Feeling Stifled in School? I Can Help

If you are one of the people the article mentions — one of those who get, on average, a 2.9 GPA and who feel bored and stifled — please contact me! I am one of the few who can help you be a better, more creative, more grounded thinker. 

But if you want to be a Valedictorian or Salutatorian, I can help you achieve that, too. 

In “Wondering What Happened to Your Class Valedictorian? Not Much, Research Shows” (Money, May 18, 2017), Eric Barker writes: 

But how many of these number-one high school performers go on to change the world, run the world, or impress the world? The answer seems to be clear: zero.

Commenting on the success trajectories of her subjects, Karen Arnold said, “Even though most are strong occupational achievers, the great majority of former high school valedictorians do not appear headed for the very top of adult achievement arenas.” In another interview Arnold said, “Valedictorians aren’t likely to be the future’s visionaries . . . they typically settle into the system instead of shaking it up.”
…
Ironically, Arnold found that intellectual students who enjoy learning struggle in high school. They have passions they want to focus on, are more interested in achieving mastery, and find the structure of school stifling. Meanwhile, the valedictorians are intensely pragmatic. They follow the rules and prize A’s over skills and deep understanding.

School has clear rules. Life often doesn’t. When there’s no clear path to follow, academic high achievers break down. Shawn Achor’s research at Harvard shows that college grades aren’t any more predictive of subsequent life success than rolling dice. A study of over seven hundred American millionaires showed their average college GPA was 2.9.

© 2017 Time Inc. All rights reserved