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My High School Experience Sucked
My High School Experience Sucked :: 1 > 5
Ghostbusters
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Most of you on this forums are Americans, but I do know that an handful of you are not American so this post does not apply to your schools but you may be able to relate to this thread.
I hear on the news how our schools in this country are becoming so bad. Drop out rates of high school students keeps going up around the country. I read articles a lot on why this is happening, most blame it on lack of funding. Some claim it's the teachers unions. Some claim it is the rising rate of learning disabilities etc. I think it's a little bit of everything.
Inequality:
I feel what I experience in school is what a lot more students are experiencing today. I think the core of the problem is inequality. I feel like I have learned a lot more in the last 5 years out of high school than I did in high school (yes it took me an extra year).
For one thing, I learned that when other people are in charge of things for you, you tend to be complacent about it. It's not that you don't appreciate it or care, it's just certain parts of the brain don't become engaged until you are responsible for things. People like to shame you for taking things for granted. But I have learned I like being in charge of things because it makes me feel in control. School teaches you this attitude I think that you are not good enough for things you don't know, but now I like to know as much as I can. For example, I didn't care about money because my mom was always in charge of it. I just thought of it as this infinite fund (subconsciously) that was always there every time I need it. When I became in charge of my own money it became apparent why it is important to learn credit terms, taxes, history of our economic system, because the more you know the more money you can make.
Early Bird Attitudes:
Another issue I had was this attitude schools have that you're a piece of shit if you don't wake up at 5am everyday. I was never a morning person, I always had a hard time getting up and I like to stay up late. That has never changed and it never will. Almost every time I try to go to bed at 10pm I am restless and can't fall asleep until 1-3am.
Socializing:
I spent a lot of time in school in counselor's offices discussing various things from my attendance, academic deficiencies, to just being socially inept. They treated me like a dog about the issue though, they would give me free line passes for lunch for attending school on time and getting homework done on time, but I hated to go to lunch early because I hated sitting in the lunch rooms and I liked standing in line as long as possible so I spent less time sitting. It was just one thing after another in the lunch room. I had an identity crisis trying to figure out where to sit and where ever I sat it seemed like someone always had to give me a hard time. I think reasons like this is why kids are dropping out of schools more than anything. I think kids get fed up with feeling alone in school and leave because they just can't stand it.
Lazy Teachers:
Although I agree teachers should get paid better, I do think there are far too many lazy teachers out htere that just get away with doing as little as possible. I think the standards for the profession are pretty high though, so I am always baffled when I see how terrible some of the teachers that get let into the system are. My Mom is a teacher and has moved around to many different schools in her district so I have some insight into what's like. If the profession did get higher paying it would attract better people too.
Old fashioned homework:
The days of assigning assignments in class and expecting them done the next day is boring and obsolete in this day and age. I never liked classes assigning things in class that should be done tomorrow. Teachers always like to do that but I find that having them start assignments in class and finish it out is a lot more effective than having that part of class completely separate from what is done in class. Homework should be something that is introduced in the classroom as well as outside. Schools should be fully engaged with the internet, posting assignments due and should be done completely electronically, we shouldn't have paper involved in anything anymore. The internet has become completely superior to paper based information.
Private schools suck even more than public:
I went to a private school for one year and I found it even worse than public schools. I found that private schools play a lot of favoritism and don't really care if you show up as long as you pay your tuition. They're not concerned about you education and just want your money to make themselves look good so they can appeal to richer people to give them more money. At least in public schools I felt more of a sense of accountability for everyone.
That's all I have for now, I will add more later.
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DuracellEnergizer
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Ce n'est pas DuracellEnergizerReplace the teachers with drill sergeants, reinstate caning, and America will be on top again.
God doesn't think in terms of black or white - or even shades of gray - but in big, bright, bold hues of blue and orange.
doubleofive
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Chief Architect of Cynical Morality[darksecret]I have no idea, I was homeschooled.[/darksecret]
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Akwat Kbrana
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Token Linguistics NerdYou mean you're a...?
"Today I am pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office." -President Obama
doubleofive
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Chief Architect of Cynical MoralityNo, not a "b", a bomb!
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Sluggo
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is automatic for the people.doubleofive said:
[darksecret]I have no idea, I was homeschooled.[/darksecret]
Go rent High School Musical. It is pretty accurate.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish memes.
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TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadI spent a lot of time in school in counselor's offices discussing various things from my attendance, academic deficiencies, to just being socially inept.
Forgive me for saying, but from your own description it sounds like you had a rough time personally in high school and that probably colors your perceptions.
Schools should be fully engaged with the internet, posting assignments due and should be done completely electronically, we shouldn't have paper involved in anything anymore. The internet has become completely superior to paper based information.
This would be possible in a world where every student had access to their own computer, ipad, and internet connection. That however, is not the case.
Another issue I had was this attitude schools have that you're a piece of shit if you don't wake up at 5am everyday. I was never a morning person, I always had a hard time getting up and I like to stay up late. That has never changed and it never will.
