Post-secondary or grade school.
Switching from 5th grade at a little red schoolhouse, where the only homework assignments were reading and projects/presentations to 6th grade at a college prep middle/highschool with homework assignments every day.
In nursing school right now. Pleased to say I’m having the opposite experience - I’m the guy that’s always asking questions, running study groups, and debating the prof after tests to try to get questions thrown out and boost everyone’s grade. So… pretty much everyone in the program, student and staff, knew my name and face from day 1… and I’ve had an awesome relationship so far with all of them.
It’s been difficult, but very gratifying and at times even fun.
Your instructors were shit.
They have a great relationship with the other students too, most of which are women. They’re legit decent people - I’m pretty happy with this program.
I do see sexism at work though - I’m a surgical tech, and I’ve noticed a lot of docs are WAY more forgiving to my fuckups than to my female peers. It’s so fucking awkward to be on the receiving end of favoritism. …and yeah, anytime something needs to be lifted, I’m the mule by default.
How dumb it all is. Seriously. The highly regimented structure of curricula and examination is a shitty way to learn. It’s optimised for making teaching and grading easier. And also teaching young people to be obedient facile production line workers.
But intellectually and academically, it always seemed obviously bad and boring to me. And I’ve since gotten to understand a number of academic topics relatively well to know how true this is. Proper understanding, intellectually, and skill in application, are things that are far more organic and purpose driven than the shitty curricula that pencil pushing educators spit out as though the human mind were an excel spread sheet.
Sitting still and not being bored senseless. I was a hyperactive kid with adhd, having to sit anywhere for more than 10 minutes was the bane of my existence.
I don’t think my adhd ever came out as restlessness.
I always tried really hard to keep track of what was going on but the dumbest thing would cause me to zone out . When I was done zoning out I was so lost that I would just give up and continue daydreaming.
I don’t know if my energy levels had anything to do with adhd or if it was just a unrelated companion, but I’ve always been that way. Sugar was banned in my house I think because my mother thought I’d implode if I got my mitts on any. I couldn’t even sit long enough to watch a whole movie from start to finish until I was in my 30’s.
Math. I sucked at math since 3rd grade and that shit was a struggle all the way through college. I’m lucky i can even count, I swear to God. Had to pass THREE remedial math courses just to be allowed to take the course that counted for actual credit towards my degree. Lately I’ve been contemplating going back to college for a second degree, but I realized I’d have to take shit like pre-calculus for the degrees I’m looking at and I just don’t think I could do it. My brain is such a letdown.
Right there with you. Suffered with fractions in 4th grade, did okay from there until trig in high school (sophomore year?), then failed hard in calc 1 over the course of 5 undergrad tries. Finally got it, but damn, my brain could not handle the theoretical stuff. Maybe methods have changed in 20+ years, but that shit sits with you.
