The Over 40s Club

[Miss Chicken]

It is a while since we have had an Over 40s Club (better known as the Old Farts Club) meeting.

The topic today

GOING TO SCHOOL and what it was like.

I went to state schools. It was quite a bit different than school is today.

a) We learnt a lot of things by rote especially times tables (up to 12 times).

b) we went to school from 9am to 3.30pm. We had an hour and a half for lunch (12-1.30pm). This was later changed to an hour and we finished school at 3pm. High school was from 9am to 4pm.

c) In primary school we didn't have a school canteen/cafe. We were allowed to go to the local fish and chip shop to buy lunch. My mum would give us 20c to buy lunch on a Friday and I used to buy 2 fish cakes (for 5c), 5 cents worth of chips, a coke (8c), and 2c with of lollies (candy). We had to eat the lollies on the way back to the school because we weren't allowed to have lollies at school.

more in later posts,

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I was lucky I guess, I didn't have any major problems in school.

In HS, I was a total band geek, and I think that helped me.

 

[auntiehill]

I went to a private high school. School hours were 8:30am to 3:30pm. I had to be up before 6 am and catch the bus by 7:15am to get to school on time. It took at about an hour to get home---so I was home about 4:30ish. I had about 5 or more hours of homework each night (some of which I did and some of which...not so much). I had to wear a 100 % polyester plaid pleated skirt in 95 F degree weather, with a pale yellow or white polyester shirt to match.

We had 30 minutes for lunch and mandatory public service one day a week.

I hated high school with a passion. I learned a lot, but I had very little fun.

 

[RobertVA]

The city I lived in at the time didn't have junior high schools (now often called middle schools) so elementary school was extended to include the seventh grade and high school started with the eighth.

There were four seventh grade teachers, each teaching a different subject, and three times a day all four classes would shift one classroom over to learn another subject. Yes, we had the same classmates for every subject. We wore our normal school clothes for Physical Education. Until the gymnasium was added to the building (just before I attended the seventh grade) if it was raining or snowing the teachers had to come up with something to do inside the classroom. The cafeteria had a stage at one end for events like plays.

For high school PE boys wore a tee shirt and shorts combination which I believe is similar to what high school students are still wearing, Girls had to wear a one piece polyester garment with elastic around the waist, collars similar to the one on a man's dress shirt and snap closures down the front (they could and usually did leave the top snap open). For cooler weather we were allowed to wear sweat pants and/or a sweatshirt under usual uniform, but when the day's activities included team sports one team of the boy's class had to play topless (shirts vs skins), even if the temperatures were cold enough to see your breath. Some of the girls wore tights and leotards under their one piece uniforms. The girl's uniform had short sleeves and legs that ended about mid thigh.

High School Juniors and Seniors had to attend two classes before the younger students showed up and the entire school had home room (for the main attendance taking, announcements and things like ring ordering and school paper distribution). The earlier schedule gave the upperclassmen more time for after school jobs (probably for some less legitimate activities as well) as the younger students had to attend two classes after the upperclassmen were allowed to leave. Students with a PE class changed for actual activity three times a week and had classroom health lessons the other two days. Other subjects were taught every day for the entire school year (except for special events like assemblies).

 

[Miss Chicken]

The uniform of my high school hasn't changed that much. Though it is a state school it is, and was when I was there, a girls only school. Here is a photo of the school uniform that I took at an Anzac Parade a couple of years ago

The dress, shirt and shoes are more or less the same. When I was at the school the maroon blazer was only worn by prefects and the rest of us wore a dark brown blazer. We also had a winter uniform that was dark brown.

In summer we were allowed to wear knee high socks but in winter we had to wear the dark brown stockings. We also had to wear a tie and, when we were off the school grounds had to wear a hat (straw hat in sunner and a dark brown felt hat in winter) and gloves (light brown in summer, dark brown in winter). We got into serious trouble if a teacher caught us in the city not wearing our hat and gloves.

We had disgusting bloomer shorts that we had to wear for PE.

I prefer those days we were allowed to wear our house colours for sports. I belonged to McNair House and our colour was green.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

School was horrible, many years have passed but certainly not enough to warrant any nostalgia. Good riddance.

Onwards! To the stars!

 

[Haggis and tatties]

^^Plus 1 to that........one of the happiest days of my life was the day i walked out through the school gates for the last time......never again to have to be forced into the presence of either the teachers(and i use that word in its loosest sense), or pupils ever again.

A glorious day indeed and my only fond memory of my four years of secondary schoool.

