The author loosely states that the standardization of vertical thinking over-time can fester an environment that scorns mistakes. I wholeheartedly agree with this, especially since I’ve seen things turn out like this several times in high school. Back in high school students would regularly just memorize answers or learn tricks to skip to the answer easily (me included) rather than understanding the underlying principles of what test questions were asking. Students resorting to bypassing understanding indicates a system that values immediate results rather than fostering deep comprehension. The strict reputation of your school, where mistakes were not tolerated, likely contributed to this culture of focusing on exam scores rather than nurturing knowledge acquisition. Even teachers would teach and encourage students to find loopholes rather than exploring and understanding. This emphasis on exam performance as the ultimate goal perpetuates a cycle of surface-level learning and stifles critical thinking. I believe my experience aligns closely with the author’s statement about the harmful effects of standardizing vertical thinking. When individuals are conditioned to prioritize avoiding mistakes over genuine understanding, they miss out on the opportunity for growth, creativity, and innovation that comes from embracing and learning from errors.