It is the most universal feeling of dreadfulness for teenagers and younger kids; going back to school. It isn’t just about returning to the 6am mornings and seven hours of confined and “horrible, tedious” learning, but the beginning of school also marks the end of summer vacation. It is quite a depressing realization for most students, because summer vacation is often a time of relaxation, without stress from school work or an upcoming exam.
I think that the best way to embrace the change of pace brought on by the start of school is to look at all of the positives of the school year, even if it means searching for them. One great aspect of returning to school is seeing all of your friends again. For me personally, I love to reconnect with people, ask about their summer, and get back into the whole social world that is experienced so much throughout high school. Another plus could be the fact that you are back on a routine schedule, even if it does start at 7:30 in the morning. For me, I wake up at 6am, get to school around 7:15 by bus, and am home again by 2:45 (unless of course an athletics team keeps me until 5pm).
Then comes the worst part of school, the hours and hours of tedious and pointless homework assigned. I will admit not that all homework is pointless, but in most cases it is. I firmly believe that homework should never be new learning. This concept does loosen up in eleventh and twelfth grade as students prepare to enter college where they will be forced to learn a significant amount on their own. However for the most part, homework should be reinforcement of the information and material learned during class. I can assume that the board of education in my town agrees with me to some extent, because classes are an hour long each. The fact that homework is often still new learning can be blamed on the
poor time management skills of the professor, or on the complexity and depth of the curriculum.
These hardships await as the summer comes to a close at breathtaking speeds. However, I will keep searching for those positives and hope for the best in these times of “depression” that an immense amount of my peers feel as well.
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August 27th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
JJ:
I have to wonder, though, if your no-new-knowledge stance on homework makes room for reading something new. I imagine you’re just referring to learning new skills without having gone over them in class first.
Anyway, it’s great to see that you’re back to blogging. How was your summer?
August 27th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
You are correct. I was kind of in an “emotional” state facing the reality that I will be back in school on Wednesday, and ranted a bit about the “evils” of school.
Summer was fantastic, thanks.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:52 am
Understood.
Completely.
I’m in pretty much the same state–a great summer slamming headlong into the reality of the school year, which for me began yesterday.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
JJ,
I enjoyed your post, stumbling upon it as I considered updating my own blog. I always wonder if I have an audience. But now as the sole audience for my 110 students’ summer reading assignment, I feel the weight of school again, like you, and yearn for “that magic feeling- no where to go…” (The Beatles)
Great to see you again…are you considering a B day breakfast this year?
Love,
Ms. Steinhorn