 

[auntiehill]

^I hated school with a passion. I loved to learn, I loved to read, I liked to achieve....but school sucked. There were 40-42 girls in my graduating class, and I honestly hope I never see any of them again. I hated the rules, the routine, the total lack of any humor or individuality, the tight little social cliques that I never could understand, and the complete and total lack of intellectual and/or cultural curiosity.

Of course, being the only atheist in an all-girls Catholic school, after moving from the San Francisco area to Houston in the middle of my "angry teen" years might have something to do with that perspective. Just maybe.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I didn't like school all that much but it was certainly preferable to being at home with my mother and siblings.

I had some friends at primary school but they were all boys and the school had separate playgrounds for the boys and the girls. Therefore the only time I could play with my friends was after school.

The girls sometimes teased me but most of the time they ignored me. I think I would have been far more severely teased if it wasn't for the fact that the boys liked me and were protective towards me.

My mother sent me to an all-girls high school despite my protests. That furthered my isolation. High school covered grade 6-10.

Once again I was teased and ignored.

However I had some really nice teachers. I remember that in grade 7 I only got a lower pass in level 3 English. My mother hit the roof and was very critical comparing me to my sister who was 18 months older. She never compared me to my sister who was 2 1/2 years older than me and who was doing lower levels than me. I tried to explain to my mother that my poor result was partly due to the teacher. The first thing that teacher did at the beginning of the year was give us a dictation test. Spelling was my weak spot as far as English went and this teacher was a real stickler for spelling and made up her mind I shouldn't be in her class based solely on that test.

I was put on probation for level three English in grade 8. I was later told that the English teacher wanted me to go down to level 2 but that my Social Studies, French and Science teachers had recommended that I continue with level 3.

About two weeks into Year 8's first term, my new English teacher asked me to stay after class. I thought she was going to tell me I was being put down to level 2 but she told me that based on the work she has seen from me she couldn't understand my poor grade from the year before. I told her how bad I was at spelling and she answered "we can work on that". I also told her that my sister was much better at English than me. The teacher told me she had taught my sister and she might be better at spelling but she lacked my imagination and creativity.

The next three years I received higher passes and the teachers told me it was only my spelling problems that stopped me from getting credits.

No praise at all from my mother when my English results improved so much. She only ever commented on any poor result I got which was restricted to music and in grade 9 and 10 in French (I never failed these, I got lower passes).

 

[Haggis and tatties]

^I hated school with a passion. I loved to learn, I loved to read, I liked to achieve....but school sucked. There were 40-42 girls in my graduating class, and I honestly hope I never see any of them again. I hated the rules, the routine, the total lack of any humor or individuality, the tight little social cliques that I never could understand, and the complete and total lack of intellectual and/or cultural curiosity.

Of course, being the only atheist in an all-girls Catholic school, after moving from the San Francisco area to Houston in the middle of my "angry teen" years might have something to do with that perspective. Just maybe.

I know just how you feel, the class i was put into when i first went to secondary school was just filled with so many disruptive idiots it was impossible to learn anything, add to the that apathetic teachers who simple had you copy from one book into another for 4 years.

In one period i was battered by a male woodwork teacher out in the corridor for refusing the belt for something i had not done......big bugger he was too.....only good thing about that incident was that i just dogged(did not go in) to his class for the rest of the year after that and he never reported my absence.

 

[T'Bonz]

Well let's see. Junior high sucked, especially in 8th grade where I was verbally bullied. You may blame my sharp tongue on the fact that I accidentally said something smart back to a tormentor and her friends laughed - at her. By high school, no one fucked with me lest I verbally eviscerated them.

High school was much better. We had a decent school. I found a clique of friends (sci-fi geeks) into which I fit perfectly. We loved Trek, science, sports and fun and yes, we dated. I went steady for the first time (not counting the 2 weeks I did in 4th grade LOL).

Our Science Club was a blast. I have wonderful memories of it.

I liked learning when something was interesting (foreign languages, science and such) but stuff like English was a bore. I'm still paying for my lack of attention in grammar class.

Getting up early sucked, as did homework and having to mind my parents.

High school was the best of times and the worst of times. I left junior high thinking "Good fucking riddance!" but part of me was sad to leave high school. For the most part, I had a good time in high school and was very content with my small group of like-minded friends.

 

[scotpens]

. . . We learnt a lot of things by rote especially times tables (up to 12 times).

Aren't kids still taught the multiplication table by rote? If not, how the hell do they learn to multiply?

For me, elementary school was grades 1-6, junior high 7-9, senior high 10-12 -- all public schools in the same neighborhood. I excelled at English and science, sucked at phys ed and sports. In the elementary grades I was a bit of a class clown. You could say I was a classic underachiever. As you might expect, the few friends I had were intellectual geeks like myself.

