Partying, boys, clothing, boys, rock-n-roll, boys, burgers and fries, boys. Now when I grew up after age 50ish, and went back to a community college, I found out I could actually get good grades. For some reason, I thought I couldn't growing up, so I didn't try very hard. Barely got by. But my fave subjects were, in this order: Math English Composition and building websites (loved that but Math, truly my fave) Oops, forgot to put "least fave class in school", that would be Detention. That was a class right
I went to a Dance school...and my favourite of course was Dance..but that aside..I was very good at and enjoyed English, Social studies, and Music ( I played the cello) and Drama (always top of the class in those subjects ) I hated geography more because the teacher was boring....although I love it now ..I disliked Physics with a passion...wasn't all that keen on Chemistry (science was not my forte)...not keen on arts because it was painting and I was never any good at it.. I loved business economics .. disliked Maths but always got a pass mark... In my school, the cleverer kids got very little periods of Homecrafts...whereas the less bright children got much more and very little academic lessons.. concentrating more on their manual abilities ...so girls would get lots of sewing and cooking, and boys would get lots of technical drawing, and motor mechanics etc. ironically all of the latter far more useful in the real world than what we so called more academic kids were taught' I hated French...absolutely hated it. I think again it was due to the lack of ability in my french teacher..and not me.
My French teacher was 'wicked' and I don't mean good It seemed to me the language was back to front anyway - no not for me
In my case, I was more or less reclusive early on in high school, that resulting from the appearance of my 2nd.-degree burned face. Did the homework, not diligently though, advisors stuck me in "college prep" curriculum, based on what, I don't know. In 8th. grade they administered something called the "Kuder Occupational Test", which determined career leanings based on answers to rather psychological questions ("Would you rather earn a living picking fruit or making tires?"). Categories were something like Careers Outdoors, Scientific, Humanities, Geographical, History, etc. I ranked poorest in Humanities, Highest in Outdoors and Science. Sure, enough! Freshman year: Biology, Algebra I, English Sophomore year: Physics, Plane Geometry, English, German Junior year: Algebra II, Chemistry, English Senior year: Trigonometry, College Algebra, English I got A's when I worked at it, mostly B's, a few C's, straight A's in English until 2nd. semester Senior Year, all F's! Long story there, not appropriate right now. Failed to graduate with my class. Attended an additional semester next school year, 4 courses req'd though I needed only the English, so took that, Machine Shop, Psychology I, 4th. one I forget. All A's; they mailed my Diploma around New Years. Favorites? All Math, Physics, Chem. Frank
My Spanish teacher was a Spanish woman named Mrs. St. Julian and I loved the way she spoke the language...it sounded so romantic to the 16 year old I was at the time. I wanted to learn that language just because of how beautiful she made it sound...but I couldn't even get my tongue to roll the r's for my own name in Spanish. To this day I can count to 10 in Spanish, say hello to you and ask you where your house is, etc. The problem would be understanding your answers to me.
@Babs Hunt I was pushed into taking a foreign language, the claim being one needed it for college entrance. Stupid, to me, implying the 2nd. language would be used in college?? Spanish was widely mentioned clandestinely as the "easiest" to learn. How I got German, I dunno. Turned out, Spanish would have been VERY appropriate because of the many years I spent later in the Southwest, where many street names, even, are Spanish-influenced. Anyhoo, during my years working for Sears, travelling the various Hispanic-rooted small cities, my co-worker and friend, Greg Sanchez, who unfailingly was present during those travels to Farmington, NM, (he lived there all his life), Albuquerque, Roswell, Las Cruces, El Paso, he coached me in Spanish heritage. His folks had a farm during the Great Depression, raised most of their own food. They had emigrated from Spain, and Greg despised the way typical "Mexican" folk bastardized the Spanish Language. Once, driving I-40, west of Albuquerque, we approached a bridge proclaiming "Rio Puerco". Greg said, look at that example of what I mean. "Puerco" in dialectic Mexican-American Spanish is dubbed to mean "Pork", therefore "Pig River". "Puerco" to Greg meant "Dirty". Haven't heard from Greg in years. I liked him as though I would a brother, had I one. He was 100%, in my book. Frank
@Babs Hunt - agree on the Spanish - how I wish I'd learnt Italian, such a beautiful language and so romantico
My favorite was English- no surprise there I hated math and gym (now known as P.E.) I never managed to get through a full year of math in high school, but I ended up earning the required credit by taking/passing the final exam.
@Janice Martin Math is a subject elusive to many. Arithmetic, as used daily, is certainly a necessity. The cognitive concepts of geometry are beyond the scope of many folks ability to absorb. Math in high school was, for me, easy. Yet, at higher levels of education, the new concepts like those of Calculus fundamentals, left me out in the cold. Inexplicably, many years later, teaching Senior High School students Calculus, the many years earlier "missing puzzle parts" seemed to fall into place easily. Maybe maturation of the individual placed new understanding of years-earlier concepts. Frank
Frank, I think if you have an interesting teacher, you will attain an interest in the subject How that subject is portrayed and demonstrated is so important That's my excuse anyway @Frank Sanoica
I'm sure you've heard this before, but what exactly is the point of it? Seems to me unless a student is going into some kind of specialized field, there's no practical use for higher-level math.
I think you summed up a large part of it. I went though a half-year of math in HS- combination of algebra, geometry, and the so-called new math- and was surprised to find I had an 88 average. The teacher wasn' t one of those 'gotta make learning fun!' types, but he discussed the concepts, worked them out on the blackboard, etc. In contrast, an elementary school teacher routinely gave us either worksheets or pages in a textbook- 50 problems or so at a time, with nothing else on the pages, and wrote the word 'DO!' on the board. Maybe that's when I started approaching the subject similar to how some little kids approach broccoli: 'EWW, get that stuff out of here, feed it to the dog!!'