tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170913783015287649.post5806351877681000160..comments2024-03-26T08:09:33.829+00:00Comments on The Plastic Mancunian: School Daze (Part Three) - Shapes of ThingsPlastic Mancunianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01864213919913476168noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170913783015287649.post-72339402270585600052013-11-02T13:32:41.716+00:002013-11-02T13:32:41.716+00:00Hi Jeremy,
I liked (and still like) weird science...Hi Jeremy,<br /><br />I liked (and still like) weird science fiction stuff - I only read one Jules Verne book to be honest but my all time favourite was H.G. Wells - the Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, The Time Machine - all masterpieces.<br /><br />I'll mention the other subjects in my next post but I really do wish I could go back with my current mind and choose the subjects that matter to me now.<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />PMPlastic Mancunianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01864213919913476168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170913783015287649.post-62770556701018815152013-11-01T16:51:40.678+00:002013-11-01T16:51:40.678+00:00I read your post with great interest, anticipating...I read your post with great interest, anticipating english lit.<br />At school I was very good at subjects I liked and hopeless at the rest. Some of which I put down to the teachers, but mostly to my not seeing them as relevant and not bothering.<br />I went to a grammar school but we weren't taught grammar. Like you, I detested Literature, as we weren't taught to enjoy it, just meaningless repetition of something someone else wrote ( what the heck made you choose Jules Verne? Not much narrative, just pages of description, I lost the will to live! )<br />History, I loved for three years. All that interesting stuff about ancient britons, anglo saxons, romans, vikings etc. Then having chosen to do it at O level, it was blah blah, politics, acts of parliament, blah blah blah. I could't have cared less!<br />I would have liked to have gone further with music. The problem was that unless you could already read and play, there was no point. Having that dropped on you two years too late was stupid. Passionate about music, I can play guitar and bass, but my love is classical. I wish I could play the trombone or cello.<br />Art was my best subject. I ended up with the highest grade in school that year, in spite of the teacher predicting a medium success.<br />French, I liked but we had a crap teacher apart from the first year, when we had a great teacher. Did badly. Subsequently, I taught myself, the grounding did help of course. Now I am bilingual! Married to a French woman.<br />Loved physics and maths, stuff I could work out. Principles rather than just remembering stuff. I liked chemistry but it all turned to crap as it was all about remembering stuff I'd not revised.<br />Metalwork and Technical drawing, again, logical, creative. Not based on reading something written by someone who is totally irrelevant to me.<br /><br />As you intimated, it is far too young when kids are expected to make such choices. The whole education system though is designed by people who never left school or had a proper job, i.e. teachers <br />and politicians<br /><br />jeremy northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14619517364832117418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170913783015287649.post-52126748525969505342013-11-01T09:01:53.832+00:002013-11-01T09:01:53.832+00:00Hi River,
Girls doing home economics; boys doing ...Hi River,<br /><br />Girls doing home economics; boys doing woodwork!<br /><br />I wonder whether times are changing?<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />PMPlastic Mancunianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01864213919913476168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4170913783015287649.post-3301194619020600622013-11-01T08:55:27.648+00:002013-11-01T08:55:27.648+00:00without breaking things down into subjects, I real...without breaking things down into subjects, I really wish now that I had paid more attention and actually learned stuff at school. The thing is, I knew I was only going until I was old enough to leave, so didn't bother. I enjoyed school, and probably would have done well. It simply never occurred to me to ask if I could stay at school. <br />Having said that, I was useless at Art too, hated French, especially the teacher, loved Latin but only got to do one term, (our school year was broken into three terms back then), loved History, we only did Geography in Primary school, I don't recall it in High school, Music wasn't part of the curriculum, I was really good at English and Science, but again, didn't bother trying too hard. I would have loved the chance to do Woodwork, but girls had to do Sewing and Home Economics, where we learned to dry clean our school ties, make a bed and cook an apple crisp. Nothing remotely useful. Riverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794655013673748992noreply@blogger.com