People talk a lot about “time management” but I’ve yet to hear “energy management” be mentioned. It is equally or more important as it governs the enjoyment of certain situations.

Ask a student why she misbehaved in class. She’ll tell you she was bored. It was either make distracting comments or fall into a somewhat painful slumber.

Ask a student why he got a D in history last quarter. He’ll tell you he was bored. It was either receive a D or spending many hours banging his head against a textbook.

Now, the student who consistently earns high honors does not necessarily wake every morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed hoping to get to class extra early. Interest however, certainly plays a role in academic success and the real problem occurs while exterior powers try to auto-correct it.

That girl may have been disruptive in the class room but when she gets to her ballet class after school she really excels. The moment when she’s no longer expected to sit still is the moment when she creates. When she loves. But due to her fidgeting in class she has to stay after school for extra help. Now she gets to dance later and spends less time enjoying herself.

While the boy has a red D on his report card under History, he has an A under English. He loves studying language, reading, and writing. This is where he is passionate. History is a school requirement and he understands that if he fails this year, he’ll have to retake it next year. So with the energy that used to be absorbed by English class, he now pours into the thick history text-book. The next report card comes and he has two C’s. One in History and one in English. Oh, and Shakespeare isn’t so exciting anymore.

It is unfortunate that novelty is deemed inappropriate for young people. And it is just wrong that some try to correct it. Why not respect the student for his creative science experiment instead of nagging him about his missing Spanish homework. Jack of all trades, master of none.