senior citzens, what were your school days like, and is it true that they were the best days of your life?

Question

thanks lisa . just put title senoirs so it would post in this section, but its open to all thanks

Answer 1

I have mixed feelings about Grade and HS...I learned one hell of a lot, was able to loaf through my Freshman year in College, and my college was no slouch. I went to Catholic Grade school, and believe me, we were educated not only with Reading, writing, and "rythmatic,", but Geography, literature, sociology, you name it, we hit it. High School was pretty much the same...heavy on content...I went to a small town (4500) high school that had some of the best teachers I will ever see...they took no prisoners, and god help you if you were a smart @$ $. AS for social, there were very good times (sock hops, ice skating parties when the lakes froze over), sports, and of course, Drive In movies. I was popular in HS, but ... it carried its share of grief. Would I want to go back? HELL NO! I suspect my best days of school were in College (Southern Illinois University)...gorgeous campus, great teachers (some very poor ones also). I have to admit, I have had a great life..lots of excitement, daring, etc. and lot of drama at times..haven't we all? but, in looking back, I think this is as good a time as any, every day has something new, a new challenge (and that is just getting out of bed :-) 9 out of 10 days, I am glad I am me. 1 out of 10 days, I wish I were my dog...he has a great life 10 out of 10 days. Hmmmmm what's wrong with this picture????? LOL

Answer 2

God no!

I had a great time in school...loved to learn as others have said, loved the sports and played on a lot of teams...but I was ostracized by most people in my class because I had been accelerated ahead of my age group. That never went away for the whole time through PS and HS.

Finally found my niche in college though--great times in all the ones I attended. Was no party girl, but had a great social life anyway. And got to prove that the brains never mouldered!!

Have done very well for myself out in the working world. There are a few things that I would do different if I could do it again, but all in all I am happy with what I have done and where I have been--after all those are the things that made me the person I am today.

School wasn't as violent as it is today, but there were still cliques (which I never belonged to), and bullies (I was a bully's worst nightmare--I beat up the school bully when I was 9 and had a reputation that kept them clear of me for the rest of my time through school). And there were still weapons in school, although knives were the norm instead of guns.

Each generation has it's own problems. That doesn't mean that the problems that the newer generation are encountering are basically worse than the ones we had.

But what makes me mad is the drugs in schools, and the number of kids that are getting drunk on their way to school. That sort of behaviour is way out of line. This year, I even got to watch a group of 4 boys and 2 girls bobbing up and down along the roadway, stopping every dozen feet or so to throw a couple of hands of craps. WHY do kids get addicted to gambling SO BADLY?!

Answer 3

Didn't particularly like my Primary School where boys and girls were taught in different areas of the school and playtime was in two playgrounds with a high wall between us. Loos were outside in the playground, and school dinners were served in the Hall where the Headmistress had her desk. I could write a book about that and my next school. I was fortunate enough to be offered a place in a Grammar School, which again was all girls.
A very varied education we had a physical education period every day (swimming, P.E., dancing, Hockey and netball in the winter, tennis and cricket in the summer). Everyone did art, cookey, needlework, crafts. French in the first form with the addition of Latin or German in the second form.
We were encouraged to do gardening in the school gardens.
In the Vith form you could follow a fully academic syllabus or do things like Secretarial studies & Nursing studies. In the VIth form we learned about our Community, visiting Non-Christian places of Worship, having the Family Planning people visit and talk to us, visited a maternity hospital and various Council departments to learn how our Society was organised.
They weren't the best days of my life, but in retrospect that school gave me a fantastic start in life and a good grounding in Citizenship. I left there in 1955 and married in 1959.
By the way, Lisa, we are known as "The Silver Surfers" (and my typing speed on a non-electric typewriter was in excess of 80 wpm)

Answer 4

No they were not. I was brought up during the war and went to 16 different schools. I can count the good teachers on the fingers of one hand. Not that there were that many bad ones just mostly average. I left school with one O level in maths and I only got that because the maths teacher told me I was not ready to take the exam so I went to London University booked it privately and passed. I now have an Honours degree in Law and a Diploma in Management Studies and I am a member of Mensa.

