School was never at the top of my "to-do" list. I was never really interested in learning things that happened before my time. Any form of history was like a knife being stabbed in my back. I hated every minute of it. In 7th grade I had a teacher that got me involved in Science. He would give out monopoly money for completeing extra credit assignments in the book. Each assignment was worth X dollar amount. Once a month he would spend his own money on various things and hold an auction where we used the fake money we had earned. Needless to say, this was the only class where I bothered doing the work.
In high school I felt as if I could be somewhere else doing something better. Every class I took, it didn't matter if I showed up or not. In English class I only showed up on Fridays in order to take the weekly test. Suprisingly, I passed the class with an A. I devoted most of my time to wood and metal shop. I loved coming up with ideas and then building them. This was by far my favorite class. This has inspired me to start buying the tools I need so that once my wife and I decide on where to live and buy a house, I can build all the furniture myself. I have done this before, but my ex-wife got all that. Hahahaha.
Then there was my Algebra teacher. She was a wonderful woman and got me interested in math. She took the time to sit down and talk students through problems that were causing them trouble. I'm actually thinking about changing my major to teaching math/algebra. I've been asked many times to be a tutor and my algebra teacher at COTC actually suggested that I teach. Maybe this is why my soon-to-be thirteen year old daughter bombards me with math homework on Wednesdays and every other weekend when she visits.
All in all, high school was just an obstacle I had to get around before I could do what I had planned for years. I just needed a diploma to join the military. I joined the summer of my junior year under the delayed entry program. One month after graduation, I was enjoying that hot summer heat in Fort Benning, Georgia. But, things happen and a shattered leg sent me back here. After working in factories for the past 14 years or so, here I am.
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A lot of learning depends on who is teaching you the information. If a student is stuck with someone who doesn't seem to care about them, they eventually start to question why they should even bother. Even though I hated high school, I will admit there were some teachers I really connected with. I knew they cared about how I was doing, so I started to care about some of the classes. Most teachers don't understand (or don't care about) the fact that their attitude affects the attitude of their students.
There are a lot of people who agree with you, high school is just an obstacle to get through. There really is no motivation to learn, and different people have varied reasons for not being motivated. Although if I had to go through it again knowing what I do now, I may have tried much harder.
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