By Danielle Cramberg

Let’s face it: if any of us have ever given in to our angst filled impulses, we’ve probably been grounded. We can be grounded for whatever our parents feel needs to be punished– missing curfew, talking back, or a million different things. But in our society, where grades are reflective of self worth, school is regarded as more and more vital.

Parents are grounding their kids over grades in classes that are much harder than the ones they had to take. This poses a question we can’t help but ask: is it working?

Different parents have different severities of groundings. Some parents ground their kids if they are failing, some get grounded for 79 or lower in any of their classes, some parents won’t accept anything less than A’s.

Some people argue that grounding is ineffective. For some teenagers, it just causes more hostility and tension in their relationship, making the child even more defiant.

Others would argue that grounding is a very effective method. When contemplating whether or not they really need to do their physics homework, they will think of their beloved iPod that they cannot live without, and decide that they actually care for once.

As someone who has spent more time grounded than not in high school, I find grounding rather effective. My parents ground me if I have any class average that’s lower than an 80, even though I’m in all pre-ap/AP classes. But, their high standards have only taught me the importance of a good education and hard work.