Did you like school?

[Perhaps]

Anyone else used to get a dread feeling in the chest going to school everyday in the cold?
it always seemed like all the kids were ok/enjoyed going to school except for me.

it hurts thinking the (6/7/9/10 years old me) had to experience such a horrible feeling everyday. that's never supposed to be the norm.

thinking about the humiliation/agony my mind and body used to go through when i became around 12/13/14 when the teacher calls your name to answer or read out loud.

What about you?

[biscuits]

I love, love, loved primary school. I was pretty outgoing and had a lot of fun. Just loved being around everyone and being in amongst it all. Like a puppy!

Secondary school, not so much. The curriculum wasn't very engaging. I liked design and technology and playing with the machines. I had selective mutism. It wasn't a fun time!


Glad it's all over. Thinking back to it now feels like a former life of a different person. Ina good way!

[Lee S]

No, I was badly bullied in a very rough secondary school in the 1970s. This was both verbal and sometimes physical. I did learn that if you can make people laugh it would help, so I used to do impersonations of some of the teachers, and I was even asked by a few of the other teachers to do the impersonations in front of the class. This earned me quite a bit of respect amongst some of the kids who used to pester me to do the impersonations for them. It helped ease some of the bullying, but I was not happy at school and was glad when that final day came. Growing up very shy and being secretly gay was a lonely experience in a 1970s rough comprehensive school.

[Mr. Nobody]

Did I fook!

We used to call our school Auschwitz or sometimes Colditz

I'm glad that things are getting better now for today's generations of school children, in terms of facilities and standards at least,

I was almost mute in high school and not one teacher noticed it or done anything about it,
But today, that would be flagged up and dealt with I'm sure.

[Dougella]

^ I was also almost mute.

No. I did not enjoy school.

[Chess&Junkfood]

I wasn't a fan of school. I think I've mentioned this before that I was roughed up a few times. Give or take a few thousand rough ups. But it was a different chapter of my life. Although I do regret not doing more self reflection back then. What with so many wasted years and missed opportunities. But that's life and it's best to try and make the best of what you can. Or something like that.

[Amara 94]

Originally Posted by Perhaps

Anyone else used to get a dread feeling in the chest going to school everyday in the cold?
it always seemed like all the kids were ok/enjoyed going to school except for me.

it hurts thinking the (6/7/9/10 years old me) had to experience such a horrible feeling everyday. that's never supposed to be the norm.

thinking about the humiliation/agony my mind and body used to go through when i became around 12/13/14 when the teacher calls your name to answer or read out loud.

What about you?

It was training you for the rat race.

I didn’t like school but had a mentality that it’s just normal to go to school so I didn’t have a deep dislike for it.

[arrested_development]

I liked it up until secondary and then I had to travel too much and preferred to stay in bed. It wasn't a good idea in hindsight because I didn't finish school and it had a big knock on effect. I still dream that I haven't finished.

I don't know any kids now but I think school will be worse now. Or Growing up will. It'll be harder. More pressures.

[BFG_]

I liked school so much that I baracaded myself in my bedroom putting all furniture up against the door, locked myself in the bathroom then locked myself in the garage after asking my mum if there was more than one key to the garage. All at the age of about 8.

[humphrey]

I enjoyed primary & middle school. But as I went to high school it all went to shit, bullied and started to become withdrawn, couldn't wait to leave.

[sophie79]

I hated comprehensive school (ages 11 to 16). I was bullied relentlessly. The school was incredibly rough and it was such a miserable time in my life.

College and then university was so much better.

[Merritt]

I was constantly stressed and anxious at school, and would try to get as much time off as possible. My attendance each year was around 75%, which I'm not sure if I'd be able to get away with these days without someone getting involved. Probably helped that I went to a rough secondary school that had bigger problems to focus on (like staying open, and having a noncey music teacher), and I did well enough to not fall behind.

Hated it. I'd rather die than ever feel that trapped and helpless again. It wrung out every bit of self-respect and ambition I might have had for the future. I sometimes think I would have been better off doing poorly at school work and exams, because I'm sure the fact that I did reasonably well (by my school's standards) meant none of the staff felt the need to pay attention to me and see if I was OK. In any case, it's not like getting a bunch of GCSEs made the blindest bit of difference to me in the end. Shouldn't have bothered.

[Tembo]

No, not at all.

I think there were some good moments at primary school however I was bullied quite a bit by different people, but that was nothing compared to what was to come for secondary school, a rough comprehensive in Essex where I was bullied relentlessly. That was a horrible place. Most lessons were disrupted (usually the same kids who got pupil of the week if they managed not to get through a week without abusing someone or beating someone up). It was the same school where someone in my year stabbed another to death, and two different people ended up on the Jeremy Kyle show.

Sixth Form was better, probably because it wasn’t in Essex, and I think I enjoyed that fairly well. Although I seemed to have lost my friends by the end of it, and I’m not really sure why to be honest.

University was like going back to secondary school for the first 6 months. I was expecting people to be a bit more mature, but I suppose they let anyone in now. However, I moved out of that accommodation, and then made friends on my course and things got better then.

I don’t think people telling me that ‘schooldays are the best days of your life’ made me excited for the future. The schools years probably contributed to be being the miserable cynic I am today.

[anxiouslondoner]

Put it this way, I've never felt like going back.
(not that it even exists now, it was bulldozed and replaced with a sports academy since)

[BFG_]

Anyone else have strange school dreams? Even after nearly 30 years that place still haunts me.

[Lee S]

Originally Posted by BFG_

Anyone else have strange school dreams? Even after nearly 30 years that place still haunts me.

I have occasional recurring dreams that I'm still there.

[Dougella]

Oh yes I have school dreams and in my dreams I don't know why I'm back there again!

[gregarious_introvert]

I hated every minute of every day - the bullying started on my very first day of primary school (apparently, daily beatings are "character forming") and didn't end until sixth form in secondary school. I thought that uni would be a fresh start, but the only difference was that the bullying wasn't physical, it was just ostracisation.

I haven't lived in the area where I went to school since I was 18, but recently (about a month ago, in fact), I decided to re-visit the area as a tourist and walked past my old secondary school, since when a great weight has been lifted (the flashbacks ended a few years ago) and it feels as if the ghosts have finally been exorcised.

[Lee S]

Originally Posted by gregarious_introvert

I decided to re-visit the area as a tourist and walked past my old secondary school, since when a great weight has been lifted (the flashbacks ended a few years ago) and it feels as if the ghosts have finally been exorcised.

Good to hear

I changed my name by Deed Poll to get away from the bad memories to an extent.