In elementary school, children are given awards or recognition for being good students. In middle school, a select amount of students receive medals for being an outstanding student. In high school, students are recognized for exceptional accomplishments such as passing an AP exam or qualifying as a national merit semi-finalists.

Students are consumed by school. They are constantly pressured to get an A or work harder. Some teachers have a sole focus on the grades each of their students have. It is not always about students gaining knowledge, but rather them achieving the highest GPA.

We get so caught up in making good grades that we forget that school is about knowledge and growing our education, not just making an A on a transcript.

School should go beyond the four core classes. Art students do not always receive enough recognition in what they do, because people do not always view those classes as useful. Our society has such a large focus on what is beneficial that we forget to do things for our own enjoyment.

Society tends to shut down the elective activities as future career options. It feels like all students are encouraged to be in careers that require a degree in the medical field or law. There are other opportunities that students should be encouraged to seek.

Students who do not follow the status quo are seen as outliers. There needs to be a focus on the talents of these students. Not everyone’s skills are found in good grades or on a football field.

There needs to be a way to find these talents and allow students to embrace them. Students need to see that their future should involve doing what they love, not what will pay them the highest paycheck.

There should still be recognition for academic accomplishments. Students work very hard and deserve every bit of notice they receive. However, people should see the other options and paths that do not follow the traditional way.

Many students go through high school with only one end goal, college. They need to be taught the other choices, since a four year university is not for everyone.

As of today, a child’s success is often measured by their GPA or how high they can score in a game. We forget that some students cannot be measured by numbers.