The Classes of "Torture"

 

 

With the arrival of a student in middle, where the class selections are broader, there is also the inevitable situation where you have to take a class that sounds horrifically boring and pointless.  For example, almost all of middle to high school students have had to take the ever dreaded Algebra courses just to see the end of Graduation day at the closing of the tunnel.  While middle school may be more of an adolescent nightmare where growing from a child into a teenager is the most difficult task, high school is where the curriculum is increased into higher levels of required diligence.  High school is really where the boring classes tend to mesh together and where you must keep track of where you want to go once you leave school and become an adult.  All that must be accomplished is to focus on the numbers of the Algebra, fight the urge to doze off at the teacher’s lecture and think about the end of the tunnel, where the future is waiting.

 

 

All throughout my educational career, the most nerve-wracking challenge for me was to ask for help when I had trouble with the curriculum, especially when it was for a class I could have cared less for.  At the end of the day, you just want to pack your things, go home and disappear for the remainder of the night.  When somebody like me is afraid of failure, they are scared to admit that they need assistance from one who is more experienced in the subject.  When I finally proclaimed that I needed help, there was even the delightful chore of staying after school to practice what I had learned.  Certainly, it was not my ideal time of an evening, but I assure anyone who reads this that the effort is worth it.  The volunteer tutors are a great help, as well.  Just imagine that sigh of relief where you can finally sit back in the chair and revel in the fact that the awful 50-question assignment for Trigonometry from the cranky substitute is finished.  Even if you would rather be at home enjoying your favorite show on TV.  At least there is DVR, now…

 

 

You know the cliché statement that life is messy and that nobody is absolutely perfect at everything they do.  While that is certainly true, I only want to remind everyone that gaining an education is hardly a clean process where every student emerges unscathed. The hallways are basically a battlefield, everybody rushing to class before the final bell and roll is called.  And there is the final dual between the student’s efforts and the expectations of the adults around them during the exams.  We have all done at least a mediocre job on a test or even a whole class.  Before you roll your eyes, just read these words:  “It’s not the end of the world if you fail something”.  Believe it or not, failing once in a while helps to learn how to improve studying or going through a different method of preparation.  It’s the absolute same thing with a class you could not give a care in the world for.  Just grit your teeth and do it. Even to your own surprise, you might learn something…