Hello, I'm Miss Two-shoes

Suck-up, teacher’s pet, goody two-shoes – call it what you want. There is no doubt that the idea of being an overachieving, compliant student has earned a negative connotation among his or her peers. But what is so bad about it? Is it simply the teenage trend to ostracize? Is it out of jealousy? Is the negative connotation, perhaps, duly given? Call me Miss Two-shoes, but I say the label – while semi-fitting – is inappropriately alienating.

I smirk when I say this. I embrace the label. Sure, we have progressed past the stereotypical fifties image: a prim young lady or skinny boy placing a shiny apple on the teacher’s desk. A teacher’s pet no longer needs to clap blackboard erasers or ask for extra readings to earn the title. Now, mere over-exuberance shoves a student into the category of being overachieving. A hand punched in the air too quickly in response to a question? Suck-up. Staying after class to confirm an assignment or ask for explanation? Suck-up. Creating a relationship with the teacher that goes past the sphere of the classroom? Definitely a Suck-up. A teacher’s pet is labeled with an invisible piece of paper on their backs that might as well say “kick me”.

So where did this stereotype come from? In every classroom there is the handful of students that truly want to learn. They do not mind listening to their teachers, do not mind doing the work assigned. For other students, maybe this seems weird. And the empirical trend just goes to show that when people think something is too different, they go out of their way to set it apart. Teacher’s pets are teased for doing what they do – going out of their way to connect with a teacher and their class. So did the bad names stem from other student’s jealousy? Perhaps, but not completely. I believe the terms “teacher’s pet,” “suck-up”, and “goody two-shoes” were created to try and level the playing field: make a smart kid feel bad in the hopes they feel embarrassed and fall back to your level.

These labels have some truth to them. That is the only reason they are capable of inflicting damage. But they are wrongly connoted, because what teacher’s pets do isn’t bad. Where is the harm in doing extra credit? What is so wrong with wanting to get to know your teachers? I love my teachers. I naturally respect them. They have years of wisdom on me, and I want to learn from them – not just the subjects they teach, but from the experiences they have lived through. Answering questions in class and following up if I don’t understand is my way of showing teachers that I care about what they are doing for me.

The impact of creating ostracizing names to hold scholars back falls short when these names lose their hurtful force. I am a suck-up, I suppose. I do those things that define what a suck-up, a teacher’s pet, a g oody two-shoes is. Now that I’m in AP classes, it does not matter so much, but in mainstream classes, it made the difference. The labels are now only a joke, something to lightly tease peers with. Nonetheless, I am who I am, I love being who I am, and no crude label is going to make me change. Hello, pleased to meet you, I’m Miss Two-shoes.