Denver Business Daily

Why do some kids succeed in academics while others fail?

Hey, I'm a middle school student. I've just been wondering this; I'm in 8th grade right now. All of my classmates' grades dropped dramatically this year. They are not doing very well, and they find 8th grade very hard. Meanwhile, I think this is the easiest year yet, and my grades are higher than they have ever been in my entire life. What is it that makes some kids succeed and other kids fail even though they are just as smart as the first kid?

Public Comments

1. Do you do a lot of reading outside school? That's the reason my own children have never had any trouble at all in school--unless they chose not to study for a test. Also, I have read that if a child is required to do chores routinely from a young age, that kid will do his/her homework without complaint, seeing it as just one more chore.
2. Im in 8th grade 2 and I think that a lot of the kids in my class just don't care and don't try very hard. I find tests fairly easy but they fail them. I think that middle school students do not yet relize that they ned to pay attention and stop goofing off if they want to scucceed in life. I've got soo many boys in my class who just goof off and don't get good grades I ask them y and they say"becuz grades don't count until highschool" but by then their years of not paying attention will come up and they will stuggle wether they are trying or not.
3. well im a sophomore in high school and all my life i had straight a's until 8th grade mainly because a crisis happened in my life but really after a while i started thinkin that i was too smart for school and i am because 95% of the things you learn in school wont benefit you in life but the main purpose for school is too build connections in your brain because once you get to a certain age you start losing connections so if you lose a bunch of unimportant stuff than it wont matter but lately ive been improving my grades i had a 2.7 gpa end of freshman year but now i have a 3.4 because i realized even though this may not help me in the real world it will effect my college choices and my pay check but the main reason is usually in rebellion against school or you just get tired of it and need a break
4. I think the same way you do. I guess some kids do not care about their grades and don't know or aren't informed about how some high schools or colleges go all the way back to middle school. They care mostly about boys or girls, who's the most popular, and other things. Well I care about my grades mostly because my parents give me money. Maybe they just need some motivation....lol
5. This answer is simple. Peer Pressure, Attitude and Maturity make the difference. Your situation tells me that you have respect for yourself and take responsibility for your actions. Give your parents a BIG HUG.
6. It's the people who care about school and getting an education vs. the people who don't. If you don't care, you're more likely to get lower grades, if you do, you're more likely to get higher grades.
7. it really depends on the person ... if they care , they would at least give their best but if they don't think it's that important then they would just give it all up. Peer pressure counts too , half of the girls I know for the past years mostly cares about their appearance and boys and they won't even take notes instead they would pass 'notes' to each other