Do you miss secondary school?

Ruu · 21-01-2016 03:04PM

Yes, I enjoyed it. I had teachers who you could have a bit of craic with for the most part. Some lunatics but most were sound.

brevity · 21-01-2016 03:09PM

I ****ing hated Secondary School. While there were some laughs, in general it was an awful experience.

21-01-2016 03:12PM

Certainly do not miss MY secondary school. It was an awful one. When the teacher you had the most respect for - and actually looked up to a little - was a wanton and clear alcoholic who would go into the store room off his Physics lab to swig his hip flask during class - then you get a picture of what the general standard of the faculty was. And in fact last time I checked said teacher had risen to the level of Principle for awhile.

I know school kids say things about their teachers all the time and have petty complaints that only naive children could have. But even accounting for that the chemistry teacher who was assigned as my year head was a draconian power trip freak who seemed to - quite literally - get a hard on for dressing down little boys and making them squirm with guilt or stress or worry over some petty nothing he had exploded into an expulsion affair. Oh Doyle I miss you not.

And the Irish Schhol Curriculum is one that is very good at eroding all interest anyone might actually have in learning, inquiry, independent thought, creativity or personal growth. A by rote learning off of disconnected "facts" to reproduce on a page during most exams with very little appreciation or understanding fostered for the things one has been learning.

All that said however I miss school itself. It was wasted on me as a child. Having no worries about income or running a house - and having nothing to concern myself with but academia - and I wasted it playing with computer games or myself. Academia was wasted on me entirely and I regret it now. Half makes me wish I lived in a world where children instead of being educated are put to work, and academia is something you only get put into later in life when you appreciate it.

I have even toyed with the idea - though I will never follow it through - of going back to 6th year and doing the Leaving again, CAO, and get into a college course and do that. I really miss academia and wish I had it to do again. But with an expensive enough house and family to support it would be awhile - if ever - before I could make such a dream come true.

robman60 · 21-01-2016 03:20PM

I have never missed it in the two years since I left.

It was nice having my friends all together as some of them I only see every few months now but other than that I don't miss a thing. I hated being always accountable for where I was to an interfering principal who looked for trouble. I also had to go to classes that I knew were of no benefit to me and the 9am starts every day made it hard to concentrate, especially wearing a scruffy ass uniform and shoes that you wouldn't wear to milk a cow.

Academically I disliked the rigidity of the marking schemes. I remember chemistry particularly you had to use exact words or you just got zero which was complete nonsense. I think I preferred English and languages because at least there was no set answer and you had greater autonomy to decide what you'd write about or where your piece would go.

Overall, they were tough enough years especially the early-mid teens. Just glad to be out the other side and college has been abundantly easier and more engaging imo.

9de5q7tsr8u2im · 21-01-2016 03:20PM

It looks like the majority have hated their secondary school experience, never doubted, would love to hear some positive things about it though! :P

21-01-2016 03:41PM

I miss parts of it: some of the teachers were great and really got me interested in their subjects. I liked a lot of the work (yeah, I was one of those), I liked some of the sports, swimming and tennis mainly and I can't fault my secondary education, apart from one or two minor problems. I absolutely do not miss the Mean Girls situation which varied from year to year or even term to term, even though I was one of the nondescript types who flew under their radar for the most part. It's amazing what a bit of interfering and back-stabbing will do to a person, which I would witness and dread being caught in their crosshairs. I'm sad to say that I'm still aware of the same juvenile stuff here and there as an adult.

Lots of school was stressful and difficult, and I didn't get to go home to my parents at night for respite as it was a boarding school. I always envied people who went to day school and had their parents/siblings support whenever they needed it, or even just a hug after a bad day. Even though it was probably the best option for my parents and me at the time, I think its a hard life for a lot of kids. It sure does make you independent though, you deal with all your own sh!t from a very young age and get used to being self-reliant. I don't think the benefits outweigh the costs though.

