Looking back I remember both positive and negative.  Unfortunately the negatives out-weighted the positives until I reached the post secondary level.

I loved learning new things, and the joy of discovery or of conquering a difficult task whether it be finding out about the solar system, or early explorers, or native customs, or long division.   I read ahead in my 'Reader', did extra reading, memorized poems in competition with another girl, studied maps and played geography games during indoor recess.  (Pull down the big wall map of Canada - have everyone else turn their backs while I searched for a place name - have them turn around and try to find it - winner gets to pick next.)    This thirst for knowledge lasted through junior and senior high school. 

But there was also frustration at some of the teaching methods - the boredom and repetition of things I already knew, the rote learning.    Conjugating French verbs rather than learning to communicate in the language.

I loved some of the teachers, and got along and did well with them.  Others I realize now were bullies who set the tone for the entire class, and frequently I was on the wrong end of the stick - poor, with a sick mother and no one to defend me (my sisters and brother concentrating on surviving themselves), and possibly a borderline personality disorder.   I had a hard time making friends, and was often picked on or bullied - and usually chosen last to play games at recess, if I was permitted to play at all.   In high school gym classes, if someone had to choose a partner, I was the one who ended up partnering with the teacher or sitting on the sidelines when I would have loved to be part of the action.

No, school wasn't a good experience for me.  I don't think Grandson is looking forward to going back after having been picked on by his grade one teacher all last year.  

I went to a draconian Anglican boarding school in New Zealand that was run on a system of hierarchical bullying, complete with canes, beatings, compulsory boxing, rugby and military training, prefects, house prefects (with corporal punishment powers), fagging and hazing.... For a time I held my year's record for the strokes of a cane received in a week: 28 (and that was far off the school record).

I hated it. I totally, absolutely loathed it.

But I did have two or three gifted, great teachers -- in English and biology -- who gave me some tremendous insights that I have always valued. And the school did give me a loathing for injustice, snobbery, imposed power and violence and a grounding in the arts of resistance and rebellion. It gave me "attitude" and a future in the protest movements of my university days and a relatively high tolerance of risk and pain that sometimes bordered on recklessness. By contrast, I loved my time in the Navy, courtesy of the compulsory military training regime of the time: it paid me to learn some great things including diving, cooking and damage control as well as general seamanship and the foundations of astral navigation. It further cultivated my love of the sea and chasing the horizon.

So my school years contributed to my willingness to go places and do things others often considered "too adventurous" and the determination to find my own liberation in experiences of other cultures, diversity and beauty... and activities like surfing, diving, caving, climbing and sailing.

So, maybe it was good for me. But I hated it and have never been back there, I have not friends from my school years and I live in another country altogether. It killed many of my feelings of connection with the country of my birth.

I loved school. It was a good experience. I loved the discipline of learning and homework and when I finished high school, the homework part of my day left a large hole.

I talked about my school experiences a bit in this thread.

Basically, while I enjoyed the learning (sometimes) and made some lifelong friendships, I was also socially marginalized and bullied so it likely helped me become the rather introverted sort I was and still, to some extent, am. High school was particularly bad even as I found my interests and decided where I wanted to go from there. Some fun, but too much not fun if you get my drift. University, by contrast, was heaven.

Mendalla

I loved school up to about Grade 6 and I did well. I won awards, I liked my teachers and had a lot of friends. After graduating Grade 6 I moved to another school for Grades 7 & 8. Because of the schools that fed that one, the mix of students was very different and - while I don't want to judge anyone on the basis of socio-economic status - there was a very significant student population from a low income public housing complex that had a reputation for a lot of drugs and violence. Was that the reason for Grade 7 & 8? I don't know, but I became the subject of almost non-stop verbal bullying for those two years. It never became physical, because early on I showed that I'd stand up for myself if I had to, but the verbal abuse continued. Those who had been my friends from my previous school abandoned me, I guess because they figured they'd become the next targets. I went from being a popular kid with lots of friends to a lonely kid with no friends in the space of a few months. I became an expert at faking being sick just so that I wouldn't have to go. My marks went down (actually they were terrible in those years.) Things got better in high school. The kids who tormented went to another school than I did, but it was still probably Grade 11 before I started to enjoy school and do well at it again, and even then there were still kids who remembered me as the target of the bullies and so I couldn't really escape the legacy. I loved University - I was totally removed from that past and could start over again. My school years were a strange mix of good and bad.

I did not like school.  I enjoyed my art classes but other than that no. It was full of being teased for whatever reason (hey if you're not cool they always find SOMETHING). And unrequitted crushes.

I liked elementary school, but I hated high school. I liked some of the classes -English, Social Studies, Band - but was one of those kids who was bullied and teased.

