It is no secret that high school is a competitive environment – the amount of stress students undergo each day can sometimes be unbearable. What I don’t understand, though, is why people are constantly looking for ways to put others down because of their well-deserved grades.

 Many students discuss grades with their friends. No matter what project, or test, students are always comparing their grades with each others’.

  The phrase “I hate you” after hearing of a better test score seems to be commonplace here at Granite Bay High School.

  I don’t personally feel that hating somebody for doing better than you is justified.

   This is what I call “academic jealousy.” Being jealous of somebody’s score, because they studied for the test, reflects poorly on your part. If you want the score, you have to work for it.

  What we really mean when we say “I hate you” is “that’s not fair” or “how?”

  How can you think it’s not fair if they clearly deserve their grade? How can you think it’s not fair if you didn’t work as hard as them?

  Hating someone for the sole purpose of increasing your own self-esteem is absurd.

  Half the people that say such ridiculous comments are really just insecure about their own grade.

  They realize they didn’t work hard so they shame others instead of blaming themselves.

  I have many intelligent friends who receive amazing scores on their school work. Why should somebody hate them for doing better than others?

  They shouldn’t. Instead of offending them, they should congratulate them for their hard work.

  It’s not necessarily that certain people’s intelligence levels are higher than others. It’s just the amount of work they put into earning A’s might be more than the amount of work others put in.

  I understand the grading system is not fair to people who study hard and do poorly. But there is no need to take it out on others.

  I hear people asking others what grades they got. But for some reason, they end up getting angry about the given responses, though they asked in the first place.

  There’s a simple way to avoid academic jealousy – focus on yourself and your own grades.

  The only way to improve is to not hold your own abilities to other people’s standards but to work hard in areas that you struggle with. Comparing yourself to others is not a good way to motivate yourself.

  I know that might seem proverbial, but it is really that simple. If you genuinely care about someone’s scores, then ask them, but if you are just asking to compare to what you got, I see no point.   

  How we choose to make others feel about their achievements and accomplishments is what determines our character, not the scores that we receive.