What High School Learned Me
I've been thinking of this assignment as an "essay" on what was wrong with High School... I think the phrase "learned me" has something to do with that assumption. But, I walked home each day this week (for some reason I think about this one on the way home more than on the way to work) and reflected on this project, I've come to realize that both the "essay" assumption and the "what was wrong" assumption are too simplistic and very likely not want Dr. K is looking for. If it was just an essay, why post it on a web page, why not just post it on Bb? If it was just about what was wrong, why ask me to reflect on what was good too?
So - what sums up my High School experience. It was, I think, unique because the school I went to was unique. It was in the public school district, but somehow not of the district. It shared a campus with a more traditional school and we had the opportunity to take some classes at that more traditional school - but somehow we were still in a different environment and were treated differently by our teachers, advisors, and each other.
So - what did I learn? I learned to think for myself. I learned that the only real barrier to what I can do is what I convince myself I can't do (or what I allow others to convince me I can't do). I learned that sometimes people on the outside of something jump to conclusions about it and then judge you based on those conclusions (but I think I'd already learned that lessons before I got to High School). I learned that sometimes you have to jump through someone else's hoops to get to the place you want to be at. I learned that just because I start down a particular path doesn't mean that I have to be committed to that path for the rest of my life. I learned that it is ok to be both an artist and a thinker - that maybe thinking makes better art and art makes better thinking. I also learned that if you want to take Philosophy your Junior year, you can work with your teacher, advisor, and others to show the district that you are learning "English" skills when studying Philosophy and so get your required "English Credits" and still study what you are truly interested in at the time. I learned that dying your hair with the refill ink for an inkpad doesn't really work and that putting hydrogen peroxide in your hair and sitting in the sun turns it orange, not blond. I learned that you can be in the Chess club, the Math club, the Drama club, and the Yearbook = that you don't have to pick between them. I learned that I really do have a sense of humor, that I can be funny, and that other people recognize and put some value in that.
I think I was very lucky. There wasn't a lot of bad and ugly... there was probably some... but now, 20 years later, it isn't the bad and ugly that I remember... it is the good. I remember the classmate who took his own life over vacation and the other classmate who finally succumbed to cancer. I remember the Ring Parties (reenactment of The Lord of the Rings) and our political campaigns for government class (did we really think it was that funny to call ourselves "The Tupperware Party"?). I remember the moment I realized that I didn't want to be a professional pianist (concert or otherwise) and the strength it took to tell my piano teacher that after ten years of lessons I was ready to pursue other interests. .
Most of the time, I felt happy and at home in school. I thrived there - but I'm not sure I wouldn't have thrived anywhere... it is my nature to want to learn and to do so regardless of whether the culture supports it or not. Jr. High School was not the best environment and I didn't have a lot of friends, the classes were (for the most part) way to easy... but somehow I still worked hard, found teachers and students that I liked, and learned. If I'd already read the books assigned for class (which happened often), then I found something else to read.
So - how do I approach this assignment? How do I approach this web page? It isn't an essay. It is a representation of what I learned. Somehow I need to combine the art and the thinking... the words and the pictures... to demonstrate what I learned... sort of a mini exhibition.
So - what sums up my High School experience. It was, I think, unique because the school I went to was unique. It was in the public school district, but somehow not of the district. It shared a campus with a more traditional school and we had the opportunity to take some classes at that more traditional school - but somehow we were still in a different environment and were treated differently by our teachers, advisors, and each other.
So - what did I learn? I learned to think for myself. I learned that the only real barrier to what I can do is what I convince myself I can't do (or what I allow others to convince me I can't do). I learned that sometimes people on the outside of something jump to conclusions about it and then judge you based on those conclusions (but I think I'd already learned that lessons before I got to High School). I learned that sometimes you have to jump through someone else's hoops to get to the place you want to be at. I learned that just because I start down a particular path doesn't mean that I have to be committed to that path for the rest of my life. I learned that it is ok to be both an artist and a thinker - that maybe thinking makes better art and art makes better thinking. I also learned that if you want to take Philosophy your Junior year, you can work with your teacher, advisor, and others to show the district that you are learning "English" skills when studying Philosophy and so get your required "English Credits" and still study what you are truly interested in at the time. I learned that dying your hair with the refill ink for an inkpad doesn't really work and that putting hydrogen peroxide in your hair and sitting in the sun turns it orange, not blond. I learned that you can be in the Chess club, the Math club, the Drama club, and the Yearbook = that you don't have to pick between them. I learned that I really do have a sense of humor, that I can be funny, and that other people recognize and put some value in that.
I think I was very lucky. There wasn't a lot of bad and ugly... there was probably some... but now, 20 years later, it isn't the bad and ugly that I remember... it is the good. I remember the classmate who took his own life over vacation and the other classmate who finally succumbed to cancer. I remember the Ring Parties (reenactment of The Lord of the Rings) and our political campaigns for government class (did we really think it was that funny to call ourselves "The Tupperware Party"?). I remember the moment I realized that I didn't want to be a professional pianist (concert or otherwise) and the strength it took to tell my piano teacher that after ten years of lessons I was ready to pursue other interests. .
Most of the time, I felt happy and at home in school. I thrived there - but I'm not sure I wouldn't have thrived anywhere... it is my nature to want to learn and to do so regardless of whether the culture supports it or not. Jr. High School was not the best environment and I didn't have a lot of friends, the classes were (for the most part) way to easy... but somehow I still worked hard, found teachers and students that I liked, and learned. If I'd already read the books assigned for class (which happened often), then I found something else to read.
So - how do I approach this assignment? How do I approach this web page? It isn't an essay. It is a representation of what I learned. Somehow I need to combine the art and the thinking... the words and the pictures... to demonstrate what I learned... sort of a mini exhibition.
posted by susan | 7:43 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home