Into the Depths
School has started again. There was a time when this was considered a major event, when little second graders nervously approached the high doorway of their new classroom, stared up innocently at their new teacher, and then walked over to their new desk and sat down in it. This desk was bereft of the usual scars and markings that the second grader’s old desk had been marred with, but it was by no means empty of them. Sighing with disappointment at an entire year’s work down the drain, the second grader gets out his blunt Fiskars scissors and begins to remake the holes and slashes. Meanwhile, the teacher introduces herself and begins talking about class rules, but the student is too busy to hear. Even a kindergartener knows the basic school rules; there isn’t any need to repeat them every year. But the school administration insists, a product of bygone days when repetition was considered to be the only way that a child would ever learn anything.
The administration upholds their reasoning by saying that students who get into trouble often are those who obviously do not know or haven’t yet comprehended the rules of the school, therefore they must be retaught, over and over. And when troublemaking children break said rules, they must write them on a sheet of paper, over and over and over, fifty times or five hundred times, depending on the infraction. Of course, the thought that perhaps the student didn’t break the rules out of ignorance never crosses the disciplinarian’s mind; no, children are too stupid to have any real thoughts or opinions on anything, especially at the second-grade level. Though angry and frustrated at his menial punishment, our second grader, who has been caught writing on his desk, has an inward feeling of satisfaction: He has broken the rules. No one told him to do this; it was not in the teacher’s directions or on the worksheet that he had made into a paper airplane. He had broken the rules completely of his own accord. And because of this, because of a small, simple act, he has been freed from them. The rules still apply, and he still is a lowly second grader - but he has proven two important things: a) the rules can be broken, and b) the only way to get around the rules is to break them. For when the rules have been bypassed, they have moved Behind, and all that is left is what is in Front. Breaking the rules does not fill a student with pride or malicious glee, but rather a sense of freedom, freedom that has been removed by the oppressive school and its rules, freedom that can be reached only by diving headfirst into the barrier of words and breaking through only long enough to take a breath of the sweet air beyond.
So I was feeling poetic. It helps, I suppose, to write again after a long week. Long!, you exclaim. How could this have been a long week, when you just started school Monday? I dunno. But I think I am feeling the pain of returning to slavery after three months of freedom - my gulp of sweet air before being pulled back through the barrier. For some reason, school this year just hasn’t been as exciting as in other years. Normally there is some degree of happiness at meeting new teachers, starting new classes, making new friends, etc. But not this year. Again, I dunno why. It’s just…how it is. Sophomore year is supposed to be the hardest year of high school, after junior year, freshman year, and then senior year. I can judge whether it is or not yet, having only been in school for a week, but it sure is shaping up to be that way. Add that to my worsening opinion of the school administration (and school in general), and things begin to look bleak.
I am usually optimistic about things, and I’m trying to stay that way by just living for whatever is going on right now, and not thinking about what might happen later. I’m going to a literary magazine meeting on September 2nd, and a debate meeting next Tuesday; anything beyond that I’m not thinking about. I’ve already made a promise to myself to be more active in literary magazine this year because it seemed like all I did was attend the meetings last year. My lack of participation was partly due to some overactive seniors who led the club, but this year they’re gone and new people have stepped in. I’ll do whatever I can, whether I want to or not. Debate, however, is another matter. I’ve never gone out for debate before, nor do I really know anything about it beyond what I learned from a friend a few weeks ago. Furthemore, my public speaking skills need work, so…I dunno. I guess that’s just an even better reason to join. We’ll see how the first meeting goes. Jim will be there, which helps; it’s much harder to speak in front of people when you don’t know any of them, but when there’s at least one friend with you, everything is less painful.
That’s really all I’m going to attempt this year as far as extra-curricular activities go. I could try for student council, not to hold office but just to participate, though I don’t know if I’d be able to attend meetings for three clubs and manage all my homework and design work at the same time. It’s actually pretty doubtful that I’ll even be able to handle two clubs, but at least I can say I tried, even if I have to drop out of one of them.
