The writing prompt this week for Ten on Tuesday
is: List ten things you didn’t like about school. At first I thought I would just opt out of the game this week, because I was one of those kids who loved school. I was totally in my element when surrounded by books, school sports, and marching band. I also sincerely believe I was privileged to be the student of some of the most outstanding teachers who ever lived, with only a couple exceptions. I’ll play along, though, and hope that sometime we get to list ten things that we loved about school.
- I didn’t like the method employed to teach American history when I was a child. The lessons seemed so shallow and repetitive. It seemed to me that year after year I would hear about the same few events over and over and over, ad nauseam: Columbus, the Pilgrim fathers, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, a little bit about the Revolutionary War, and a little bit about the Civil War. Did any of you have a different, more positive experience?
- I cared too much about getting straight A’s, so wasn’t brave enough to persevere in taking classes in which I was interested if there was a possibility I wouldn’t earn an A. For example, I had difficulty memorizing musical scales, so didn’t continue taking band in high school, though I enjoyed it so much.
- There was not as much of a focus on preparing students for adult responsibility and life skills as there is today. At least, that was my perception. I felt at a loss to make a good decision about what to do after high school. I did go to an expensive liberal arts college for a while, but dropped out after one semester, guilty that so much money was being spent on behalf of a girl who had no idea what she really wanted to study.
Well, there you have the extent of my list: Three things I didn’t like about school. I’ll come check out the list of other participants, and see what you have to say!
#3 is a good one – wish I’d thought of that. I felt the same way after graduating high school, and even after getting a college degree I had no idea what to do. I think part of the problem is that we’re mostly being taught by people who have never left school!