Ever since I was three or four, I have been meeting with and learning alongside a wide variety of teachers, some good, others far from being such. Upon first stepping into the hallways of Central Middle School, a vast majority of my learning experiences had been both fun and productive. Fast forward three long years, and things had changed. Classes were no longer revolved around learning, but rather getting a high score on a test or essay. Personally, fear of poor grades and test scores can’t motivate me to learn as much as I can be. I hate that the school system relies on fear to scare their students into studying more and more; it’s an everlasting cycle that is the only way one can pursue a financially successful life in this world, and that is something that I can’t wrap my head around.
Usually, I base my expectations off of past experiences I have had with similar events, but being only and handful of days into this school year, I don’t have a big enough sample size of the anything this building has to offer to do so. If one knows nothing about something, then I believe that they are not qualified enough to start expecting things out of it. When I’m in a new, unfamiliar setting, such as the High School, I try to follow this philosophy to the best of my ability. Even if I was to have any hopes for the high school, they would most likely be unrealistic, and rather than trying to achieve them, I would probably instead mourn about the fact that school will never meet them. Reflecting upon the previous paragraph, I got caught up in my unrealistic hopes, complaining about the school system and waiting it to change precisely for me, which is not only ridiculous, but also borderline impossible. This is the main reason why I don’t usually try to set goals regarding things that I don’t find enjoyable, as being a negative person, I never get anything out of it.
Joe 