SL survery- did you like/dislike school as an adolescent?

Oh man. I was popular in kindergarten.

The years in between that and college -- let's just say that I hit college with pert-near zero self-esteem as a result of my academic experiences. (Very smart but social dork)

Totally hear the 'headfirst down a stairwell' reference.

Was in university and after that I finally found the confidence to start climbing out of my shell and really start letting people into range. Nowadays people mostly like me, which is good. (At least, I haven't had anyone tell me to piss off recently ) Still have old social habits from the dark years that I'm trying to break, though.

At the time, I hated for what school was. But now when I take a look back at it, those were MUCH SIMPLER days than whats goingon now. I'd take those days back anyday. Except for a certain someone in my life now.

Granted, durin highschool, I generally didn't fit anywhere. I was the more quiet type that stuck to his school work and wasn't very socialable. Now since SL came about, it gave me the freedom to express things I never could in high school, so now I can fit in.

I have a problem with authority : )
I hated school from the moment it began, although I was always good at it. I'm from a family of readers and had already been exposed to any information school was in the business of cramming into young minds, so it was boring. I didn't like university for the feeling it gave of being outside "real" life, although the learning part was all right. School was a stupid waste of time. They should've given me the money they spent on my "education" and I'd've traveled the world.

I disliked the whole school concept. Still I managed to be a good student (my modesty prevents to tell you how good). College was much more interesting, though, but still fundamentally flawed in the way they thought students would get a learning by osmosis

As most people find out, I guess I just learned two things:

1) High school: it doesn't matter if you know things, you just have to persuade your teachers that you know them!

2) College: they teach you how to learn things by yourself.

So, accordingly, due to point 1) I'm usually pretty good at speaking about things I really don't know about and have a sufficently varied background to be able to pass for an intelligent person when I'm not Due to point 2), I'm rather good at documenting myself when someone suspects that I haven't a clue on what I'm talking about

Weird, huh? Imagine that I've wasted 17 years or so of my life just to learn those two things I guess it's something that you need to experience, though. Without that experience, I probably wouldn't believe that they were possible

Elementary /prep school was a pain for me. I saw it as unnecessary, since I was a bit of a genius back then. I learned how to read, write and do basic arithmetic at home, and I even skipped a year. I aced the crap out of it and got straight As at everything except the classes that relied on my body rather than my mind: Drawing, Phys. Ed., etc.

Due to a lifetime of being used to thinking of school as something easy, redundant, and not having to study at all, my performance decreased somewhat throughout high school. I was still one of the top students in most classes, however. I had some difficulty with math, mostly due to horrible problems with our school system. We sometimes went without a math teacher for a whole semester and then when we finally got one, we rushed through everything.

When I got to college I started flunking everything... because, you know, I'm used to this idea that no one sane would ever do any actual studying... I mean, it's boring. It's mechanical. "Boring and mechanical" work is what we built machines and computers for... anything that can be automated is not something I want to do. Anything that can easily be done by a machine is not something that a human like me should waste his time doing.

I still think college is redundant and forces me to study a lot of crap I dont need. I already knew how to code back in high school, thank you very much, and I feel I've learned a lot more through experience rather than mechanically memorizing algorithms and techniques like they want us to do at college... then throwing everything on the exam, only to forget all about it 3 days later. Long lists of algorithms belong in reference books, not classrooms. I will look them up when I need them, if I ever do need them. Thus far, I never have. Employers here always require a diploma for everything, but then all you really have to do is code boring ASP websites, since all the complex work has been done for you by american companies you will never work for. It's nearly impossible to get a job doing anything remotely complex around here... and far too much demand for simpler stuff.

