Things You Can't Go Through Life Without: Food, Water, and...Grades?

Today in class we had a fairly heated discussion about school, grades, values, and more. Basically, we talked about the hidden rule that teachers have about students' grades. What i'm talking about is the fact that the "Barbies" of school - hardworking, diligent students, who arent the brightest, get better grades than the "Beavis'" of school - the slacking, lazy kids who are brilliant, but don't apply themselves. Many teachers think that because the students are working hard, they should get rewarded. I mostly agree with this idea, mainly because I am one of those students. No, i'm not dumb, but I'm not someone who got a 36 on my ACT either. Yet, im up late every night focusing on my homework so that I can get it done the right way and understand what i'm learning. Someone like my brother, on the otherhand, is fairly smart, but goes home and might not even open his backpack one night! I think its crazy how somoene could just waste all of that time. In a way, the system kind of goes with the saying "if you have to do something, you might as well do it right." I guess you could say we don't HAVE to do homework and study, but we are anyways, so we might as well give 100% on it and get something out of it. One thing I definitly DONT agree with, though, is the way that grades are EVERYTHING. If a person has the best personality in the world and is a hardworking, bright person, but isn't the smartest at school, they should get the same chance to achieve as the most brilliant people on earth. Teachers, parents, and even coaches always say " SCHOOL COMES FIRST!" But are they really saying that SCHOOL comes first? Or are they just using that as a cover for "GRADES, GPAs, ACT SCORES, and COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES COME FIRST!"? It makes me wonder - am i really going through school for myself and for the basis of me learning new things and getting an education, or is it just a competition to see who has the smartest kid, in all the AP classes with the highest GPA at graduation?