Welcome to Gaia! ::

Let me start off and say this, while I may go on and say something that may make it sound like I am trying to make myself superior, I actually don't think that is the case.

I have been noticing since I entered High School last year, that a lot of the people who get better grades, often don't actually understand the material, while those who get worse grades get them due to a lack of effort.
I see a potential problem here.

If kids who don't do the work, but are actually more intellectual or smarter than their work-doing counterparts, what will happen when they exit school?
Most colleges look at grades and extra-curricular activities. While this is obviously the best way to tell who is technically smart enough to enter their schools, many of these kids do not fully understand or remember what they learned, and when these things may be required later in life (Though I will admit, many of these things will not be), will not remember or be able to do these things.

I'm beginning to wonder if the internet, and the forums and other forms of media may be making the kids who spend less time doing school work, and more time on these places "socializing" more prone to understand, grasp and have a more free learning experience, being able to learn about whatever they want, talk about whatever they want, with just about anyone.

I'm not sure exactly how to use an example for this. Every time I start writing one, I go off track and can't figure out what to say.

More or less, what I am asking is:
Do you think that current mediums, such as the internet and television may be greater teachers than the ones paid to teach the kids?

-I am strictly talking about teenagers, and maybe middle-schoolers. Grade school, personally, is a good requirement, as it teaches kids very basic things, be it morals or actual things, such as spelling, grammar and math.