Most people are afraid to go against the norm and do what they think is right, children and teens in particular. A pretty high percentage of the very intelligen

Most people are afraid to go against the norm and do what they think is right, children and teens in particular. A pretty high percentage of the very intelligent people I know consider a lot of what they did in school busywork and a waste of time, but most still submitted and completed the pointless assignments. People are weak when faced with societal (or familial) pressures and will adopt all kinds of stupid and counterproductive behaviors if the alternative is lowered prestige or exclusion. It doesn't mean the system has value.