What I learned in school; School’s out: leaving school and moving on.
The transition from school to college has impacted my identity massively. The most noticeable being what I wear. In school it was very difficult to create your own unique identity because everyone wore the exact same clothing and shoes as the other person (uniform) because most of the students being young, school had the power. But now that I’m in college creating my own identity is quite easy because college gives us (students) much more freedom than we ever had at school. This freedom that is given to us also has a lot of influence on how we act and what kind of person we’re moulded into. It seems that the longer a student is at college the more mature and independent they become and this might have been the biggest factor when I made this decision unconsciously.
Going back to the freedom between college and school, the most recognisable is when it comes to studying topics. Secondary schools force students to take certain subjects that the students do not personally enjoy. For me personal it was art and drama because I couldn’t really draw or act so looking at back it, it was really a waste of my time. Certain subjects are also considered more feminine than others; subjects such as sociology, drama & catering. School also to some extend taught me how to be masculine by almost pressuring me to take subjects that are mainly dominated by boys (sport, business & computing) rather than others subjects that are considered unmanly. This formed my identity in order to become masculine coming out of school and in to college.
The way schools systems work also teaches students the kind language is acceptable in a work place, what kind of hours they would have to do and finally the breaks they would get. This is all done without the students actually acknowledging what they’re learning. With this being the cultural practice it become very common and normal.
Leaving school also taught me that through all those years, school only taught academic and compulsory subjects such as; Maths and English. The most valuable asset I gained from this was that I learnt how to be responsible with money. They never really taught real life skills things. Things such as banking/mortgages. I think each and every student should be taught this before they go off to a higher education.
The teachers also become a major factor in the transition from school to college because they let you address them by their first name and also treat you more like a fellow adult rather than a kid who just came straight out of secondary school. This lets the students communicate with their teacher more comfortably.
Before I started school I honestly thought that I would keep in contact with most of the people I met there, but having left school almost two years ago I realised that I was only friends with majority of them just because I was with them five times a week. Another thing leaving school made me notice was those who I kept in contact with, all being close friends or best friends. Me and my closest friends come under Godfmans’ ‘team theory’ where he states that, people tend to be friends with others who look and think alike. Starting college is the exact process over again because I already made lot friends that I would probably not keep in touch with after I leave college.
