I'm at that stage in life where you're neither a kid nor an adult, and everyone expects you to act like an adult but for some reason treats you like a kid. It's a weird stage, and it's certainly in the middle of a transition; "Oh, she's only eighteen, she won't know any better!" vs "She's eighteen, she should know better." Just me? Anyway, this post isn't about the trials and tribulations of teenhood. This is about SIXTH FOOORMMM.
We all know the obvious ones (You're gonna miss this, you're gonna fail that, why haven't you put your life story in your personal statement) but it's not those that are the huge issue for me. I don't want to brag but unlike many I completely smashed Year 12 and somehow made myself seem awesome enough to be elected as Deputy Head Girl in Year 13. Nah, I'm talking about tiny, niggling, day-to-day issues that would make my sixth form experience far less frustrating and a lot more enjoyable, even if I am swamped with work. Anyway, enough of my babbling. Let's begin.
1: Heavy bags.
I can't be the only one who has this problem. I took three essay subjects - Drama, English Language and English Lit - so I suppose the weight of all those binders and books is a burden I brought upon myself. I've had to start using a large plastic bag to carry my Drama folder simply because it won't fit in my normal bag, and since I'm carrying around the script of a very hefty Greek play (Lysistrata by Aristophanes if you're interested) 50% of the time, my shoulder gets more than a little achy. And don't even get me started on kneeling down to pick something up off the floor and groaning in pain when standing up again, or becoming a human wrecking ball in small spaces. Eat your heart out, Miley.
2: Noisy and rough kids.
Forgive me for sounding like an old codger, but seriously, do they EVER calm down? I run a little Bible study group for Year 8s, and don't get me wrong, they're wonderful and I'd do anything for them any day. But the talking...and the yelling...and the pushing. It's ENDLESS. Sympathy goes out to everyone who deals with screaming kids on a daily basis. Honestly, how do they have that much energy? The amount of times I've had to call out Year 7s in the corridor for running and smashing into each other like bumper cars in case someone gets hurt...you'd think high school would take its toll on them and they'd mellow out. But no, that doesn't seem to happen until Year Nine. I suppose they grow big enough to realise that the school hallways aren't the vast and amazing tunnels they first thought they were in.
I could write a whole blog post about the reasons I don't want to be a teacher. This is one of them.
3: Teachers who don't understand the concept of prioritising.
This could in a way be categorised with the typical annoyances that sixth form brings, but I'm afraid I just have to touch upon it because I've experienced it more than once. One thing you should remember when doing A-levels: when a teacher says "You need to be managing your time effectively and completing work on time" what they really mean is "You need to be doing all my work over and above everything else". You have a Chemistry exam tomorrow afternoon that you need to revise for? Forget it, you're doing this 2000-word English essay on the influence and prestige of Shakespeare due tomorrow morning. And detention if you don't.
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit here, but you catch my drift? The main tip here is you need to decide on your priorities for yourself. Don't let the teachers scare you into neglecting that Chemistry. Trust me, a detention won't show up on your records in the future. A failed A-level will.
4: Your last pen running out.
And not having enough money for new ones. UUUURRRRRGGGGHHHH.
5: Litter.
My school's probably a lot better than some in the city, but come on, people...bins exist for a reason! You really think causing a stinkarooney in the common room because of your dropped half-eaten egg sandwich is better than putting in a simple bit of effort to get up, walk a few metres and put it in the trash where it'll get taken away by the cleaners at the end of the day? Not to mention, because of litter dropped in the yard, we now have a troop of seagulls that like to glide around school at the end of break and lunchtime and scare the living daylights out of everyone while they look for dropped food. Get a grip!
Just me? Okay, maybe some of these problems are mine alone. But if anyone has the same struggles, please leave a comment so that we can despair about it together. Caz out.
No comments:
Post a Comment