Elementary,  happy and enjoyable until grade 6 when I changed schools and felt very out of place. High school was excruciating. The self consciousness, the hormones, the pimples, the slightest fluctuations in weight, the focus on fashion and hairstyle...what music you listened to...everything that could be picked on was picked on. I generally enjoyed the subjects, except math and physics, but didn't do as well as I could have due to constant preoccupation with mere survival of the "mean girls". I felt like if I could gain some degree of approval from them, I could survive another day week, month, year. Terrible. I was optimistic...a day dreamer. I always looked forward to the first day of school,  the new clothes, the new school supplies, hoping it would be a better year, but it mostly wasn't. I still have a couple of friends from high school...interestingly, I thought they were fine, but they feel much the same way now about their experiences. I totally sympathize with the anti-bullying campaigns. Kids are under a tremendous amount of pressure, that they can't fully understand and see for what it is, at that age.

I really enjoyed college when I was older...discovered that I love learning.

It seems many of us have being bullied in common.

I enjoyed them all down to the last drop.  That isn't to say that I didn't suffer Spirit & physical trauma, though ;3

This is possibly one of my lengthiest replies - because my days at school were so definitive.

Infants - I remember my first day of school, and will until I end my days.

I was so excited, and kept asking Mum as we turned every corner, "Is this it? Is this school?"

But the minute I saw it I burst into tears - the asphalt playground, the noise, the strangers......

But, worst of all, my mother left me there all by myself.

I was ALONE!

I lasted till lunch - when I plotted my escape.......

I ran home, crossing a busy highway.

At first Mum refused to let me in. "You've got to go back - it's the law."

But, eventually she did - and armed with a note - I rejoined the fray.

Primary - My Dad was a schoolteacher, and taught all of his five kids between the ages of eight and twelve.

There was a problem. I made the erroneous assumption that as my Dad was the teacher - I should come first in class. (A bit like being Jesus - if you thought your Dad was God!)

Unfortunately for me, there was this extremely clever girl in my class - who also happened to be my best friend.

At the end of school exams when we were about ten - I looked like coming "first" - with just spelling to go. This was my strongest ability (compared to her) and I was so excited - top of the class at last!

To my astonishment, she did really well. We were marking the spelling of those we sat next to - and I was so upset I put crosses on all her correct spellings.

Naturally, she reported this to Dad - and I got caned, which was the punishment of the day.

The pain was one thing - but the humiliation was worse.

To this day, I never compete - it's simply too painful.............

High School - We moved over 500 klms - and I knew nobody. I went from one teacher (my Dad) to different teachers for every subject.

It was a culture shock - I may just as well be on the moon.

Luckily for me, I was good at sports - and that saved me from being a nonentity.

I went to my High School reunion when I was in my fifties. I realised then how much I resented not being in the "in group" at school.

It so happened that this woman who had been the most popular in the class - asked my husband and I to sit with them on their table. But, by the time came for us all to eat  someone else had taken our place.......

I was somewhat shocked to realise that I didn't care.  I remember thinking "I don't need your affirmation anymore - there are those now in my life who genuinely care for me."

All in all, school was like so much in my life, a lesson in resilience and self - belief.............

P.S. Despite his human flaws, my Dad was an inspirational schoolteacher. At his funeral there was a floral tribute from one of his ex-pupils (now a lawyer) that simply said "To Sir, with love".

School in the early years of elementary school was heaven. It gave me a place to be away from mom and to escape the torment..... until....

Once classmates realize you are different, they can become the tormentors.

I was like many learning disabled and GLBTT kids who found school years to be the worst years of their lives.

Overall, my school years have left a negative impression on me.  There were lots of good times, and I remember some of them quite clearly, but on the whole, school was not for me.  I remember it as a place where, from a very young age, I was unhappy.  Sometimes due to the teasing (and occasional bullying) of my classmates, but by far the dominant impression was that of an oppressive institution.

School was saved, for me, by two things - the handful of teachers that I had a very good relationship with.  They went out of their way sometimes to work with me, and to help me find a way to get through.  And secondly, I benefitted hugely from my time as a page at the Ontario Legislature, and later, as an exchange student in Germany.  The experiences themselves were fantastic beyond measure, but most importantly they came at times when I was close to crisis point in my ability to tolerate an institution that suffocated my very being.  Getting out, getting my balance back, getting my strength back, being able to feel confident and comfortable with myself again - without those breaks, first in Grade 8, and then in Grade 11, I'm not sure I would have made it.

you were lucky, matt.

School memories

Kindergarten -- a wonderful lady who could play the piano..and had grey hair and was "chunky"...i think she was what a grandma ws supposed to look like...good memories, school fun.

Grade 1 -- only memory is the day the teacher had put the chairs at the top of the aisle. When she did that, you couldn't get up from your desk. I sat & put up my arm trying to get her attention. I waved it.  no luck. I tried my best, but, I also knew you couldn't speak or go to her desk.  I eventually wet myself...and had to go home.  I was really sad and embarrassed.     The upside of it was...I was taught that rules are sometimes stupid.

