my god, this is so simple.

There's certain learning blocks that you can face

within yourself.

It doesn't necessarily have to be teachers

it doesn't necessarily have to be like social problems.

It could be all in your head and if it takes

that one roadblock it will like stop everything.

- [Producer] Are you self-conscious of your grades?

- No, I'm not self-conscious

'cause I know there's a lot more students that are

in my same boat who aren't dumb.

They just have trouble comprehending certain subjects.

- [Producer] I can't relate to the other side.

(laughter)

- So, I've never gotten straight A's ever.

Like I've never been like on the top,

in the top of my class.

I've always been struggling

or I've always been just in the middle just...yeah.

- I mean ever since I was younger I was always

in an extra class to like help me with my work.

Like my elementary school, they had a gifted program.

I was never in the gifted program.

There are some ways I can relate,

like I still am working hard.

I still am making sure that I get the best grades

that I possibly can, but I'm not, I'm not like them.

I don't stay up till three in the morning to study.

I don't stay at three in the morning to do a project.

I'll stay up till probably like one and I'm like,

"You know what? I'm done."

Like I need my rest because the next day I'm gonna go

to school and be all tired and be all frustrated

and then it's just, it's too much.

- I think being like the idea of being a straight A student

I can't relate to because I'm always wanting to go out

and like I have the essay due

or like there's a paper that I have

and you know there's a paper but there's a skateboard.

I'm gonna hop on that skateboard like I'm out.

Like the fun I have just hanging out with friends

and just like doing whatever we want whenever we want.

It's just so much better

than like wow I just got an A, like you know?

(laughter)

- Okay. So I can definitely relate

to the idea of being a flunking student

because I feel like there's two types.

There's one type that doesn't choose to do the work

and then there's the other type

of where I cannot understand this, I need help.

And I relate to both because there's some times

where like I've gotten a grade on a test, like I

failed it and there's times like I'm not gonna retake that.

Like that's too hard. Why would I waste my time?

And then there's times where I'm like, oh my freaking God.

Like I cannot understand this for the life of me.

I need help.

Which is fine because not everyone's gonna get

things like, the drop of a dime.

You know, there's some people that do

there's some people that don't.

- I can 100% relate to you guys because I know what it feels

like to be sitting at a desk at 11 at night

and wondering how in the hell am I gonna finish this?

And luckily I've been able to push through

but I can see how someone couldn't.

I fully relate with all of you guys

because at some points I've questioned like maybe

I should just go in and not study for the test.

- Yeah.

- I, I don't, I feel that like just some of you guys don't

like relate to as much as you think

being a flunking student, like flunking a lot,

not just one class

- And you guys still have four point ohs.

I am lucky if I pass with a 2.0.

In a way, I see your guys' point

like when you say there's two types

but no matter what type of flunking student you are

you are always gonna be characterized

with the stereotypes that a flunking student is not smart,

they just don't do their work, they're lazy.

I'm not gonna say that I'm an F student and I'm proud of it.

Of course I'm not proud about being an F student

but I'm not gonna push myself down because I'm an F student.

- You're right.

I can't relate to that idea of

of being a flunking student and having those eyeballs on you

in a certain way and I wish that I could because I wanna

I want to understand what that's like.

- It's the same with your guys society.

- Yeah. At the same time, like you guys have

like the "nerd" stereotype.

(laughter)

(indistinct crosstalk)

You could walk up to somebody who's like, one of us

right? And like, we don't know you and you'd be like

yeah I'm gonna show to sit in like oh, so you sit

in your room all day, you don't leave,

you don't walk outta your room, huh?

(laughter)

- Like, so no matter what, there's always stereotypes you

can be completely different but you're

you're still gonna be characterized as a certain stereotype.

- [Producer] Do you like school?

- I do like school, yeah.

- [Producer] Are there other things happening

in your life that distract you from school?

- Yeah, a lot of stuff at home I struggled

with my grandma dying and my parents splitting up

and all that isn't good for my mental health.

Especially when I'm struggling with certain subjects

and certain topics and tests and people

- [Producer] My parents help me with my work.

- I won't say my mom helps me

with like my English work, my math, my science.

When I was doing theater she would help me

memorize my lines.

She would help me write the essays to like certain directors

of the show.

She pushes me to do it myself, which I'm glad about.

But there are some times where I'm like, can you help me?

And she's like, I don't know it either.

I'm like okay, that's fine.

- No, my parents don't like write my essays for me.

