This will probably be a little long and complicated. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I am very inteligent. I go to a pretty good school with a lot of equally minded people. This is a public school though. I have no problem at all with the teachers here, but some of the kids are absolutely horrible! Next year I plan on going to a very prestigous school in the area. My main reason for doing this is to be surrounded by people who actually cre about their education. But they have a VERY rigid acedemic structure. The bottom line is I want to go to a school that has kids who care about learning, but not one with stressfully high level courses. So I guess I want a disciplined school, but not something stessfull. I kinda started to rant there but I would appreciate any comments or experiences with something similar.
These are the kind of problems you want to have, by the sound of it. And I'm not sure I even see a problem? You're going to be going to the school you want to, right? Are you having second thoughts about it?
It's not clear from your post, but are you able to attend this better school next year? You say you "plan" on it, but not whether or not you think your plan will result in you actually attending. Assuming everything's copacetic on that front, your best bet is to work on keeping your eyes on the prize. I ended up being stuck in a public school all through high school, but by selecting the right courses and teachers, it made my learning experience a lot better. Lex
I went to the "most prestigious school in my area" for the first 10 years of my education, and hated every minute of it. The people there were shallow, and really didn't care about academics at all. Many of them were from wealthy families, and went through life thinking they could get whatever they wanted, that they wouldn't ever need a job. Then high school came along and I went to this public magnet school, and it was the best education experience I've had. It may not have been famous or expensive (FREE!!) but the teachers there were good, and the students were there to study. I don't know if there's a school like it in your area, but my school didn't have sports (students went to their home high school to participate in athletics) and I think that helped a lot. Everyone was there to learn. If that prestigious school is based more on the high school experience I had, then GO FOR IT. Even if the curriculum is rigid and challenging. If you can handle it, it is totally worth it. If it's more like my earlier, private education (a lot of rich kids whose families have money to burn) then stick where you're at. No matter where you go, there will be empty headed idiots. It really sucks that they exist, but they have their priorities wrong. That's their problem, and they'll eventually have to face that. Keep on doing what you're doing, which is caring about your learning. Sometimes teachers can be pretty good friends too. Just stop by, talk to them about class, ask them about stuff that doesn't come up in the classroom in the subject they teach: "Hey Mr. Johnson, I really liked learning about the Cold War. I read somewhere about how the Soviet Union came about, and wanted to know more about that." Often times teachers are also academics (at least if they're good teachers) who are passionate about the subject matter they teach. If you look around their classrooms, even their decorations often illustrate this (I had one teacher with a US Army propaganda poster from World War I). These often give a hint as to what they care about the most in their subject. One of my favorite teachers knew quite a lot about the Rwandan Genocide. She was also one of the best teachers I ever had, and I got to know her fairly well because of that topic. Another favorite teacher of mine was an English teacher I knew quite well, who I have added on facebook. She now teaches in Italy, and I'm actually planning a visit soon! The key is to ignore the fools, and find the people in any and every school who do care, whether they're students or teachers. ---------- Post added 9th Sep 2013 at 11:03 AM ---------- Additionally, stressful courses, if they don't overload you, are some of the best courses in my experience. They're the ones that you finish with a changed perspective on the subject and a lot more knowledge. You leave a fuller person.