People should learn WHAT THEY NEED, and through experience. Theory should come as a supplement to practice and not the other way around. Everyone who has ever tried to raise a child will tell you that most humans simply cannot learn from their parents the wisdom they accrued through a lifetime of experience. We are trained to be skeptical and defy the information we are fed as "fact". We need to make our own mistakes and learn from them.
We need to become aware of a problem before being able to accept the solutions teachers/parents want to force down our throats. College should involve RL work from the beginning IMHO. I was much more willing to study algebra / geometry once I came to SL and found that I had no idea how to autorez and distribute pillars in a simple cylinder pattern

Hated it. Hated every last solitary second of it. When I was at school, no one liked me, and I liked no one. Now I'm all growed up, I go to work, still hate every last second of it, and still no one likes me, and I like no one.

I did and still can go entire days without talking to another human being. But as Lordfly says, people suck and I've held this opinion from a very early age, so I really don't care

I happen to like you very much, Kris

You wouldn't if you knew me irl

AMEN. AMEN. AMEN.

I moved to a new city in 7th grade. I attended a private school in a small town; to say that it was cliquish is such an understatement. I was a very tall skinny kid who didn’t have a lot of coordination at the time. I was predictably picked on for my first 2 years being an outcast and not one of the “popular” kids.

That was all about to change though because I stopped growing up and grew out instead. I was 6’3” 135 lbs. as a freshman, 6’3” 180 lbs. as a sophomore, 6’4” 210 lbs. as a junior and 6’5” 240 lbs. as a senior, very big for back then, the tallest and biggest kid in the school. I went from geeky tall skinny kid who wore glasses to the best athlete in the school. I excelled at Basketball and Football. In particular I enjoyed kicking all of my JR High tormentors a$$e$ in Football repeatedly, every day. Payback was truly hell!!! It was a beautiful thing… hehe.

I did become very popular in part because I was a great athlete but I was also a very friendly guy who didn’t leave my old JR High friends behind. I never forgot the ones that were nice to me when I was unpopular, or the ones that made my life miserable for 2 years. To this day I keep in contact with my best friend from high school who was the smartest and probably the geekiest kid in the whole school.

I can certainly understand why a lot of people hated High School as well as why a lot of others loved it. I lived both sides of the fence. I couldn’t have hated it more in 7th and 8th grade and couldn’t have loved it more by the time I was a senior. I did like High School and recently had a blast at my 25th HS reunion. Would I go back? Well… I don’t think so. I have learned so much since then and have a wonderful life now. But, if I could go back and hang out with my old friends for a day yes, I would do it.

Damn, were we all awkward outcasts as kids?

I didn't hate elementary school, endured junior high, and survived high school.

I was the quiet one that was an above average student. Generally got along with most, but never fit in with any specific group. Still kinda the same today, except I'm not as shy, and I'll actually crack a smile more these days.

Edited cause I didn't answer the damn question when I first posted this (doh!).

I got transplanted to a new grade school midway through first grade. Unfortunately into a very weird school where bullies ran rampant and the teachers were almost as bad in some cases. The teachers who weren't grown up bullies themelves were generally very quirky, odd ducks. I was tall and skinny, therefore clumsy. Needless to say I was the target of a lot of folks derision, not fond memories at all. Grade school girls can be extremely mean and attack in group form with great effectivness. I would've gladly settled for getting my ass kicked more by the boys than dealing with that gauntlet of harpies.

Junior High was like that as well, but thankfully there was alot more kids so I could kind of lay low. However, a couple of my grade school tormentors were still at it... I put up with their crap until one spring afternoon in 9th grade when their ringleader confronted me in the boys locker room and decided to pummel me because I had recieved an "A" in physical education and he had gotten a "C". He was a football player and athletic. Something snapped and I went crazy, crying and hitting him until people dragged me off. They never bothered me again, and that was the first and last fight I ever got into at school.

High School was fairly good. I went to what was at the time the highest rated school (academically) in the upper midwest. In addition, it was a sports powerhouse. It was also HUGE. Like a Borg Cube. My graduating class had over 1100 kids. It was part of a very large school district with a huge tax base, and therefore we had some very advanced classes, some of which were college level. We also got 50 Apple computers when they first came out. I had the pleasure of being a student in the first Applesoft classes ever offered there. Most teachers took a shine to me, which was a breath of fresh air. I loved it.

