For many Abington students, last week was dramatically marked by a singular critical event: the release of updated class ranks. Immediately after the release of our new class ranks and GPAs, students rushed to compare themselves with their classmates and examine how they were measured academically. It’s only natural—our whole lives, we’ve been conditioned to believe that the people who have the highest grades will get into the best colleges and have the most successful careers. The kids with the highest class ranks are seen as superior to and “smarter” than everyone else.

Now, the name of this article is actually somewhat misleading, because the topic I want to address is not class rank alone but also this general label of “smart”. The education system’s metric of “smart” is based on how efficiently a student can memorize a chunk of information for a test. A consequence of this is the stifling of students’ creative and outside-of-the-box thinking. On the contrary, the real world’s metric of “smart” is based on how an individual’s qualities can provide service to others. And guess what? In the real world, there are different kinds of smart! Some people are “smart” at cooking. Some people are “smart” at music. Some people are “smart” at cosmetology and fashion. Some people are “smart” at arts, graphics, and design. Some people are “smart” with computers. Some people are “smart” with finances. Some people are “smart” at business management or entrepreneurship. Some people are “smart” at public speaking. Some people are “smart” at a specific craft or trade, such as work with automobiles. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Everyone has their own unique flavor of “smart” that tailors to their specific skills and abilities.

School’s definition of “smart” also misses another crucial factor in determining success: emotional intelligence (EQ). It doesn’t matter how high your IQ is—if you aren’t able to relate to others well and build strong social connections, then you will find it very hard to succeed in life. One of Theodore Roosevelt’s famous quotes sums this idea up perfectly, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” It’s cliché, but friendliness, kindness, and passion are strengths in the real world, not weaknesses. Intellectual intelligence alone can only get you so far, but being socially “smart” will open the door to more opportunities that will allow your unique attributes to shine. 

One interesting trend I’ve noticed at our school is that although some students are hyper-competitive about their grades, others seem to not place much importance on them. I can name off a whole list of people I know who certainly hold the skills to place at the top of the class in terms of ranking, but intentionally choose not to. Instead of spending their time grinding out schoolwork, they focus on honing their specific interests and hobbies; they work or volunteer somewhere after school, perform in local orchestras and bands, start businesses or side hustles, work on graphic designs or animations, participate in school theater productions, place time into their projects at Eastern Tech school, learn a new coding language, play a sport, or even write for the Abingtonian! Now, this isn’t to suggest that completely slacking off in school is acceptable, but pursuing your passions, strengthening your social abilities, and finding out what you are “smart” at will mean more in the long-term than a class rank ever will.