Throughout our lives, we are always told to try our best. But what if we were trying too hard for something unachievable. We are taught that 70% is average, that anything below that is failing. And why is there such a small margin between average, slightly below excellent, and acing when it comes to grades?

For instance, if you get a 67% on a chemistry test, you essentially failed, not to mention it will tank your grade. But if you bat 67% in the MLB, you basically have a guaranteed spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Babe Ruth, in 1923, playing for the Yankees, only batted 39%, which, in school terms, would be failing. And to baseball fans around the world, he is now known as one of the greatest players of all time. If you’re an artist and you sell 67% of your work, you are financially stable with food on the table. Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, only had a 49.7% shooting average — that would still be considered failing in the terminology of the unwritten rules of education. If a college has a 67% acceptance rate, you have a pretty solid chance of getting in. Why should a percentages and averages stand for different expectations in different subjects of life? “I would feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders [if there weren’t such high expectations]. I lose sleep every night staying up late studying for an upcoming test to get an A,” said freshman Logan Ledger.

Holding these high and almost unachievable standards above kids’ heads can be detrimental to their health, as well. A lack of sleep can affect the growth as well as the physical and mental development, not to mention problems recuperating and issues with the Endocrine system. So why are schools putting poor innocent students through this unnecessary rigor?

“It would be a positive change [if we took off some of the pressure]. Students feel the constant need to get straight A’s, and we are taught that any GPA less than a 3.8 will not be good enough to get into a great college,” said Ledger.

See, even students as early as eighth grade are being forced to have their lives planned out and, frankly, it’s not needed. Students’ hobbies, passions and goals change, along with intellectual and athletic abilities.

So, why should middle-aged adults be telling a juvenile how she should plan out her life when the child herself doesn’t even know what the future holds? It all starts with the vicious standards we hold the future of America to. These standards of “averageness” don’t and will never apply to the real world. Last time I checked, educational institutions are part of the real world, so why should there be a double standard regarding the caliber of the “average?”