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I don't get how anyone can say this. The human brain is not even fully developed until people reach their early to mid twenties. It is impossible due to this basic physiological fact for the school days to be the best years of one's life.
That's a huge leap in logic. Why does your brain need to be fully developed to have the most enjoyment at a particular time in your life? Maybe as it develops it becomes aware of more problems and inevitable death? I see no correlation between the two.
I went to very unusual schools - it was like a small town yet we were in a big city: Lakewood in Dallas (East Dallas), Texas. Everyone knew everyone and many had parents and grandparents attend the same schools and have some of the same teachers. We had rich kids, poor kids and everything in between. As we went into secondary schools, it became very racially mixed. Everyone got along and learned from each other. Most of us are still friends today and it's almost like a fraternity...at that time (and still today) people in suburbs thought our schools were "inner city" (even though we had some very wealthy people living in huge mansions on acreage) and that galvanized us - our schools vs. the world it seemed. I had some great teachers, and I'm still friends with many of them.
When I got to college, the group from our high school was often asked, "you mean you really LIKED high school?" And we just laughed...kinda sad so many did not.
I enjoyed classes and learning and when I retire I hope to do a lot more of that!
Lakewooder, it's really comforting to know that someone else has positive memories of their student years. I thought for a moment that I was the only one, given the tone of this thread. But I'm a pretty happy & content person in general, so while I've experienced sad times, I can't say that any one period has been best. I've enjoyed every stage of my life so far.
For me, it seems to always be when exciting changes and new things are afoot. The happiest times of my life have been when I've been making big changes, embarking on new adventures, even picking up a new hobby, etc. Something to do with hope, I suppose.
Grade school years were fine, but I was never very confident in social situations. My teachers were great and tried their best to be very fair. I did get picked on some because I was slightly overweight and taller than most of the other kids. When playing tag I could only catch one kid and he was fatter than me. When I hit junior high, the teasing stopped after I discovered that I could beat up any boy in my class easily. Most kids don't get that lucky in getting rid of the bullying.
High school years were pretty fun, but I had plenty of the insecurity in certain situations that comes with being that age.
From kindergarten thru high school, I can honestly say that I only had one teacher that was awful and I HATED the bastard. He was a 7th grade science teacher who actually got into some pretty highly publicized issues later at a different school concerning him having illicit contacts with some young boys. I knew there was something wrong about him. I felt vindicated.
My first year of college sucked academically. I couldn't stand the place. Two things made it tolerable and that was playing football and hanging out with people who enjoyed music and the arts. You think I wasn't a strange ranger being a college jock who loved music and was a Speech major. After taking a year off from school, I transferred to a larger state school with dramatically higher academics, switched my major to business, quit football, and LOVED college. I studied hard and when I wasn't studying on weekends I played in a duo (think Simon & Garfunkel style, just not nearly as talented) making money and having a lot of fun.
When it comes to my kids' school experiences K-12, it all came down to the type of kids in each ones respective class. My oldest daughter was the top of the class academically in a class where the loser group was considered "cool". There were even teachers in junior high and early high school that actually perpetuated the "image" of the biggest jerks being the cool kids. She transferred out of this mess her sophomore year into a private school. My other two kids actually grew up in what I consider more normal classrooms. In their classes, it wasn't cool to be stupid. Needless to say, their years in K-12 were better than my oldest daughters. The undergraduate college years for all 3 were pretty good.
I would say no. In school years, you really don't have much control over your individual choices. Everything is just a reaction to what's already happened. Your parents chose your school district or the budget for college. The problem with people hanging on to their school years is that they don't realize it's structured. It's familiar. Real life doesn't have to be that way. There's really no consequences in those years as compared to full blown adult life.
Take me for example. I was NOT an attractive kid in high school. Very much unattractive and odd looking. But midway through college I filled out and came into my own. It's weird because I get hit on now, something that I'm not used to because I see my ''college'' self. The problem with our society (at least in the U.S.) is we NEVER truly leave high school. Jocks still think they are jocks even though they didn't make it into the NFL.
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When I hit junior high, the teasing stopped after I discovered that I could beat up any boy in my class easily. Most kids don't get that lucky in getting rid of the bullying.