You know? It's like my dad, you know he dropped out

of college, you know it's not like he's gonna be helping me

with like my AP stats homework.

- My mom didn't even go to college.

- Yeah. But you know, it's like he will

I think they helped me do my work

in the sense of like they keep me diligent.

They are in a sense like instilling me

with the right qualities to write those essays.

- I feel like my mom looks

at my paper and she's like, "Girl, this that new math.

Like I can't do that."

(laughter)

- Same, like my mom, she can't help me really and neither

can my dad.

So 'cause when I get back from school, my mom's leaving

to go to work.

My dad works all day and when he comes back home he's tired

and then I have to take care of my little sister.

Even when my mom comes back, she comes back at like two

in the morning and she still sees me up.

I have to do that on my own. So.

- With certain subjects my dad could definitely help me up.

I take auto shop. He's an automotive tech.

(laughter)

Well yeah, exactly.

When it comes down to like actually doing it

with normal subjects, he says to me like you need to

figure it out because at the end of the day, one day I'm not

gonna be there to help you at all.

- Exactly.

- I'm like well I have no clue but okay I got it.

I'm about put something down and like I'm gonna turn it in.

So when it comes out don't be, don't be.

Yeah don't be surprised. (laughs)

- [Producer] What's your dream job?

- I want to to be an automotive tech

but then I would like to own my own business off of it.

I know they like

they want to see me aspire to what I can be.

It's hard to like steer people

to a different direction to like

but this is what I would like to do.

- [Producer] I deserve the grades I get.

- I do believe that I do deserve the grades I get

especially for the ones that I am failing such as English.

I'm not putting my 100% into the class.

I'm probably giving like 50%, 75% if that.

But for the grades that I am getting good at

like my film production class, I'm giving all,

I'm focusing more on my extracurriculars

than I am on my primary classes.

Which is my fault. It's nobody else's fault.

I'm putting myself in a position where I'm letting myself

flunk these classes.

- I feel like I deserve the grade that I get

because I know I could get a better grade

but I choose not to 'cause it's like the subject to me

like it doesn't really click with me.

Why am I gonna sit here and put all of my effort

into something that you want me to put only to get

like what you want to see.

As long as I'm passing, that's all I really care for.

Yeah. I mean I've worked my ass off just

so that I can get that good letter and as much

as I would've liked to just focus on film, yeah I knew

that in order for me to, at least have self-esteem

and feel like I was being successful, I had to do both.

And I don't know if like that was the greatest thing to do.

I don't know if that was the best decision

but I worked as hard as I possibly could

and I feel like I do deserve the grades that I got.

- I'm not ungrateful for the grades I get

and I'm so happy with the grades I get.

But to be honest, sometimes I do just put

like 50% of my work in and I don't try my best.

But when I still do well on the project

I don't think I deserve that because think about the kids

who are like working diligently on that project

trying to get a good grade but just because I was able to

finish it out and open out last minute

or my teacher likes me or I'm a good student overall,

I don't think that that's like a fair advantage to have.

- Yeah. I don't believe that I deserve the grades I get

because I've had lots of group projects where

it wasn't just me and it's always been...

(strong laughter)

Other people. There was a time where I had a slides,

big slides project and I did most of the work

but I only had like three slides for two other people to do.

But they never did it.

Never turned it in and it just dropped my grade completely.

- Did you tell your teacher?

- Yeah, she didn't care.

- Yeah, teachers don't care.

- She just says you have to talk with each other

after school.

- And I do that

- Like can we just all agree that teachers really do like

I don't know how to explain it

or put it yeah like the pressure of teachers.

Like you can have a really chill, mellow teacher

in your worst subject and it'll make you work harder

and you can have a really strict teacher

in your favorite subject and it will like make you slack.

- [Producer] Are you planning on going to college?

- I, yeah for sure.

I definitely wanna go to college.

I think I wanna go to law school and go into like

the law profession.

I started doing debate last year and I can't stop, so yeah

- [Producer] I want to go to college.

- Me and my parents haven't really had the college talk

but I've had the college that I wanna go to set

on since I was like 10.

But yeah, I wanna go to college

for me 'cause I wanna become a better dancer

and then I also want to perform

and then afterwards make my own dance studio

and all that stuff.

But I wanna be a performer

and I can't be the level a performer I wanna be

without being able to go to college.

- Yeah. I think I do it for like another reason too.

Like I have to go to college because of my career choice

but at the end of the day there's kids

in countries that get killed

for reading books that have to travel

across rivers and jungles just to get a education.

