Learning in high school

I reasoned that I did not need to go the pace of the class since most classes were not very challenging, and that I could read ahead the material we never would cover in class. I wondered why so much was left out until I realized most studied just as ordered and not with much motivation or curiosity, limiting teachers who by and large wanted most of the class to pass even at the cost of diminished overall progress. I realized I would never be conversational in a foreign language at that pace. Perhaps it is not only natural ability but the drive to learn and be challenged that determines who will feel successful in their endeavors.