As far as the other kids went, we had so many types of groups its was amazing. I guess having 3400 kids in one campus lends to diversity. Of course we still had the snobby, bullying jocks but they seemed like a much smaller entity. We had geeks, nerds, brains, jocks, burnouts, Christians, motorheads, and on and on. I always did well in school grade wise and HS was no exception. I was known as that kid who didn't really fit in anywhere but was welcomed into most group's functions. People would send folks to me for questions about music, languages, science, computers, drugs, where the next party was, fireworks (I hand made my own , learned how from a WWII vet that lived next to to me who was demolition man by trade), rock climbing, BMX bikes, and cars. Overall, I got called *Brain* more than anything, and *Burnout* by some. (I used to wear jeans, Nikes, and unbuttoned flannel shirts with some random rock concert t-shirt underneath.) LOL. NO you can't see the pictures!

College was great, I went to a small, beautiful college in the northwoods here in MN. I really liked the fact that people who never have approached me in High School now would, and consequently vice-versa. Funny thing is - I am not in contact with any friends from college these days, but still am with a few from HS, and quite a few from the neighborhood I grew up in.

All in all; first grade through ninth sucked big time; HS was a refreshing change, a place I could express myself without being singled out and ridiculed for it. College was even more enjoyable because we were all equals and as someone else pointed out - we were taught to teach ourselves.

I would if you would ever let me get to know some of the person behind the av... you secretive little brit, you

School was pretty cool for me all throughout I suppose.

In elementary I guess I was in the cool/smart crowd. I never really had enemies. All the bullies were cool with me. Probably partly because when I was a kid, I was one of the better atheletes and was always strong for my size. Plus, being the youngest of 3 brothers, handling people who tried to fuck with me wasn't a big problem since I didn't fear them.

Middle school was ok. I guess I was in the smart/jock/band fag crowd. Going in, some of us already had a rep since the Summer before entering middle school, our Little League allstar team almost made it to the Little League World Series tournament. I never did sports in the middle school system but I did Pony League baseball which gained me some respect when entering high school.

High School was alright also. People already knew who I was through all the years in baseball so all the jocks were cool with me since at one time or another, I played with or against them. I was also on the wrestling team so nobody even tested me. All the friends I hung out with were the smart creative types or computer geeks who couldn't throw a ball 10 feet. I still was basically on a computer all the time after work/practice so as far as partying went, it wasn't all that much.
Overall, nobody really messed with me. I guess I was basically cool with most of cliques in school including the geeks, jocks, headbangers, overachievers, vato gang bangers, band fags, hair bears, and others I can't possibly remember.

College was just a huge blur of weed & alcohol.

I hated school. I dreaded every morning when I woke up and knew I had to go to school. I was called names, made fun of, etc. And what is really sad, kids today are even crueler. I am glad I am all grown up now with a wonderful life.

Like you Rose, I have seen alot of the kids who made fun of me and look at how they are living and doing. They are all unhappy, horrible people today. Just SAD!!

I still make fun of Paris.

I didnt mind school I dont think. Unfortunately I remember very little. I do remember winning class clown both my junior and senior years. The rest is a drug induced blur. Hell I barely remember my college days much less high school. I must have had fun!

Ironically enough, I found out at my 20th reunion that the bully I eluded to in my above post was in prison for second degree manslaughter during an armed robbery. Go figure. I hope they keep him there. Too bad they didn't get him for 1st degree manslaughter or better yet, murder. If you kill someone while robbing a place with a gun, how is that NOT murder? Guess he must have had a good lawyer...

My high school days are also a drug induced blur...except without the drugs.

Lol. You are so trapped in Freud's Anal Stage.

I am?