History Main / NerdsLoveToughSchoolwork

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Twilight Sparkle so enjoyed reading and studying that when we meet her in the first episode of the series she prefers to do so at the exclusion of socializing. In "Lesson Zero", she states that doing homework is one of the things she did with her doll; PRETENDING to do homework even. In "Spike at Your Service", Twilight practically salivates at the prospect of her latest assignment: reading a dozen books in a single weekend.

** Lisa Simpson also does this from time to time. In one episode the school has to shut down, and by the time Lisa gets home she is hysterical due to withdrawal. She immediately takes out an emergency kit she keeps under the couch, which contains a picture of Spingfield Elementary and a tape recording of a teacher yelling at students. However, despite her love of school, she doesn't really like ''tough'' schoolwork. One episode has her moved up a grade, where she realizes that she'd rather be the smartest kid in class and get perfect grades on work that's too easy for her than actually be challenged intellectually and get merely average or above-average grades.

* Averted with ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', who is extremely intelligent and nerdy (to levels suggesting a mental disorder of ambiguous nature), but is generally [[BrilliantButLazy pretty lazy]]. There was, however, one episode where the class got to vote on a field trip to the mall and a "weekly surprise quiz," with her and her friend [[CoolLoser Jane]] voting for the latter. She probably would have called it the lesser of two evils, though.

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* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's "White and Nerdy" has the singer (Al in-character) mention that he does vector calculus just for fun.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Peter Parker was a mild example of this in his high school days. In fact, Flash Thompson once used Peter's overachiever tendencies to explain why he picked on him in high school (keep in mind that this conversation took place at a time when Peter and Flash had been friends for years).
* ''[[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]]'': Sebastian Ives is mildly entertained by how much easier schoolwork is at public school in comparison to homeschooling but definitely doesn't consider it an improvement and thinks making things so easy is a disservice to his schoolmates even if they're having trouble with the current curriculum.

'''Mrs. Krabappel:''' That's not what I was gonna say, but it's a good idea. [[CatchPhrase HA!]]

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Fiction thinks that tough schoolwork is the greatest thing ever to a nerd. They go beyond the mere {{Bookworm}} in that they live for {{pop quiz}}zes, midterms, and final exams. Not that they are enthusiastic about subjects they are interested in, but tough work is awesome on its own. Basically, they are portrayed as the bizarro student. Having an extra day of school to these guys is like having a day off from school to everyone else. These nerds commonly suffer from OpinionMyopia, and will be baffled at why [[EverybodyHatesMathematics their fellow classmates]] ''[[EverybodyHatesMathematics aren't]]'' [[EverybodyHatesMathematics acting like they're meeting a rock star]]. "Why do you guys look so down? We're having a pop quiz on calculus! Isn't that great?!"

Is this TruthInTelevision? Somewhat. Again, people will be glad to learn about things that interest them (especially if they are going for higher college degrees) but there's a difference between being interested in learning calculus, and acting like a pop quiz on calculus is like meeting a rock star. Then too, a nerd might like to learn but absolutely loathe having to learn in a school setting with [[BrilliantButLazy work]] and [[NotGoodWithPeople people]]. It can also be true with children who are especially gifted. Many schools are incredibly reluctant to let gifted students [[GradeSkipper skip a grade]], even when they really should. For those kids, this can be frustrating in a "has the keys to a Ferrari, but forced to ride a tricycle" way. When they get to something more their speed, it can be downright refreshing. There's also the ones who're enjoying it because they get to show off and make themselves look better than their less nerdy peers.

Compare ProudToBeAGeek.

Contrast BrilliantButLazy.

It might be caused by {{Its Easy So It Sucks}} just applied to school work.

If other students assume this trope is true, they might end up trying to use the nerd as a HomeworkSlave.

* Averted with ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', who is extremely intelligent and nerdy (to AmbiguousDisorder levels), but is generally [[BrilliantButLazy pretty lazy]]. There was, however, one episode where the class got to vote on a field trip to the mall and a "weekly surprise quiz," with her and her friend [[CoolLoser Jane]] voting for the latter. She probably would have called it the lesser of two evils, though.

Fiction thinks that tough schoolwork is the greatest thing ever to a {{nerd}}. They go beyond the mere {{Bookworm}} in that they live for {{pop quiz}}zes, midterms, and final exams. Not that they are enthusiastic about subjects they are interested in, but tough work is awesome on its own. Basically, they are portrayed as the bizarro student. Having an extra day of school to these guys is like having a day off from school to everyone else. These nerds commonly suffer from OpinionMyopia, and will be baffled at why [[EverybodyHatesMathematics their fellow classmates]] ''[[EverybodyHatesMathematics aren't]]'' [[EverybodyHatesMathematics acting like they're meeting a rock star]]. "Why do you guys look so down? We're having a pop quiz on calculus! Isn't that great?!"

* Averted in episode of ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' when the jocks decided to skip class and the nerds wonder why they should have to take the test if the jocks don't have to. When told "Because you care about your education." One of the nerds responds "Nerd Myth! Nerd Myth! Deep down Nerds like to party!" Then they all leave the classroom followed by pretty girls who say "Nerds are better than nothing."

* Averted in episode of ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' when the jocks decided to skip class and the nerds wonder why they should have to take the test if the jocks don't have to. When told "Because you care about your education." One of the nerds responds "Nerd Myth! Nerd Myth! Deep down Nerds like to party!" Then they all leave the classrooom followed by pretty girls who say "Nerds are better than nothing."

Is this TruthInTelevision? Somewhat. Again, people will be glad to learn about things that interest them (especially if they are going for higher college degrees) but there's a difference between being interested in learning calculus, and acting like a pop quiz on calculus is like meeting a rock star. Then too, a nerd might like to learn but absolutely loathe having to learn in a [[NotGoodWithPeople school]] [[BrilliantButLazy setting.]] It can also be true with children who are especially gifted. Many schools are incredibly reluctant to let gifted students [[GradeSkipper skip a grade]], even when they really should. For those kids, this can be frustrating in a "has the keys to a Ferrari, but forced to ride a tricycle" way. When they get to something more their speed, it can be downright refreshing. There's also the ones who're enjoying it because they get to show off and make themselves look better than their less nerdy peers.