I think you missed the point of the article because the author states that he had very good scores at tests, so at least "working harder at school" wouldn't have helped with what he is complaning about whatever it is.

However I agree that this article sounds whiny, especially when it comes to the phrase you quoted. But if we look at the bigger picture the author is drawing, we can acknowledge that Education is not only about college students, it's also about students in primary and secondary school and even high school. At these levels students won't have the critical-thinking and I-will-do attitude you are talking about, they need guidance from the system. They need that the system teach them how to respect themselves by example by respecting them in the first place.