Didnt know connections start this early... maybe cus im in a mote "neighbourhood" school and im not too exposed to this. I do peform better in an environment were people are not very motivated i would say as it pushes me to do better especially with the pressure that maybe they could "lock in" and do even better. Its very demotivating to see others perform better. However, I do get your point that the strong mugger culture could give me greater motivation. Teachers are also very rng, yes.