If you're fortunate you'll always find work that matches your sleeping preferences. But I think you'll find many people in the world have to wake up before they'd like, and not many people have sympathy for them.
Most of you on this forums are Americans, but I do know that an handful of you are not American so this post does not apply to your schools but you may be able to relate to this thread.
You are aware that public education varies greatly district to district, and is actually organized by the states with the exception of certain standards and requirments for federal funding? If you plan on condeming all of American education with the brush of your own unpleasant high-school experience, feel free to condemn the rest of the Western-world as well. They tend to start fairly early in the morning too.
TV's Frink
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Ointment FlyMy response to the OP: you have to do a lot of shit you don't want to do if you want to survive in this world, whether it is in regard to a school, a job, a family, a relationship, or what have you. You don't like homework or getting up early?
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadI'm curious what his schools test scores were? What was the graduation rate? How many went on to 4 year uiversities? Drop out rate? What percentage of students were ELL? Transient populations? What was the AYP or API scores?
TV's Frink
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Ointment Flydoubleofive said:
[darksecret]I have no idea, I was homeschooled.[/darksecret]
That's funny, I could have sworn you turned out ok. ;-)
Ghostbusters
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TheBoost said:
I'm curious what his schools test scores were? What was the graduation rate? How many went on to 4 year uiversities? Drop out rate? What percentage of students were ELL? Transient populations? What was the AYP or API scores?
Very good and still is.
When there's something strange... in the neighborhood... who you gonna private message?
Ghostbusters
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TV's Frink said:
My response to the OP: you have to do a lot of shit you don't want to do if you want to survive in this world, whether it is in regard to a school, a job, a family, a relationship, or what have you. You don't like homework or getting up early?
I just saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I think that is what inspired me to type this thread. This thread is not about shaming me, it is about how much American schools suck.
When there's something strange... in the neighborhood... who you gonna private message?
Ghostbusters
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TheBoost said:
You are aware that public education varies greatly district to district, and is actually organized by the states with the exception of certain standards and requirments for federal funding? If you plan on condeming all of American education with the brush of your own unpleasant high-school experience, feel free to condemn the rest of the Western-world as well. They tend to start fairly early in the morning too.
I am aware, maybe I should have titled this thread: my high school experience sucked.
When there's something strange... in the neighborhood... who you gonna private message?
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadGhostbusters said:
TheBoost said:
I'm curious what his schools test scores were? What was the graduation rate? How many went on to 4 year uiversities? Drop out rate? What percentage of students were ELL? Transient populations? What was the AYP or API scores?
Very good and still is.
? ? ?
So you went to a very successful school that had great results across the board? That seems counter to your OP.
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadGhostbusters said:
TheBoost said:
You are aware that public education varies greatly district to district, and is actually organized by the states with the exception of certain standards and requirments for federal funding? If you plan on condeming all of American education with the brush of your own unpleasant high-school experience, feel free to condemn the rest of the Western-world as well. They tend to start fairly early in the morning too.
I am aware, maybe I should have titled this thread: my high school experience sucked.
Fair enough.
Ghostbusters
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TheBoost said:
Ghostbusters said:
TheBoost said:
I'm curious what his schools test scores were? What was the graduation rate? How many went on to 4 year uiversities? Drop out rate? What percentage of students were ELL? Transient populations? What was the AYP or API scores?
Very good and still is.
? ? ?
So you went to a very successful school that had great results across the board? That seems counter to your OP.
Well it is a suburban school district, most suburban schools do well. Just because their scores my say they are good doesn't mean they really are a good school.
When there's something strange... in the neighborhood... who you gonna private message?
TV's Frink
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Ointment FlyGhostbusters said:
TV's Frink said:
My response to the OP: you have to do a lot of shit you don't want to do if you want to survive in this world, whether it is in regard to a school, a job, a family, a relationship, or what have you. You don't like homework or getting up early?
I just saw Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I think that is what inspired me to type this thread. This thread is not about shaming me, it is about how much American schools suck.
This is off-topic. Threads tend to be about whatever the off-topic community decides they are about.
Regardless, all I can see is that you are whining about your personal high school experience. High school sucks for a lot of people. It sucked for me. I got through it. I dealt with it.
...
Hence...deal with it.
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadTV's Frink said:
Regardless, all I can see is that you are whining about your personal high school experience. High school sucks for a lot of people. It sucked for me. I got through it. I dealt with it.
...
Hence...deal with it.
I loved high school. Had a great time. But then again, I wasn't a DWEEB like soooome peeeeople. ;-)
EDIT:
By "some people" I mean Frink
TV's Frink
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Ointment FlyDweeb Frink, was Dweeb.
