New science on its corrosive, traumatizing effects.
http://nymag.com/news/features/high-school-2013-1
Why You Truly Never Leave High School
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MachineGhost
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Why You Truly Never Leave High School
Last edited by MachineGhost on Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Re: Why You Truly Never Leave High School
I think that what made me a good student later in life is that in high school I didn't give a shit about academics. This wasn't the case before high school and it certainly wasn't the case after, but it was like when I walked through the doors in the ninth grade I intuitively sensed that I was walking into a state subsidized fun house and didn't want to waste any time on unnecessary distractions like studying or listening to the stupid ideas that came out of most teachers' mouths (with a few notable exceptions, of course).
I used to get a kick out of being told that I didn't have the right attitude. I knew deep down that anyone who was telling me this knew they were wrong. I had precisely the right attitude, to a greater extent than I could have possibly known at the time. I know this now because I look back on the experience with no regrets of any kind and almost 100% positive memories.
In retrospect, most of the teachers, principals and other school officials from that time in my life remind me of Agent Smith from The Matrix films. I felt that I owed it to them to resist their efforts at destroying my individuality.
I used to get a kick out of being told that I didn't have the right attitude. I knew deep down that anyone who was telling me this knew they were wrong. I had precisely the right attitude, to a greater extent than I could have possibly known at the time. I know this now because I look back on the experience with no regrets of any kind and almost 100% positive memories.
In retrospect, most of the teachers, principals and other school officials from that time in my life remind me of Agent Smith from The Matrix films. I felt that I owed it to them to resist their efforts at destroying my individuality.
Q: “Do you have funny shaped balloons?”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
A: “Not unless round is funny.”
Re: Why You Truly Never Leave High School
I had a great time aged 13-15, school was barely contained anarchy, lots of messing about and taking the piss, occasionally punctuated by tedious lessons when we actually turned up.MediumTex wrote: I was walking into a state subsidized fun house and didn't want to waste any time on unnecessary distractions like studying or listening to the stupid ideas that came out of most teachers' mouths (with a few notable exceptions, of course).
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I look back on the experience with no regrets of any kind and almost 100% positive memories.
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I felt that I owed it to them to resist their efforts at destroying my individuality.
At the end of it there was a easy segue into tedious factory and warehouse jobs with the same piss taking and messing about to get through the day.
A few years later I'd escaped back into education where I read a book called "Learning to Labour" by Paul Willis. He suggests (IIRC) that structurally school and work have very similar themes of command and control and that for a lot of kids the coping mechanism learnt as a response to school is then used at work.
Essentially a crap education system sets you up for a crap job, but there is always an element of individual push back.
When I eventually started a 'professional' job I was disappointed to experience the same grinding lack of control but without the same level of camaraderie and push back I 'd experienced in 'crap' jobs.
Fast forward 20 years; schools and work seem to be in competition with army camps. I hope we are seeing peak misanthropy in these institutions and look forward to the whole thing slowly collapsing under the weight of its own managerialistic hubris.