My course load this year is heavier than it has ever been. I’ve already written about which classes I’m taking, but I might as well talk about my first impressions now.
- Honors Algebra 3-4
- This math class is shaping up to be tougher than Honors Geometry was last year, but much of this has to do with the teacher. Mr. DelGrosso is by no means strict or mean (he actually strikes me as a bit scatterbrained), but he seems very passionate about math. There won’t be any homework left undone for his class, to say the least. And he has said that we’ll be doing projects and papers too, which doesn’t bode well, but might be a welcome change from the usual book-and-test math class model. Overall, I give this class an 8 out of 10.
- Honors Chemistry
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I don’t like science. It seems strange that someone with as technical and logical a brain as mine (in other words, I have no creative talent) would be so averse to doing anything scientific. I think it has something to do with my general lack of patience, since science is such tedious work. I escaped biology last year with a final score of 100%, though all I did in that class was read or play paper games with the kid across from me. I was bored out of my mind, to say the least. And to be truthful, I’ve never really had a good experience in a science class.
My first real science teacher, Mrs. Woods, was nice, though the curriculum was nothing new to anyone. The same went for my second, Mrs. McBeth (who also was my math teacher in 6th and 7th grade). It always came down to the fact that whatever we were studying just struck me as not being very interesting at all. In 8th grade, things were a little different. This was the year of the Johns-EE, the pink-shirted, tight-black-panted Mr. Johns. The guy could be evil at times, yet outside of class he seemed perfectly nice. Then again, you never really knew with him. Anyway, that year was different because we actually did some experiments and projects that bordered on piquing my interest, though they still fell short most of the time because Johns-EE would tell us the expected outcome ahead of time.
Chemistry will most likely be better than biology solely because it is an honors class. Biology was bad in part because I was stuck with lots of idiots and kids who just didn’t care, which really doesn’t make for a productive academic environment. However, while my biology was a nice, normal person, my chemistry teacher is…not. She has that oppressive “too-niceness” about her, a quality that almost chokes people with a mix of happiness and pain. We’ve been going over lab safety rules in recent days, and with each rule she would give us such detailed examples of what might happen were we to not follow the rule that I was almost ready to scream at her that we got the point. I’m going to have to go back to my old strategy from biology: never raise your hand, make eye contact, or volunteer any information beyond what is asked of you: just do the work and get through the class, which I give a 5 out of 10.
- AP European History
- This class might end up to be my most favorite. I had originally thought that my teacher from last year, Mr. Fogelson, would be teaching the class, but he was called up for military service, so I instead have Mrs. Cheeseman-Meyer. Yes, her name is somewhat funny, but she is (so far) one of the better teachers that I have had. The course is going to be painful work-wise, as well as fast-paced and fraught with small details to remember for tests. But I think I can handle it without too much of a problem. Our first unit, the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War, has gone by in only a week, and I still need to finish up my readings and notes for it. It has been fun all the same, and I really understand the material, even though I haven’t spent all that much time covering it. This class gets a 9 out of 10.
- Web Development
- This class is just a cover for me while I do my various design and maintenance work for Mr. Trapani. This class is unrated; see farther down into this entry for more information.
- Honors English 10 Independent Study
- I haven’t actually had this class yet; I’m scheduled to meet with Mrs. Kulinski about it on Tuesday morning. I’ll give it a tentative rating of 8 out of 10 for now.
- Photoshop CS
- This is an online course taken through San Francisco State University that doesn’t start until September 22nd.
- Spanish 5-6
- This class should be an honors course. It’s the third level of Spanish, taught by one of my favorite teachers ever, Mrs. Nasr. This year is rumored to be a project year, which is fine with me as long as not all the projects are presentations like they were last year. I’d elaborate more, but the rating says enough: 10/10.
So that’s the rundown. I really have nothing else to say tonight; I had planned on talking about the effectiveness of the American education system, issues with Trapani and the school administration, and other things, but I just don’t have time right now. Tune in next week for more harrowing adventures of Bolkm, Fairy Warrior Princess (don’t ask).
Comptomblevellcher.