What kind of kid were you when you were at school ?
I was an arrogant. self-opinionated young bastard. That is probably a polite way of describing myself. I hated my school years and they hated me back.
It is one of the most amazing things in history that I spent the majority of my life as a teacher ! If I had my life over again I would likely as not do something completely different. I certainly would not go anywhere near the twenty-first century education system we have in Britain.
My grandson told me that there are two CCTV cameras in his classroom and a similar number in every other classroom throughout the school. The headmistress can sit in her office and watch on a computer screen all that is happening at any moment of the day in any class throughout the school.
How do you feel about that ?
My first reaction is to say if the woman wants to know what is happening in her school she should get off her arse and get into the classrooms instead of spying on her colleagues and the children in her care.
CCTV had never been heard of when I was at school and if it was my headmaster would never have sanctioned its use in his school. But perhaps it would have been a good idea. If he had been able to see me coasting through school life, never pushing myself to achieve my full potential and had he had then kicked my backside, literally, I would have achieved more.
There were three school rules at Boldmere High School for Boys:
1. You will work.
2. You will use common sense.
3. You will be courteous.
Break anyone of those and you would receive a harsh caning from the headmaster.
I did not break rules two and three but broke rule number one every day for five years. I was never caught, I wish now I had been. There were one hundred and forty boys in my school year, my position in the year ranged from 3rd to 8th so nobody ever paid me any attention. I could coast through school life and achieve enough to be at the top without making any effort.
I wonder if my headmaster Mr W A Simson, or as we all called him WAS, had CCTV and could have caught me failing to observe the first rule of the school how my life would have changed.
I have written two autobiographies of my life.
The first covers those school years: THINGS WERE DIFFERENT IN MY DAY
And the second the first two years I spent in the world of work THE STORY OF A TEENAGE ENTREPRENEUR (FAILED)
Both can be read FREE of charge on my website. If you want to download an e-book copy from Amazon it will cost you the amazing sum of 99p !
It took me a long time before I finally gave in and set up a Facebook page. I did so eventually to try and make contact with some of my friends from the two years I spent working in the Birmingham city centre department store, Lewis's Limited. I joined a facebook group of former employees but never encountered anyone who I knew or who knew me. I am a bit sad about that.
However, I have made contact with so many, many of my former students from my days as a head of year in a large comprehensive school. Every day I check out their posts and just love to read what they are up to and hear about their families. Over the past couple of days a few have revealed secrets I never knew of at the time, some of the things they got up to without my knowing ! Good job we never had CCTV !
A challenge to all of my blog readers, particularly to my former students. A challenge in two parts.
ONE: Read my schoolboy autobiography. THINGS WERE DIFFERENT IN MY DAY Go on it's FREE - I am not asking you to pay 99p for an e-book version !
TWO: Sit down and brainstorm some of your school memories. Some of the things you have been telling me on Facebook. THEN sit down and write your own autobiography. GO ON DO IT - THAT IS AN ORDER FROM SIR !
Have a listen to something from my YouTube Channel:
I could never say that about my life. But that good - If you have no regrets in your life then you have not lived.
So READ MY SCHOOLBOY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (One thousand and sixty-two have read it so far. Who will be number 1,063 ?) and learn what an arrogant, self-opinionated bastard Sir was.
Then write your own.
David
aka The Geriatric DJ
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