And I think sometimes we do take that for granted.

I wanna show that education is very powerful.

- The wanting, like I don't exactly wanna go

to like college, but I wanna go to a trade school

so it's kind of like an after school after,

but it's like I want to go

and experience being in a different place,

like not being in high school.

People coming from all these different places.

It's so like, it's so different like, you know

- So I kind of feel like the opposite side

of like what you guys are saying, I want to go to college

but the reason why I wanna go to college is

because I feel like it's the thing that'll like

make me feel the most successful and like it's still

my own desire and my own want.

I wanna go to college mainly just

so I can like make myself a good life

and make myself a good career.

- Another thing is like, don't always like think

that because somebody goes to college, like not no offense

to you, but like it doesn't always come the way you think.

Like just because you go

to college doesn't make you exactly the most successful.

- I mean like I wanna go to college to make my family proud.

I come from a family where all like we're all Hispanic.

Not many of us have ever even thought

about going to college.

The thought of college, the thought of high school

graduating high school is really diff like, it's like wait

like, you graduated high school?

So like I don't wanna waste my opportunities.

I'm not gonna take these chances for granted.

Like I'm going to make myself proud and my family proud.

- [Producer] Was it difficult to get straight A's

through high school?

- Hell yeah.

I'm not one of those naturally like smart people

who can look at a book and instantly know.

I think our education system is very like set

into these like molds of how you need to fit.

Not everyone fits into the mold of a high school.

- [Producer] I am smart.

- There's so many things that define smart

and it's not just being book smart

or street smart, it's smart.

Just knowledge.

And I have a lot of knowledge

and I know a lot of things and I value that knowledge

which I think is really important also to being smart.

- Yeah, I mean it's how you use the knowledge that you have.

- I am smart no matter what.

Like just because I'm getting F on the test

doesn't make me dumb.

I can be book smart, I'm also street smart.

Like I know my way around,

I know my place and I know where I need to be.

- Yeah, to say you're smart is like something

that everybody should be able to say

to themselves because no matter what,

even if you don't feel like, yeah

I'm the smartest person in the room, like

you might not feel like that but you're smart to yourself.

Like you're the one,

you're the only person who knows how your body works

and how you feel.

You're educated on yourself, you're educated

on the people around you, your friends, you know?

So it's like you might not know something

about her that I know

that doesn't make you like dumb compared to me.

Like, you know what I mean?

Like everybody's still smart in their own way.

- I feel like everybody has something to bring

to the table, no matter what.

Like at the end of the day, school's just

like the first start of our lives, you know, we're stepping

out, we're learning new things.

And not to say like grades are like insignificant, but

at the end of the day they really shouldn't like

put such a hold of you where you like cry

or you're depressed or something like that.

Or makes you feel dumb.

You know?

- Smart is such a dumb word.

(laughter)

It's like why? Like why do we use it?

I think all of you are like so freaking smart.

I don't give a shit about, you know, you're

you're 2.0 like I don't care!

You know?

- You're bright, you're bright as hell!

- Hell. Yeah.

You know, it's like the, it's the person that matters.

And I hope that all of us actually know that, you know

because that's what's gonna define us in the end.

That's what's gonna make you successful.

(crowd cheers and applauds)

- Group hug! - Group hug!

(laughter)

- Yeah. Alright, we're smart.

- Aw, that was super endearing.

I love that episode.

See I was a straight A student.

- No comment.

This episode dealt a lot with education, the importance

of grades and if you wanna learn more about education

or see what it might look like in the future, check

out a series on Curiosity Stream, Dream the Future

specifically an episode called School of the Future.

- It's narrated by Sigourney Weaver

and it examines how we might be able to

use technology to make learning better for students.

- For those of you who don't know, Curiosity

Stream is an amazing subscription streaming service.

They have a ton of titles like these from documentary

and non-fiction filmmakers from around the world.

And for three bucks a month

or 20 bucks a year, you can get unlimited

- Unlimited - Unlimited access

to all these amazing films.

Plus for you good humans out there,

if you sign up at curiositystream.com/jubilee

promo code Jubilee, you can get 30 days for free.

- For free.

I literally will do anything to not have to leave my bed.

So I watched on their website, but you can watch on

like Apple tv, Roku, Xbox, like any of these devices taking

over the world right now, people, it's really cool.

- Check it out and thanks for watching.

- See you next time.

(soft music ends)