Scoring badly on your test doesn’t mean you are more “street smart” than “book smart.” It simply means you didn’t study enough for your test. In fact, it can be argued that failing to prepare for the test is counterintuitive to your street smarts, since positive performance in school has been proven to increase income and offer higher life satisfaction. Isn’t street smarts using your instincts and being resourceful to overcome a problem? Failing a test and seeing less satisfaction or success than your peers most definitely goes against this definition. Let’s face the facts: Street smarts will not magically bubble in the correct answer from A to D or automatically write the answers to your essay questions. Book smarts is the base knowledge that people must possess, and street smarts should be left in the background as a secondary focus.

First, I’ll admit my bias: I am a book smarts type of guy. I’ve studied religiously for my classes and worshiped my A’s in Powerschool. I’m the one in class who raises his hand and debates the teacher because the information covered in the lecture is different from the textbook. I am also the one who volunteered to write this and tell you why book smarts are more important than street smarts (which may be saying something about my free time). By focusing on book smarts, however, I acquired a well-rounded education allowing me to apply what I learn in class to the world outside of school. My classes helped me develop a certain curiosity which, to this day, allows me to constantly question the world and seek solutions which will benefit it. School even helped me discover my passion for both journalism and economics, which I will further pursue in college.

There is a common misconception that book smarts and street smarts are mutually exclusive – that both cannot exist at the same time. Even as a person who prioritizes book smarts, I have placed importance on my personal street smarts as well. I’ve honed my communication skills, developed my social cues, and experienced problems which required quick decision-making. These have all benefited me both in academics and shaping my identity outside of school. However, the intelligence required to think quickly and problem-solve is often built in the classroom. For example, research published in the journal Science of Learning found an increase of one to five IQ points on average with every year of schooling. Therefore, it is most beneficial to increase both book and street smarts at the same time to maximize intelligence.

I will say prioritizing book smarts is not for everybody. People have different skills, passions and goals in life which may sometimes mean going in a different direction than higher education. Some careers may require more street smarts than book smarts, depending on the nature of the job. However, as a high schooler, plans can change. Your career interests, while originally focused on street smarts, could completely change and become focused on book smarts. Therefore, I ask you to follow my advice and at least try your hardest until the end of the senior year of high school. Because although a college degree is not necessary to everyone, what you learn in high school is priceless. Book smarts will teach you how to learn, and even if you will not always learn from a textbook per se, life is full of new knowledge that you can constantly learn from.