I hated school; loathed it, I think I’d rather have spent my formative years being apprenticed to a craftsman than sitting in the same featureless classrooms day after day. I resented the wasted hours spent in R.E* lessons, the tedium of ‘pretending to be an ice cube’ in Drama; I still have no idea why I had to choose two design and technology classes – or arts and crafts as I tend to think of them – instead of two extra humanities. Woodwork, or whatever the fuck it was called, has been approximately no use to me whereas Spanish, Spanish would have been useful. I’ve been to Spain, I’ve never built a table, I don’t intend to.
I was a disruptive pupil too, largely because I was bored and partially because I was a tit, which is something I regret. Then again, there’s little incentive to pay attention when you’ve just finished reading Catch-22 at home and are being forced through the joys of When the Whales Came because ‘it’s on the curriculum’. It’s not a bad book; it’s just not exactly gripping.
As a result, I never really tried. I can’t say for certain that this frustrated my teachers, but I suspect it did. There’s a certain self-preservation in not putting the effort in when you’re teased for using the word ‘humorous’.
Then there’s the social side of school, the popular kids, the unpopular, the outcasts and all the others. I think it’s perhaps telling that of all the people I knew at school, I’m still in contact with about five. Presumably this reflects badly on me, but I can’t honestly say I regret the way things turned out.
Which makes me sound rather pompous and bitter and, in truth, I probably am. But then again I was the awkward overweight kid, the one who wanted to hang out with the popular people and, on reflection, was a foil for more jokes about size than I care to recall. So it goes.
I imagine I took something positive from school, that there were genuinely good times; I just struggle to think of any from a distance of ten years. I just remember being an obnoxious fat kid who never really settled. Personal bias can be a funny thing.
*Religious Education. Yeah, it’s been really useful.
Positive eh Mr Whyley.
Hows it going? I have to admit Ive had a couple of looks over your blog and like your photos of the shire. Cant beat a bit of nottingham.
School seemed to be a mixture of winging grades, being called posh because I didn’t/don’t have a particular accent and fancying boys and my English teacher and being niave in thinking that he might want to get fruity in the book cupboard…all rather tiresome, I admit. Thankfully, those days are over but don’t you miss pizza from the canteen at breaktime ?
Mr. Robert! Long time, no speak! Things are going well, cheers mate. Though it may not seem that way if you read this site as this is where I whinge. Well, here and in the pub. I’ve never been too good at anything other than grumpiness.
How’s the world with you?
jez, where’ve you been? I thought you’d been planning something, you’d been too quiet for too long ^_^
I don’t miss the pizza that much, but I did love the butterscotch tart; that I do miss. That and school chips with lots of vinegar.
I’ve been planning my calculated comeback, of course!
No, just giving you space, man. I could, quite easily, comment on most of your ramblings but I’ve been good and abstained from temptation. Do I get a gold star ?
* Bend over will you Missy, and get that pile of Tess of the d’Urbevilles… and while you’re down there…*
James, James, what have you started!
I’m in contact with about 3 highschool classmates, we write each other emails every other month and meet twice a year.
One of them just got married last Saturday, without me knowing beforehand. We spent 6 years sitting at the same desk at school.
I think I might have made a wrong turn in school relationships somewhere.
[...] few days ago I wrote a post entitled School, and into this post I poured a certain amount of hate and a soupçon of morose rubbish. It’s very [...]