These days I look back and remember the good bits, and think of things that were the root of terrible anxiety with rose colored glasses. It's hard to separate the inherent teenaged angst from the additional stress of being separated from the family, but all in all I've little to complain about.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 21-01-2016 03:49PM

I miss some things about that time in my life; the lack of responsibility, the security, the sense that I could do anything I liked with my life, more free time and yes, some of the laughs and fun I had at school.
However, would I like to find myself back in a double biology class, with maths to come and at least an hour's homework to do later on? Absolutely not.

It's like most stages of life. It had its ups and downs. I'm surprised so many posters have such an absolute and vehement hatred of their school years. Maybe I was just lucky.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 21-01-2016 03:50PM

I miss some things about that time in my life; the lack of responsibility, the security, the sense that I could do anything I liked with my life, more free time and yes, some of the laughs and fun I had at school.
However, would I like to find myself back in a double biology class, with maths to come and at least an hour's homework to do later on? Absolutely not.

It's like most stages of life. It had its ups and downs. I'm surprised so many posters have such an absolute and vehement hatred of their school years. Maybe I was just lucky.

Comer1 · 21-01-2016 04:27PM

Naw, I'm still stuck here...with about twenty years still left to go

Duggy747 · 21-01-2016 04:45PM

Do I miss secondary school?

swimming in a sea · 21-01-2016 04:58PM

Not for one second do I miss that sh¦t hole, I lived in the countryside and got a bus(the yellow sh¦tbox for those that can remember) at 7:30am....god I feel sick at the thought of it.:(:(

Whitewinged · 21-01-2016 05:10PM

I don't miss it but I did love secondary school overall, especially 5th year, just after the junior cert and no exams that year. I got that uncontrollable laughter that you try to hold in almost every day. Even the mean teachers were just funny half the time.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 21-01-2016 05:12PM

Whitewinged wrote: »

I don't miss it but I did love secondary school overall, especially 5th year, just after the junior cert and no exams that year. I got that uncontrollable laughter that you try to hold in almost every day. Even the mean teachers were just funny half the time.

Which subjects did you teach?:pac:

enda1 · 21-01-2016 05:17PM

Not a chance!

Miguel_Sanchez · 21-01-2016 05:23PM

LuckyDude12 wrote: »

Do you miss secondary school?

Hahahaahaaaaa!!! haaahaaaaaaahaaaaaa!

*wipes tears away*

Oh God no!

jackwigan · 21-01-2016 05:38PM

This sums up my feelings on the matter...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvDFJVUaXUI

Galwayguy35 · 21-01-2016 05:49PM

No.

Most miserable years of my life.

RobertKK · 21-01-2016 05:57PM

My favourite thing about secondary school was the following.

We were suppose to get permission to go down town, would never look for permission as my friends and I would go for a walk on a loop around town at lunch time.
One day we met the principal downtown and he told us to stand outside his office for not having permission, in the meantime I had met my father on the way back to school and we chatted for a few minutes.
While waiting outside the principal's office, a nun came by she opened the swinging doors and said to us that 'you must have been very bold to be sitting outside the principals office', she was elderly and was too busy giving her opinion of us and not enough to keep her eye on the door and she let the door swing back on her hand, she let out an 'ow' and moved quickly along as we laughed at her being too busy minding our business to bother minding her own, as it had shut her up quickly.
So then the principal came, normal classes had started after lunch, he talked about how we were breaking the rules and he would have to contact our parents, he said to me, 'I will have to contact your parents and let them know and put a note in your green book for your parent to sign'.
I said 'that is ok, my father knows as I was talking to him downtown and all is fine'.
He knew then his scare tactics were a non runner and he sent us all back to class and nothing was done, that was in the early 90s.

Only time outside the principal's office but the sequence of events were perfect. That was a good memory.

Dyr · 21-01-2016 06:09PM

Do I f**k

After my first week of school I was happy as a sandboy playing away at the weekend when I was informed that would have to attend school the next week also and that this would continue for the foreseeable future. Apparently I would no longer have as much time to dedicate to crayons and action man.

I was devastated by this and I'm still shocked that we live in a world where we have to get up every morning and dance to some other ****ers tune.

There has to be a better way people.

