"I said I loved school. But actually, looking back, it loved me more than I loved it, and I confused the sense of mastery and appreciation I got from school with genuinely loving school."
Wow... This absolutely sums up my experience of school. Something that I am only beginning to realise 20 years after leaving the school system. I loved learning, I didn't love school.
Another great rumination here! Your discussion on the prison-like qualities of school and how you thought you belonged brings to mind Stockholm Syndrome. And honestly if you humor me on that I feel like I was under the same “enchantment” as a youth. Also, your talk about the savior complex brings out an anarchistic vein that I really connect with. (I don’t mean anarchy as “chaos.”) Cheers!
Fran! You’ve really pinpointed so much here! I have relished this one. For me personally I do see how tricky it is for my mother, for ex ,to under my choice to home educate bc for her school was a lifeline, just as you mentioned. It may not have been perfect, but it was better than the alternative.
And recently, a friend, a parent that chose to send her children to public school, lamented how public school would never get better until affluent families sent their kids there too, instead of going the private school route. Warm hugs from SF!
"I said I loved school. But actually, looking back, it loved me more than I loved it, and I confused the sense of mastery and appreciation I got from school with genuinely loving school."
Wow... This absolutely sums up my experience of school. Something that I am only beginning to realise 20 years after leaving the school system. I loved learning, I didn't love school.
Another great rumination here! Your discussion on the prison-like qualities of school and how you thought you belonged brings to mind Stockholm Syndrome. And honestly if you humor me on that I feel like I was under the same “enchantment” as a youth. Also, your talk about the savior complex brings out an anarchistic vein that I really connect with. (I don’t mean anarchy as “chaos.”) Cheers!
Fran! You’ve really pinpointed so much here! I have relished this one. For me personally I do see how tricky it is for my mother, for ex ,to under my choice to home educate bc for her school was a lifeline, just as you mentioned. It may not have been perfect, but it was better than the alternative.
And recently, a friend, a parent that chose to send her children to public school, lamented how public school would never get better until affluent families sent their kids there too, instead of going the private school route. Warm hugs from SF!
Heather