It doesn't surprise me that England's like that- in fact I knew someone who was from England and was 16 going off to college. Granted she was smart, but it also showed that Europe is probably slightly above America in terms of what they view is ordinary at a scholarly level. There were a couple of people in my school who got near perfect SAT scores, and they were actually investigated and asked to take it again with slightly more attention paid to them to verify the fact that they didn't cheat. To me that was always kind of fucked up. Not that there weren't cheaters in high school- I was friends with a few, and that was entirely their prerogative, but to question the validity of someone's intelligence when you are PUSHING for that, seems so ass-backwards. And those individuals ended up getting pretty similar scores despite the scrutiny, so it was both undignified and unnecessary. We are in a position now as young adults though, where when we have kids we can really tell them how it is, instead of just doing what most of our parents did- adding fuel to the flame by insinuating that when we didn't like something about school or do homework, it was because we were lazy and slackers. My parents couldn't keep up with my intellectual level when I was 15, and as a 23 year old now, some of the things I say to them are almost scoffed at because it is so beyond their social and intellectual framework, that it probably just sounds like bullshit to them. My dad served in the Marines for 25 years before retiring and he jumped in right after high school. He was a meathead and not an intellectual. I got some of his athleticism, but I also took to things like coding and web development early on for whatever reason it appealed to me. That part of my life he didn't get, and that led to a great disconnect in matters regarding my education, because I was constantly being lectured to do better by someone who couldn't help me with my math homework when i was in the eighth grade. My mom's a lot smarter than my dad, so that only made her perspective of me not having straight A's every report card a lot harder. I'm sure she still regrets me not going to college and getting a degree, but she's also from an older generation. She doesn't understand that going into debt for a piece of paper that is quickly losing merit in a progressive and socially-demanding society is like taking two steps back, unless you absolutely need the further education. Pretty soon, the only degree that's going to matter in America is a Master's. Kids need to be brought up and educated to optimize their individual potential, instead of being raised like cattle who are eventually going to have to compete with one another for a limited amount of positions in the same field because that's all they know.
yeah its ridiculous how they teach kids this complicated algebra yet they leave school not knowing how to write a cheque. Theres little options for people in school, its all a rigid curriculum. Teachers too miss out here as theres no opportunity for them to be passionate and interesting when theyre trapped by rigid guidelines and under pressure to present good exam results rather then help the kids grow and mature. My parents never pressured me in anyway. I hope to go to university and feel grateful I have the opportunity to, 99% of my family never had those opportunites I have now. To me education gives you choices. But education shouldnt mean strict modules of written essays and tests like it does. Pratical knowledge and living knowledge is missing
In a lot of ways I felt guilty for not taking the opportunity that so many of my family members had, but by the time it had presented itself to me, my life was already headed in another direction. And once my family sees what I have created along that path, I think a lot of them will stop questioning my decisions, and start respecting the fact that there is more than one path to success. But I think it's great that you and everyone else is enthusiastic about college. I would never want to downplay the experience, the education, the people, and the culture. These are things I sometimes regret missing out on, but it was done in the name of real world experience, learning at my own pace, and doing what I felt was individually catered to my character. In that sense, I feel it's justified. But there's no way around the disappointment that I'm sure looms in the corner of both of my parents minds. They always refer to how "bright" I am so I'm sure they had high hopes for me. My sister was always a troublemaker and got shit grades in school, and I was their golden child. But by the time their golden child was 18, all he did was turn into this spiritual anarchist who does art and web development- all of which they don't even comprehend lol.
Its a shame they see it in that way. They should understand theres mpre to life then education. As long as youre doing something that makes you happy they should be proud of you, I think thats the greatest achievenment someone can achieve. Not everyones the same.
