A post from ‘Nathan made me think of my years of oppression education in the school system. How do yours pan out?
Kindergarten–didn’t suck
First grade–didn’t suck
Second grade–sucked
Third grade–sucked
Fourth grade–didn’t suck
Fifth grade–sucked
Sixth grade–sucked
Seventh grade–didn’t suck
Eighth grade–sucked
Ninth grade–didn’t suck
Tenth grade–sucked
Eleventh grade–didn’t suck
Twelfth grade–didn’t suck
Thank goodness for kindergarten, it helped “didn’t suck” pull ahead by one. Dear Linda Bishop (and I’m talking about the REAL one, not “Linda” or the one who got that name in THREE FORTUNES), I’m sorry I stole your crayons in kindergarten. That theft was almost immortalized in a TJB novel, but we wrote a different book. Who knows. One day, it may yet be retold.
Kindergarten–didn’t suck
First grade–sucked
Second grade–didn’t suck
Third grade–sucked
Fourth grade–sucked
Fifth grade–didn’t suck
Sixth grade–Sucked
Seventh grade–sucked
Eighth grade–didn’t suck
Ninth grade–sucked
Tenth grade–didn’t suck
Eleventh grade–didn’t suck
Twelfth grade–didn’t suck
Huh, my “didn’t suck” won out by one too. The only reason first grade sucked was because I was so shy that when we did the reading test, I was so nervous I couldn’t read and got stuck in remedial reading. Meanwhile, I was reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries. Oh, the injustices of childhood.
K – not done (didn’t happen in Britain)
1 – didn’t suck (but I was four, and everyone else was five)
2 – bland/nonexistant
3 – decent enough
4 – good
5 – awful
6/7 – bad – skipped half the year cuz I was supposed to be smart
8 – wretched
9 – bad
10 – mediocre
11 – amazing (Beautiful British Columbia)
12 – okay
13-OAC – kick-ass, mostly due to revenge
University was an absolutely beautiful experience, in comparison.
I can’t remember the years individually but most of them contained smacking, whacking, knuckle-rapping, verbal tirades, isolation corners and desks, etc because I was using my left hand to write.
The year I started primary school I got singled out, along with about 3 others, and the rest of the class were told not to have anything to do with us until we’d been dealt with as we were “spawn of the devil”!
Looking back now, it’s more amusing than upsetting or painful so I would still rate school overall as “didn’t suck”.
Dang, Christina, suddenly my “sucked” years are sounding better by comparison!
Kindergarten–didn’t suck
First grade–didn’t suck
Second grade–didn’t suck
Third grade–sucked
Fourth grade–didn’t suck
Fifth grade–sucked*
Sixth grade–didn’t suck
Seventh grade–toss-up
Eighth grade–didn’t suck
Ninth grade–sucked
Tenth grade–sucked hardchore
Eleventh grade–sucked big pig dick
Twelfth grade–toss-up
*Fifth grade mainly sucked because the elementary school in Bowdoin only had room for K-4. 5th and 6th grades went to school in the next town over, Bowdoinham. So 5th grade sucked in that “I’m in a new school and I don’t know half these people” kind of way. Luckily, the Bowdoin Elementary building was extended and I got to go back for 6th grade.
K through 3rd I don’t really have any qualms with. 4th through 9th grades were awful for me. I was the scrawny, geeky, buck-toothed kid that everyone picked on (I’ll show you pictures someday). Friends just started ignoring me out of the blue, and it made me more painfully shy than ever. Spending a summer in Israel between 10th & 11th grade gave me a chance to learn a lot about myself and I opened out of my shell quite drastically after that. I also finally hit puberty, chucked the braces and glasses and learned that being outgoing made tons more friends than hiding in the bushes. 11th and 12th grades ruled after that.
Damn thieves
I stole Jennifer’s pencil case – full or premium pencils – in second grade. She had a HUGE zippered denim pencil case with endless pencils, all shapes, sizes and colors, and she flaunted them like a peacock, using six or seven in one day, at whim. And she sat in front of me and would Tsk, Tsk, at my meager plastic case with two or three pencils. And it was so unlike me. I never really understood what made me do it. (I was always petrified of getting caught – and this would’ve been bad.) I felt so guilt-ridden later that I wanted to put it back in her bookbag weeks later, but I thought I would get caught for sure then. I was racked with guilt – but writing with some mighty fine pencils at home, in private. 😉
Shawn Lea
Re: Damn thieves
Now see, you understand me! It’s just that Linda’s eight crayons were all so perfect, and the paper on my crayons was tattered and my crayons were broken or dull… I just couldn’t resist. And here I am… all these years later… remembering something that Linda (and probably in your case, Jennifer) has long forgotten…