How We Felt about School

Talking to my friends about grade school, it has become apparent that everyone had a very different experience growing up.  My husband absolutely hated school and ended up dropping out in grade eleven and then graduating later through adult education. However, he was socially popular and excelled at playing sports. The only other subject he enjoyed was creative writing.

I was the opposite. I enjoyed learning and achieved good marks. I loved to raise my hand to give answers and contribute to discussion.  I joined many extra-curricular activities like band and sports but I was very average socially. I had many acquaintances but just a few close friends.

What made the experience so different for us? I have come to realize that he is not an auditory learner. He just cannot listen to a teacher talking and take in the information. He is a visual and kinesthetic learner. His reading comprehension is better than mine and, like so many boys, he prefers to learn by doing.

School in the seventies and eighties catered to auditory learners, which suited me just fine. This is my preferred method of learning and research has shown that this is skewed in favor of girls. This is why science classes used to be dominated by boys, because they involved hands-on experiments.

In the past twenty years, a lot has been done to try and reverse this tendency. Teaching has shifted to include more physical activities and exploratory learning.  Boys are now allowed to express themselves through videos, demonstrations, or computer modeling. Girls are included in science and math problem solving starting in the primary years. The playing field has been leveled.

What was your experience with school? Please subscribe / share your thought below.