The teachers I remember best were the ones with a dry, ironic sense of humor. (There always seem to be a couple like that in every school.) For example, I had a 9th-grade science teacher who'd make comments like:

"Girls, I admit we are mammals and we do shed hair, but I would nonetheless appreciate it if you would care for your crowning glory in the closet, boudoir, toilette, or what have you."

And then there was Mrs. Miller, my homeroom teacher, who was a girls' P.E. instructor. For the annual Faculty-Parent Talent Show, she sang "Hey There" from The Pajama Game. In pidgin German.

For two semesters in high school, I was a member of the audio-visual crew. That was back when school films were actually 16mm films. Setting up and threading the film on an old Bell & Howell or Victor projector was a skill, dammit, and we were proud of it! Nowadays you just pop a CD into a slot. You kids today . . .

 

[Miss Chicken]

Aren't kids still taught the multiplication table by rote? If not, how the hell do they learn to multiply?

I gather that they are taught by 'fun and interactive ways" rather than just sitting in class reciting times tables like we used to do.

My favourite place in the school was the library. I used to spend most of my lunch hour there whe I was in high school. We got a brand new library when I was starting grade 9. It had the worst 70s style carpet I have ever seen - bright purple.

 

[Mary Ann]

I lived in Montreal from the ages of 6 to 13. Elementary school was from Grades 1 to 6. I didn't mind it much. I was a good pupil, but lazy, and I had some gawdawful teachers. High school in the province of Quebec is from grades 7 to 11, or Secondary I to Secondary V (note the fancy Roman numerals). I spent Secondary I and II in a private Catholic high school, and was a weekly boarder for the last 6 months. I was happy enough at that school, and actually liked boarding, but with hindsight it's a good thing my family moved to Toronto and I left that school as it focused heavily on maths and sciences in the upper years. I'm very much a social sciences and humanities person, and struggled horribly with science, so I would have had an awful time academically.

When we moved to Toronto I started Grade 9, which is the first year of high school in the province of Ontario. I was homesick as hell for Montreal and my old friends, and moved high schools after one year. I spent the next two years in misery thanks to constant verbal bullying, though I did have friends at that school. I transferred high schools again and spent Grades 12 and 13 (the latter no longer exists) being the happiest I'd ever been. I made some lifelong friends at that school and had a great time, which showed in my spotty attendance record and mediocre marks.

 

[Miss Chicken]

In Tasmania years 11-12 are spent at a senior seconday college where students are treated as young adults rather than children. No detentions, no uniforms, can call teachers by their first name etc.


In my day they were called matriculation colleges and I loved the atmosphere. However by this time my homelife was so bad that I couldn't cope with school on top of everything else and left and went to work. While still a teenager I left home as did both my sisters.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I left junior high thinking "Good fucking riddance!"

But not saying it? Doesn't sound like the Bonz I know.

srsly though, I really did enjoy my school years. HS especially - I did have a good time. I wish that wasn't so rare.

Unfortunately, my old high school has now been so extensively remodeled that there is very little left (except the gym and the auditorium) that I recognize. You really can't go home again.

 

[Miss Chicken]

On the outside my high school looks pretty much the same as it did when I was there. There are a few new buildings that have been added but that seems to be about it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There is a strip mall directly across the street from my old HS. Some students, even in my day, spent a lot of time over there (it had a restaurant called Brady's, which was reputedly the hangout of a clique called "Hessians" though to this day I have no idea what that was supposed to mean).

There is now a Starbucks over there. Dammit! I could have used that!!

 

[Miss Chicken]

When I was at high school I gather the 'naughty' girls hung out at the creek with the boys from the nearby all-boys state school. I didn't find out about this until after I left school, when I was at school I had no idea where the creek was located.

 

[Mary Ann]

My last high school was built in 1974 and was too small when it opened. I was in the class of '87, and there were 1400 students in a building that could hold 900. There were 19 portable classrooms surrounding the running track of the elementary school next door. These gawdawful shacks were freezing cold in the winter and boiling hot by the end of May. It was a ludicrous situation. The school was completely rebuilt in a new location a few blocks from the old buildings about 8 years ago, and by all accounts it's a fantastic building. I've only seen the outside, but would love a peek inside.

The convent school I attended in Montreal is a landmark building at the top of Atwater Avenue. Any Montrealer would know it. In fact, in one of her books (can't remember which off the top of my head) Kathy Reichs alludes to one of the murder victims attending that school.