Being Smart: Social Taboo?

     When I think back to the time that I spent in high school and the nearing decade of higher education that is evolving, I can distinctly remember one thing about this time: being smart mattered more as the years progressed. In high school, it seemed that your intelligence level would isolate you if you hit a certain social grey area. Being not too smart, but very athletic made you socially popular, as did being on the opposite spectrum - that of being in the top ten students in the graduating class. As I progressed into college, it became evident that the first year of college was nothing short of thirteenth grade as adults. However, given the fact that loans had been taken out, savings had been depleted, or parents had shelled out a significant sum of money, there were many nights that were spent without sleep in order to excel in classes taken. As the years progressed, there was a gradual waning of the idea that the person who was excelling in a class was obnoxious to the desire to be that person. Now, as a person who continually strives for the best results possible, it seems almost silly that any student is averse to the idea of being smart. However, this is distinctly not the case. Instead, we see a society that seemingly suggests that being the "smart" student will not lead to a socially rewarding lifestyle. The societal suggestion is that being smart is only an acceptable choice when couples with some kind of athleticism and/or unimaginable amount of work due to a poor living situation.

How can students appropriately weigh their social life and school performance...

     This is generally disappointing as it has become much more typical in high schools, especially in low socioeconomic demographics. This has become most evident in my current fieldwork as the "smart" students, being those who are probably going to pass their first attempt at the AHSA retest, are often ridiculed or alienated due to knowing something that the majority of the rest of society would deem "common knowledge." I've seen the amazed looks of the students over the last few weeks when their fellow classmates are able to produce knowledge without the use of Google or a similar search engine on their SmartPhone. The shock quickly turns to alienation as a student will usually pick up on the negative vibe and provide a negative comment regarding the intelligence of the other student. This begs the question: Why is it considered a taboo to be intelligent? The answer seems to be: It's not cool. Well, it would seem to be common sense to adults that being "cool" is underrated as it does not pay rent, attract an ideal mate, or lead to living a fulfilling life. However, this is no longer the focus of most students as they struggle to maintain their social status. This severely disappoints me as I watch my students this semester. The ones who couldn't care less about their grade, the class, the law, and anyone's opinion seem to those who the class follows while the other students who are so intelligent that they will put the HSPA to shame are forced to keep their heads down or face social ridicule. How do we change this pattern?

This seems to be what I do on a regular basis now...

Hopefully in the next few years I'll start to figure out the answer to this...