I don't know if it's necessarily the fact that they see it that way- it's more along the fact that because of who they are and the fact that they also have work, bills to pay, their own friendships, etc, the notion of who their children really are goes over their heads at times. That's something I do not fault them for; we are all human. But when that lack of understanding manifests in the scrutiny of my character from the outside looking in, it's very easy to become annoyed and burdened by it. We all want to make the people who sacrificed for us proud. But it's hard to make someone proud, who doesn't take enough stock in your personal interests to get what you're doing- let alone that you're truly great at what you do.
I'm not nostalgic for the experience of going to high school, but I do miss the carefree obliviousness of living without having to make ends meet. That being said, I went to a rural high school of about 270-300 students and there really wasn't anything to get involved with other than drama or sports. So, if you didn't do either of those things, your extra curriculars pretty much exclusively included smoking and drinking. I'm going to college now (although I'm taking this semester off for financial reasons), and I have to say the atmosphere here is much better. For one, most of the students that go here actually want to be here so there's fewer bullshit attitudes flying around.
It depends. My tiny, rural high school barely had 300 students so there really wasn't too much cliquey bullshit going on. Pretty much everyone intermingled and generally got along. The only minor cliques that existed were the art brat and athlete cliques, but these were just groups of people that hung out together. They didn't really exclude anyone, and like I said, everyone pretty much got along. Other than the jocks and art brats, there was a diverse mix of your typical stoners. In my high school, weed was the defining experience. Everyone smoked, even some of the teachers smoked on the down low. Hell, my senior science teacher did a whole unit on hemp and reefer madness. Not something one could get away with in a metropolitan school.
I miss the freedom I had, no bills, no give a shits. But I would have done things totally different if I could have redone high school. Wouldn't have started drinking at 14 and wouldn't have skipped so much class.
Sometimes I wish I could go back and start over again. I don't really miss highschool, I just wish I could go back and correct the mistakes I made in the past..
Hell no, high school sucked. I went to an underfunded redneck school and I was that kid who was different from everybody. I was denied access to the honors program and because of that I couldn't take high school serious at all because all the average level classes weren't mentally stimulating enough. Now I am in a college honors program and thriving in it, but I guess in high school the honors program was about the image and not the learning. All the kids who made it in the honors program in high school were the preppy popular kids, I was the guy in metal shirts and skinny jeans who faced opposition from all sides (preppy kids, party kids, rednecks, sports people, fucking everybody!!). I passed the tests to enter, but I was told that 'it wasn't for me' and that I am 'better off' in vocational classes. Fuck it though, I am killing it in college and I am working towards multiple degrees.
I miss the slutty cheerleaders and ditching class to go golf, or to get mexican food. Or raging with the homies after a big win. It was good to be captain.
Fuck high school, kindergarten was the shit. Snack time. Nap time. Playground time. Building with blocks. Now THOSE were the golden days. Not a care in the world.
This is exactly what bothers me most about the education system. We learned all of this stuff, and that was all fine and well, but they taught us very little that is applicable in the real world. How to bank or invest, what to do in a legal situation, our rights as tenants or employees, nor where to even find these answers. The world is sink or swim, and I think that's a good thing, but a little heads up would have been nice. By the way, blazer, where are you from? I grew up in Kent/London. I'm not sure I'd return to high school for even the most exorbitant of sums. I was bullied hard from the day it started in the seventh grade, and though it got better in my final year, the whole experience was torture. Home life wasn't so hot during that time either, and I wouldn't take any of it back since it's made me who I am today, but to live it sucked.
Birmingham. Why do you call it seventh grade if you were brought up in the uk? Dont you mean year 7 lol. Sorry you got bullied man that must of been shit
Right on. Hopefully that wild weather hasn't affected you lot. Year 7 is always what I mean, but clearly I've been spending too much time with these Aussies down here. Got my English all shot to fuck.
I went to 3 high schools one being a wack private school, and I dont miss anything about any of them. I do think back about some of my friends from then though.
Agreed entirely! Algebra 2 was an academic at my high school, yet Money Management was an elective. It's quite ironic how high school claims to prepare you for college and "the real world", yet many people I know are working two jobs just to try and stay afloat.