Answer 5

The best part about school, especially Hi School, was the days we would not get there. We would go to the beach (lived in San Diego, Calif. on the beach), go into town pick up travel brochures, nothing really just hung out. I would not want to do school years over, for their time thy were good. Uneventful but good. In the 50's to early 60's school was fun of course compared to school today it was a riot and it was safe. We ate what was put before us on the tray, we could use the restroom without an armed escort, we did not have to pass through metal detectors to get in the front door, we did have to respect the teachers and other persons of authority, we learned or we burned (on our backsides).

To quote Edith and Archie Bunker "Those were the days"

Answer 6

No, not really. I was always overweight. I was 11 stone aged 14. Luckily I was never bullied ( in 1959 this just didn't happen) but I went round with 3 other girlfriends. They all got the boys and I didn't. Luckily, I slimmed down and things got better but they used to think I wore a girdle, in fact, it was an elasticated 3 inch deep belt that fastened together at the front.

Answer 7

The first 4 years at school were ok, but then we moved. I was sent to a dreadful school and at 10 found myself in a class of 11 to 15 year olds who were still learning stuff that I had learnt 2 or more years before. Needless to say I was bored and frustrated, until the headmaster, in his wisdom, gave me a pile of books to take home to study on my own.

I was also bullied mercilessly, but I did learn that bullies are basically cowards, with a massive inferiority complex.

School - definitely not the best days of my life.

Answer 8

My schooldays were among the best and the worst in my experience. Infants school was bliss.I remember sunny days playing in the playground, the practising the dances round the maypole and absolute friendship with everybody. Then junior school at 8. Rather different but OK. Then the war. Evacuated at only days notice to the country. So strange to a town child. Lived on a farm and went to village school . So very different, Back home as no bombs yet. Different junior school. Was OK. .passed scholarship to high school at11. High school different again . Enjoyed it but war got bad so evacuated again to Wales . Back to ordinary junior school. lost out a lot education wise but had some good adventures. Back to London for a while till the buzz bombs started then away again to an aunts in Suffolk.Local village school was a joke. Kids left school in farming communities only able to read basic things and count to ten. It was all they needed for their rural life. I was transferred to a grammar school in a town 20 miles away/ Absolutely different. Latin all day , masters in gowns and mortar boards like being at Eton or the like. I hated it . it was awful and the only thing I enjoyed was the football. I played for the school team.but was useless academically. War ended ,back to finish last two years at high school... Was pretty OK. but all in all wonder we learnt anything in all this upheaval.

Answer 9

I wonder how old you are Dolly?

I started school in the 60s. Schools were a lot safer in those days. No bullying from other students - although the teachers did bully us. No drugs, no swearing. I was caned for messing about in class, and I remember very well being given a hundred lines, which I had to write in chalk on the blackboard, because I misspelt the word "with". It was a very efficient way of teaching spelling, because I never made a mistake again! At grammar school the teachers used to throw books and board-rubbers at us, and if they hit you it was just bad luck. Nowadays they would be sued for assault. We were made to eat the school lunches and not allowed to bring sandwiches. There was no choice of menu and if you didnt like the dinner that day you just had to put up with it. I remember refusing to eat liver one lunchtime, because I hated it, and I was brought back into the dining room at 3 o'clock where my uneaten liver was put in front of me again and I was told that I couldnt go home until I had eaten it. No talking was allowed at mealtimes. I learned to write at the age of 5 with a quill pen. We weren't taught to print, and we weren't given pencils. We learned copperplate from day one, so I have had that skill ever since. We had wooden desks with ink wells, and one student would be chosen to be the "ink monitor" and her job was to fill all the ink wells each morning from the giant bottle of ink kept in the stationery cupboard. I went to a state school, and Christian assembly was compulsory in the mornings, and there was not getting out of it even if, like me, you weren't a Christian, so I learned lots of hymns and enjoyed singing them nevertheless. We were taught Latin, sewing and cookery and we spent some of the cookery lessons entirely on cleaning the ovens. Again, I dont know if a school could get away with that nowadays.

Answer 10

I'm not sure of the criteria for senior citizen, but I suppose, if I'm not there, I will be soon.

I would say that junior high and high school were some of the worst years of my life.

However, I liked grammer school, especially second grade. I used to cry when I had to miss because of illness.

I loved learning and still do. I never want to stop. In fact, I just graduated from university.