Thoughts on School-Day Structure and how it Impacts Morale Afterwards

[KraznorG 28]

Just want to gather some thoughts on something I've thought about off and on over the last few months. 

 

So, I have an office job now. And it took me awhile, but I realized it was kind of familiar to me already despite only working retail beforehand because its very similar to a daily and weekly structure I'd more or less been programmed to be used to: school.

 

Wake up, pack a lunch or ensure I have some money on-hand for the food truck, go to my desk, write, type and do some math, break for lunch, more math, more spreadsheets, etc and then I get to go home. 

 

A few important differences though that have just about broken my sanity after one year of this. No one cares about you or how you progress. No teachers are going to take an interest in how you're performing (even though they were paid to do so, some put a good face on it). No one is going to add any variety to things either. No incentive to do so, also, its a business. The same tasks are going to be expected. Every day. Forever. As long as you're willing to do it, you'll get money. If you can't handle it anymore, bye, we'll find someone else. 

 

Nothing changes after a year either. Each new school year there was some of the unexpected to look forward to. New teacher, new room, new classmates perhaps. Work has a stagnancy to it in comparison. That guy you can't stand over in the corner? Yeah, he's been here for ten years, get used to him. Don't like your boss? Well, that's a shame because he's been here for TWENTY years, best just get used to him too. Getting bored? Quit your whining.

 

Don't like the jokes people tell when the boss isn't around? Well...that one I honestly don't know what to do with. I'm not one to look for conflict and I have a tendency to bottle things up so I foresee me eventually blowing up at someone or quitting and looking for a new job. I mentioned it to management but we're all adults now, don't rock the boat if you don't have to. Part of me feels embarrassed I'm still one to get offended by off-color humor but I think that stems from my association between work and school. Time and place for everything. Work is not the place for tomfoolery. But there are no disciplinary measures in place for such talk so it gets dispiriting. 

 

So, what to do? School is 12 years. Post-secondary was six for me and while structured differently, it still had feedback. Still had the semblance of people taking an interest in your destiny. Imparting knowledge to you, trying to keep you interested and invested in something. 

 

Now I'm facing 40 years of expected "work" and I'm feeling despair encroaching on every moment I spend here. School gives you weird expectations about what life has to offer. Enjoy it while you can kids, but know finishing it isn't the end and after its over things get less organized and, in my experience, less friendly. 

 

Thanks for reading for those who did. Um, coping mechanisms? Job recommendations? I don't know what I hope people want to share, but any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated. 

[Knight Hadron 372]

You know, me speaking as a highschooler might not be the "politically correct" thing to do. But I will.

 

Part of the reason I like homeschooling is because it allows freedom to do things. I still have to do work, granted, and some of that work is repetitive. But, mom and other teachers have a vested interest in my well-being, and every thing they do has a reason. Even so, I tend to learn more on my own researching and thinking and reading than actually in school.

 

Point being, is I have a very varied life, and that might bias my output of thoughts.

 

What you are facing is basically why I dislike the industrial revolution. And, this is going to turn into an essay. Wait a minute as I write this up, I'll come back and edit this post. Hopefully in the next few days. I've got to sleep now.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Knight Hadron

[KraznorG 28]

You know, me speaking as a highschooler might not be the "politically correct" thing to do. But I will.

 

Part of the reason I like homeschooling is because it allows freedom to do things. I still have to do work, granted, and some of that work is repetitive. But, mom and other teachers have a vested interest in my well-being, and every thing they do has a reason. Even so, I tend to learn more on my own researching and thinking and reading than actually in school.

 

Point being, is I have a very varied life, and that might bias my output of thoughts.

 

What you are facing is basically why I dislike the industrial revolution. And, this is going to turn into an essay. Wait a minute as I write this up, I'll come back and edit this post. Hopefully in the next few days. I've got to sleep now.

I look forward to the essay and am thinking on your industrial revolution observation. A great uncle of mine used to carve wood and make things (a clock is the main example I know). This was a skill that took many many years to develop and many hours spent to produce a single product. But that product is greatly cherished by our family. We look at it and say "Ah, Uncle Ludwig gave us that" and think on him decades after his death because he made something for us. A mass produced clock you can buy at any department store may tell time just as well, but its passionless. Nothing personal went into its fashioning. Now that I'm thinking on it, I actually have an old broken watch my Uncle John gave me. He didn't make it, it is a mass produced item. And while I feel I can not throw it away (he too has passed away), I can't exhibit it with the same pride as the clock Ludwig made. Its hand-crafted nature transcends time and has appreciable qualities that aren't solely contingent on you knowing who made it. A stranger might buy the clock Ludwig made at an antique store in the future. After I pass, that broken watch will just be a piece of junk and will likely be thrown away. 

 

As to homeschooling being a bias, that is more than welcome, I'm just asking for other people's experiences. That you have parents with a plan for your future can be a blessing (though at some point your goals may clash). Personally, while my family helped fund my education they maybe granted me too much freedom and I have up until this point chosen a path with no clear destination. I have an appetite for reading and writing on my own but to what end I presently cannot say.