To me it was a prison (check out the picture at the top of the blog...doesn't it look like a prison?)
Well, I, who attended small public schools, always dreamed of a school like yours, hehe. Was I naive? But of course.
The concept of popularity became clear to me somewhat late. I remember once, I was sharing with some classmates during breakfast time, and one of them was very happy to have "joined the popular group". A couple of hours ago, his photo had been added to the honor roll board. That was what it meant to be popular in my high school. Then I had a period of introspection, I guess, and realized that at my previous school, being popular was that too. Teachers treated you better, with deference. I was in the popular group from the time I stepped into the first grade classroom, but I had never realized it. Then in college, I was nobody and for three or four semesters I felt lost. Definitely, school structure affects us in ways we can't see well but years later.
Your essay gave me some food for thought. Have a lovely day, dear @agmoore 🙂
RE: A Better Way to Educate