Do good grades matter in life?

 

I am 36 years old. I’ve been out of school since I was 22, which was about 14 years ago. I was never top of my class in college or high school. I didn’t fail any classes, but I had some struggles in several.

The most important thing I learned from school wasn’t chemistry, or all the math equations I was forced to learn. To be fully honest whenever I need to do math I do it on my phone. There is very little I learned in classes that I use in my daily life. I don’t remember a single time where knowing the book Macbeth has ever benefited me in life, yet I was taught lessons over that book for two years. The most important lesson I learned from school was that you have to put in effort or you will fail. Again, I was never top of my class but I still put in the effort to keep my grades at passing levels.

I was told by many people throughout my life that I needed to do well in school or I would end up nowhere in life. That statement I have heard hundreds of times is bullshit. Today, at 36 years old and out of school I’m a mother to four kids. I’m married to the husband I love, I own a multi million dollar business, own 2.5 beautiful homes I get to raise my children in and I work my dream job. Between my job as a lead paramedic and as a business owner I manage probably 65 people. I’ve been asked by several people who work for me how I did in school and I tell them all the truth. I didn’t do as well as many people would expect.

That’s the truth and it’s an important lesson. School should not be about grades. As a mother I truly believe schools grading systems sets children up to feel as if they are failing when really they school is failing. Why is it that when children do not understand a subject they fail? My kids are homeschooled. My husband and I teach our children in ways that they can understand instead of the traditional ways where every student is taught the same way. My children do very well when it comes to academics because they receive lessons in ways that don’t follow a certain book but are taught in ways that are understandable.

That’s just my opinion. I’m pretty happy with where I am in my life. At this point I work because I enjoy working. My family is financially stable, we’re all healthy and we’re all happy. So to me, that’s success.