Grade 2 -- a really nice boy gave me an amazing pin which looked like a porcupine and  which had mink on the back (they owned a jewellry shop) -- sadly, he became the reason block parent was started in london.

*** overall , i think my impressions was school was about dressing up..

***** moved to a new city

Grade 3 -- had an ambitious perky teacher who split us into the rabbits, the hares, and some other group.  I was a rabbit.  She had us compete against each other regularly and were cheered by the class.  All the rabbits skipped to grade 5.  (bad move -- intellectually we were ready, but, socially - NOPE)

Grade 5 - Mrs. mahaffey - new school, new kids - again..  I hadn't learned to write, and still can't (print mostly) and struggled with multiplication tables.....and the boy/girl stuff -- some of the downsides of skipping.

Grade 6 -- back to the other school..and all new kids AGAIN.  .  Memory, the guy in front of me was bright, but, crazy.  The teacher made him horse blinders out of construction paper.  He loved them, and they worked...but, he wasn't allowed to wear them.

Grade 7 & 8: we were split into a, b, c & d classes based on marks.  Talk about setting up the kids.  I had a good teacher who made learning fun, but, my friends were in the C class..and I learned being smart was not cool.....and gym class could be dangerous (especially if the A class got pitted against the D class).  I remember being thrown into a school window well....and spit on....by the guys who were part of our group.  I don't remember what kicked it off...but it was awful and humiliating. My friends stood by.

by grade 9, i was learning to float between social groups. and that some teachers cared more about "who you were" than "what you did".... Although i was drinking and my friends were dropping acid...i was not willing to risk anything other than alcohol...and generally avoided drinking during school.

 by grade 10 i had mastered not giving a shit, and having multiple groups that i belonged to..and a couple of close friends.  i was moved into the grade 11 math class at the start of 10....can you say "geek"?  Euchre was how I spent my time..

grade 11 i spent  the first semester in the hospital due to an injury followed by bone infection....and by the end of grade 11 , i was totally bored and spent most of my time "smoking" in the park or staying up too late playing risk. (advantage? of staying connected with multiple social groups)

grade 12 -- ditto...by this time, i was two -years younger than most of the kids in my math classes, and my fellow stoners delighted in me beating the studious kids.  I participated in Math Games (interschool competitions.).yeah, you got it ..for Math. I was the only girl..and the only person who partied.  My saviour was an English teacher who encouraged us to think and write papers which stretched the boundaries.  I was an avid reader, and so...Vonnegut, Bratigan, Blaise,   My goal in all classes other than math, english was to do no more work than was absolutely necessary to get a 50..

grade 13 -- bored to tears....totally not doing what i needed to do..or having any sense that university might be better. We were shit-disturbers..and ran for school council as people who would change the rules.  (didn't get in - but had fun).  Was fed up with tyranny, and with the support of the school guidance councilors, took on a couple of issues.  my physics teacher was a strict guy...but made the class fun.  His class was worth being straight for. Got my marks up to get accepted to co-op Math at UofW

Matt, I say you are lucky, as I was bored stiff in most of my classes.  I found ways to make the days go by, from counting tiles, to being high...to being obnoxious, to figuring out new ways to do the problems.

I did learn that everyone had something to offer ..and ended up taking a varied course load....graduating with more than double the required grade 13 credits.

Overall, I liked going to school...as it was better than being at home, but, school became a game ...rather than about learning....with a few rare exceptions.  I also recognize that I am one of many kids who found school boring...or who were good at subjects....i just didn't have the skills or the resources to figure out how to do it right....(I later a man in university, who was extremely bright....and was stoned most of the time....which helped him seem normal)

I do not suggest that my suvrival method was the right one, but, when I parent is struggling with a child, i do suggest that they shouldn't give up...things can turn around.  I also tell kids that my method was not the right one...

I killed a thread!  It has been a while since I did...but, ...I think I did!

No you didn't!

My first thought was that's the longest post I've seen from Pinga - how did she manage all that on her i-phone thingie???

You packed a lot in those school years - I'm not surprised they made such an impression.

Bored?

Possum, it was obviously a pose - you're a very involved person here, and I rather think everywhere you go..............

I had the same long delay after I posted - maybe it's a genetic thingie,  Canuck cousin?

(I just imagined the more reserved Canadians going, "OMG,  there she goes again").............

haha, Pilgrim'sProgress....bored by the teachers...or the material...or the pace?...lol...but you are right, I would never be bored...i was always busyl...

anyhow, i do think it must be our genes that caused us to write such long pieces...

Ping: I marvel at your memory. And at the differences and contrasts with my experiences. I find it interesting. I feel saddened that you experienced so much boredom. I think I'm happy that I had pain and trauma instead (not that there weren't more positive possibilities for both of us).

Don't worry about killing a thread... if anyone has anything to add, she or he certainly will.

Sometimes, self-medication is the answer Mike.  I will say that the wrappers, ie the times between classes or the times after school, and a few classes were what I remember..but, I also get why kids dread school.  Does that make sense?