In the 60s and 70s it was definitely unfashionable to be a nerd, get better grad

In the 60s and 70s it was definitely unfashionable to be a nerd, get better grades, attract greater teacher approval. That changed rapidly in the 80s with the advent of available computers.
The aspie thing was more of a problem.
Not ‘taking it’ was both more of a problem AND the solution.
I was in at least one or two fistfights a week, and sometimes most days. Often at the bus stop, or walking to or from school, or at ‘recess’.
Eventually, maturity kicked in, outcomes became serious, and respect and avoidance emerged.
Very different world.
And I’m pretty confident that it was less stressful and less harmful than what kids have gone through over the past two generations. And it surely has made them soft, weak, and cowardly in many ways.
Which I find more than a little odd.