Crazyteacher · 21-01-2016 06:43PM

Had the opportunity to visit my old secondary in another capacity recently. And I have to say I am still delighted to be out of it. Same atmosphere as ten years ago!

Diabhal Beag · 21-01-2016 07:25PM

Our school was one of those run-down old nun boarding schools that was also a gaelscoil so you better believe it was an utter hive of depression. That's not a joke either, we've had a grim amount of suicides from our Leaving Cert.

Awful choice of subjects (could only pick French as a language). Technical drawing was literally as adventurous as it got. People who did well in the Leaving all pretty much went on the flunk out before getting a level 8 and all work retail/factories.

Thank Christ I never have to do that 5 years ever again.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 21-01-2016 07:37PM

Miss secondary school? Well it has been 54 years and I certainly never missed it once. Adult life has been much too fulfilling to miss those adolescent years.

Buona Fortuna · 21-01-2016 07:44PM

Schools have a smell about them, a bit like hospitals.

We went to a local school a few years back as the Sawdoctors were doing I benefit concert.

I love the sawdoctors but the smell. I just couldn't wait to get out of there.

The Randy Riverbeast · 21-01-2016 07:44PM

Not one bit. It wasn't awful but wasn't good either. College was far more fun.

ceadaoin. · 21-01-2016 07:45PM

If you miss secondary school or even think about it, you must not be long out of it. I finished school 17 years ago :eek: and my life since has been a lot more exciting and eventful.

I feel sorry for my 4 year old daughter having all those school years stretching out in front of her!

Fat Christy · 21-01-2016 07:47PM

I liked secondary school. My best friends are mostly all from secondary school. I love when we all meet up, I don't see them half enough.

Twas good ol' craic mostly.

Locker10a · 21-01-2016 07:52PM

I absolutely loved secondary school! I laughed almost everyday I was there! Id love to go back and everything I've done since I left has been a disappointment and nothing is near as much fun as school was

CIP4 · 21-01-2016 08:34PM

I liked parts of my secondary school but do I miss it or would I want to go back ?absolutely not. By about half way through 5th year I actually got sick of the word leaving cert I mean 2 solid years of your life revolving around the leaving cert and all the drama about it from the media doesn't help students just puts more pressure on them. Then you have everyone saying oh leaving cert is the hardest exams you'll ever take. Ye right college exams have been way more difficult 60% fail rates in some of my first year exams and the difference is no lecturers give a fcuk whether you pass or fail where as in the leaving cert they mark it to give everyone the most possible amount of marks they deserve bumping people that are border line grades and all. Obviously if you did a easy course in college then maybe leaving cert exams were harder but for most they weren't.

However I am thankful for the fact the leaving cert to give me the key to go through the door into college and college the key to get a decent career. There all only pieces of paper but these days it's difficult to get far without them.

ArnoldJRimmer · 21-01-2016 08:39PM

20 years later, any time I'm stressed, I'll dream about being back in secondary school. It still fills me with an awful sense of dread even thinking about it. My Leaving Cert year was the only one I actually enjoyed, even with the additional pressure and study, as the end was in sight. My biggest motivation for the Leaving was never having to set foot in that sh!thole again. So yeah, not particularly happy times

Azalea · 21-01-2016 09:28PM

No way. Great facilities, great building, teachers with a passion for education, but ruined by scumbags - including ones who intimidated teachers. There was a dominant culture of being anti ambition, anti aspirational - being a swot was just not the done thing if you wanted to be accepted. A trap I stupidly fell into. Any of the teachers who didn't seem to give as much of a **** were, I'd bet, ground down by the prevailing attitudes. By all accounts, it was a good school at one time though.
One teacher let it slip one time that the alumni of times past would be shocked at the way things declined.

I had a group of friends there all right but we all drifted very quickly after leaving cert - I'm only friends with one now.

Any time I talk to other people who went there, all those who have daughters agree they will not be sending them to that school!

Also, more generally speaking, the curriculum was tedious beyond compare.

Plus, college and being an adult was/is infinitely more enjoyable and free!

Do you miss secondary school?

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