Ghostbusters
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I think a mistake that a lot of schools make is they teach you to be a diligent person and don't worry about anyone else. Schools should teach us to worry about other people and want to educate everyone, not just ourselves. Most jobs in this country are formed out of laziness and ignorance. For example, a lot of people are too lazy to fill up their own bottles with water so bottled water is a multi-billion dollar industry. I have a water filter system at home and I have these glass Sobe bottles and Calypso bottles that I continuously refill and put in my fridge so I don't ever have to buy bottled water. Sure the water filter system may cost more money initially, but within a few years I have more than paid for it in not buying bottled water. Not to mention plastic bottles cause a lot of pollution. Same goes for a lot of things. I think schools teach you that you are better off "keeping up with the Jones's" just running from one event to another mindless consuming than to actually slow down and conscientiously think about your consumption and find ways to minimize it. I know this doesn't sound like an answer to education, but for some reason to me it does. Think about textbooks, how many people actually read those from cover to cover? Most people read a few articles in them and then put them away and never look at them again. Is that really an effective way to distribute information? Instead of having kids carry around books that they will hardly read why not just forget about the books altogether and just have printouts of the article and have kids reuse them. Or have public laptops that students can rent if they don't have their own and require them to have laptops in class to access the articles they go over.
My last year at college felt exhausting when I was almost going full time. I feel like I am constantly on the go from one thing to another and I hear all these lectures and read all this information and I wonder, is all this really necessary? How much of this information am I going to remember? Why do I have to document so many things? I'm not even going to look back at my documentation even if I do document it. Why does life have to be so complicated? At the end of the day I felt empty because even after all this time doing things I don't feel like doing, I still feel like "I'm not keeping up with the Jones's." I used to think that I was in the minority of people about not liking school and finding boring, but then I started to realize that a lot of people don't like memorizing facts and reading boring material over and over again. We all just do it because we were taught that is "what is normal".
When there's something strange... in the neighborhood... who you gonna private message?
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadGhostbusters said:
Or have public laptops that students can rent if they don't have their own and require them to have laptops in class to access the articles they go over.
The Federal Williams Act makes that illegal.
My last year at college felt exhausting when I was almost going full time. I feel like I am constantly on the go from one thing to another and I hear all these lectures and read all this information and I wonder, is all this really necessary? How much of this information am I going to remember? Why do I have to document so many things? I'm not even going to look back at my documentation even if I do document it. Why does life have to be so complicated?
Perhaps academia just isn't for you.
TV's Frink
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Ointment FlyI approve of the thread title change. Carry on.
TV's Frink
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Ointment FlyTheBoost said:
Ghostbusters said:
My last year at college felt exhausting when I was almost going full time. I feel like I am constantly on the go from one thing to another and I hear all these lectures and read all this information and I wonder, is all this really necessary? How much of this information am I going to remember? Why do I have to document so many things? I'm not even going to look back at my documentation even if I do document it. Why does life have to be so complicated?
Perhaps academia just isn't for you.
This is a good point. Not everyone is meant for college, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Warbler
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South Jersey DevilI wish I had made more of the opportunities I had in school. A lot of times I got bad grade not because I wasn't smart enough, but because I didn't try. Now look where am. I am going to have to find a minimum wage job.
I also got bad grades because I was too slow doing things. Math is a good example of this. I was very good in math, but it took me longer to solve equations and stuff like that than it would for others. The results: a I failed (or got a lower grade than I should have had) a lot of math tests not because gave the wrong answers or didn't know or understand the material, but because I couldn't answer all the questions in the time giving for the test. I was forced to leave a lot of the question blank and there were of course marked wrong. It was very frustrating. I would get test back with an F on it, yet I knew I could solve all the problems on it correctly if I was just given enough time(which would probably have to be twice time give for the test). Yet another frustrating thing in math: teachers that only look at the final answer to math questions. I can't count how many questions I got wrong, not because I didn't go about solving the problem in the right way, but because somewhere along the line I made a simple math error(which is very easy to do when you are trying to solve complicated equations and you only have a limited time to do so). Some teachers would look at the math work and would give partial credit if it looked like you went about solving the equation in the correct way. But other teachers just looked at the answer and if it was wrong, it was wrong.
I am curious what Boost thinks of my comments.
TheBoost
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Better a bad bomb than a bombadWarb said:
I am curious what Boost thinks of my comments.
Gee, I feel the pressure.
I also got bad grades because I was too slow doing things. Math is a good example of this. I was very good in math, but it took me longer to solve equations and stuff like that than it would for others. The results: a I failed (or got a lower grade than I should have had) a lot of math tests not because gave the wrong answers or didn't know or understand the material, but because I couldn't answer all the questions in the time giving for the test.
I feel with you here. The question is: what is being tested? Skill at math or test taking ability? Some things in life require speed... CPR for one. I never thought Math was one of them.
Yet another frustrating thing in math: teachers that only look at the final answer to math questions. ... Some teachers would look at the math work and would give partial credit if it looked like you went about solving the equation in the correct way. But other teachers just looked at the answer and if it was wrong, it was wrong.
My high school algebra teacher would dock me points because all I'd show was the answer (I could do a lot in my head). I'd get pissed, but he explained (and rightly so I see now) that he was interested in that I know HOW to solve the problem. As he said, he already knew the answers.
My High School Experience Sucked