Back to School: 12 Embarrassing Questions
I'm 23, and like a lot of 23 year olds, I've been through primary school (ages 4-11), secondary school (ages 11-16), sixth form (ages 16-18), college (ages 16-18) and university (ages 18-21 generally, although I started at 20 and graduated at 23). So I know exactly what that 'back to school' feeling is like. So to make it easier for those who are starting school again this September, I thought I'd share this with you, mainly for some laughs and also to remind you that school will not last forever, so enjoy it, because when you're my age, you'll wish you were back there ;)
1) First day of school jitters?
The first day at school, for me, was alright at the start. I was stood at 4 years old, in the middle of the playground, holding my mum's hand, watching all of these other children doing the exact same thing. No one really knew what was going on, who to speak to or even why we were there. I had been to toddlers group and play group, so mixing with other children wasn't really a problem for me. The problem was, I didn't know a single child or 'grown up' in that playground, other than my lovely mum.
Eventually it was time for us to line up in our classes, we did this in the school playground so our parents could say goodbye to us. My mum bent down, kissed me on the forehead, ran her hand through my hair, smiled and told me to have fun. Right after that, she turned to walk out of the front gate and I remember watching her entire walk there, until I could no longer see her. I then realised that I was alone, and burst into tears! That's all I can really remember of my first day at school, other than I had a brand new, sparkly pink Barbie lunch box :)
2) Have you ever fallen asleep during class?
No actually, I haven't. I have however had to tap someone on the shoulder to wake them up, because they had actually fallen asleep during class!
3) Share your most embarrassing moment in school
I didn't really have very many embarrassing moments on the school site. I did however go on a school trip to France, we made our way to Dover (as we went by ferry) on a coach and I get very bad travel sickness, so you can guess what I'm going to say next. Eventually, I felt worse and worse. The travel tablets my parents had given me hadn't worked, and so I was sick. Both on the coat that I was wearing and on the jeans I had on. So the coach had to pull over...on the side of the M1.
The driver had to get my suitcase out so I could change my trousers. I remember my history teacher and my form tutor had to stand on the side of the motorway holding towels up around me so I could change my trousers. All while I was watching my classmates peering out of their windows at me, laughing. To say I was only 11 years old, I think I dealt with it quite well, and also lived it down surprisingly. But it was, at the time, very embarrassing.
4) Will you, or have you, ever joined any clubs or sports teams?
I played a lot of netball during Primary school. During secondary school, I was on the hockey team and also took part in swimming galas every year. During university, I joined the Swimming and Triathlon Society, which I loved. As you can guess, I really love swimming. I also helped write article for the university blog.
5) What has been your favourite grade?
As I am British, I'm going to take 'Grade' as 'Year'. So with that in mind, my favourite year at school was year 8. Mainly because you had already settled in, you knew everyone, you knew all the teachers and where your classrooms were, you had your group of friends, its not an especially important year, you don't yet have GCSEs to worry about. It was just a simple year. A fun year, and I have some fond memories of 2007-2008 (when I was a year 8 pupil).
6) Did you ever have to wear a uniform?
Yes. I did in primary and secondary school. Sixth form, college and university, you don't have to wear a uniform, much to our relief.
7) Who was your favourite teacher?
I had a few. In primary school, I used to have a teacher called Mr Jones. He was a lot older than any other teacher we had, experienced in life so to speak. I always used to enjoy his stories he'd share with us. They were always captivating and kept me entertained from the moment he opened his mouth. I always used to look forward to his lessons and he was a nice teacher as well.
In secondary school, my favourite teacher was someone called Mrs Wright. She was my English teacher. She was the one who really made me realise that I loved the subject. It was eventually what I went onto do at uni. She made it interesting, doing the work never felt like a chore, she was more like a friend than a teacher, but she knew where the line was in that sense, so we always knew there was an authority line we couldn't cross. Like with Mr Jones, I always looked forward to her lessons, and I think that says a lot about a teacher, and how good they are at their jobs.
In Sixth Form, I had a Philosophy and Ethics teacher called Mr Toland. He was a lot like Mrs Wright in the sense that it was like he was your friend, but again, you knew where the line was, at the end of the day, he was still your teacher. He had ways of teaching that made everything a lot easier for me specifically to understand, so I appreciated that. He always had time for people who wanted to learn or improve and he used his best efforts to help you achieve what you wanted to.
8) Least favourite?
There weren't many teachers at school who I didn't like. However one, who was my teacher in primary school, didn't really take to me as well as she took to the other children, and so didn't really bother with me much which made me feel as though I was constantly doing something wrong. So I didn't really like her for that reason, she was an older teacher and pretty cold when it came to emotions if I remember. She's since retired.
9) What was the worst thing you ever did at school?
I was a very good pupil throughout my entire time in education. I was quiet, I studied hard, did my homework, never got into any trouble, until one day during a cooking class. It was a theory lesson, so instead of cooking anything, we sat in the classroom with a white board while our teacher bored us to tears with the theory of why certain ingredients are used for one thing and why they aren't supposed to be used for others. Riveting for a 15 year old, I know.
Seeing as her lesson wasn't keeping our attention, my friend and I started playing Top Trumps behind the counter tops (as the class room was basically a big kitchen, like on the Great British Bake Off). Eventually we got caught and thrown into a lunchtime detention. Whoops!
10) Did you have a car? If so, what were you driving?
I was only 16 when I left school, 17 when I was at sixth form, so just about old enough to learn how to drive, however I didn't bother learning how to. So I always got a bus to school and back home again. I've only just begun to learn how to drive as I am now less scared than I was at 17!
11) Are you still friends with anybody you went to school with?
I'm still very good friends with two girls I went to school with. One is having a baby and the other is getting married, so we're no longer the 11 year olds we met back in 2006. I see one pretty regularly and the other I wish I could see more of! I am also still in touch with my other friend who has recently moved back to our home city from Birmingham with his girlfriend. We keep up to date with each other on Facebook, but I've not actually seen him for about 2 years face to face!
12) Is there anything you wish you could change about your experience at school?
I believe that your experiences through life help shape who you are as a person. You do a lot of growing through your time at school. I spent 14 years in mainstream education, that's a long time, long enough to influence you. Everything I went through in those 14 years, (more if you count sixth form, college and uni), I had to go through for a reason. So in answer to this question, no, I wouldn't change anything throughout my time at school. It sets you up for life and I don't think I did too badly ;)
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I hope you enjoyed this post, I will see you very soon with another! You can keep up to date with new posts by following me on Instagram or Twitter! All links will be below :)
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