Perception is key

The other day I heard the quote, "It is impossible to fail out of school, if you sit in class and shut up." At first I thought this was a crude way to look at things. However, this quote goes back to the idea of deviance. Deviance is perceived, so basically if a student gets on the teachers bad side, regardless if the student did anything, he will therefore not do as well in class. This idea can clearly be seen at SHS. The students that don't get in trouble, dress normally, and act respectfully, will usually get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to homework, and will have their grades rounded up when it is close. However, the student that arrives late, dressed differently then the average student, and inturrupts class, will never get the same benefits as the respectful student. This is assuming the students do the same amount and quality of work. Perceiving that someone is a "roughneck" means that people act differently towards them. This is not neccessarily stereotyping, but it is in all aspects of our society. It's all about perception. SO at the end of the day do I believe that quote, I guess so, as long as you look, dress, and act respectable, people will believe you to be respectable, regardless of what you do.