It is no secret that schools have become a feminized environment. It wasn't always that way. There was a time where school was a form of contest and a rite of passage marking you a man.
I joined The Royal Canadian Air Cadets in the fall of 1969. While government run grade school was horrible, the military environment of cadets was invigorating. Range, marching, ground school was all carried out in a very directive, authoritarian and unambiguous fashion by older cadets. As part of leadership, public speaking was taught by standing up in front of your peers and being given a random subject, doorknobs as an example, to “lecture” the class on for 3 minutes. You were forced to think on your feet, under pressure and deliver a clear, loud and totally false lecture. If you were forceful and entertaining you were rewarded with a congratulatory “times up, sit down.” If you were gentle, meek and boring you were told so immediately in front of the class. It was one of my cherished memories
In 1971 I was placed in a fairly famous English grammar school, at the time when these changes were in mid-flow, so there were still some of the Old School masters, with their capes and mortar boards and canes (which they used as needed), alongside an influx of liberal educated young bright eyed teachers with very different manners. By the time I left, girls were being admitted into the 6th form, by the early 1980s it was fully co-educational. I heard recently that it has gone, demolished. Very sad.
You are among the few who remember that the point of schooling is about a lot more that imparting skills and information. Good to hear that there are some readers who experienced the other side. It is sad that it is gone.
"The teacher was your enemy." Love that... ...now I know why I always loved Snape most among the HP characters. And why Debate Club was the highlight of high school.
I heard this, and then had a vision from the LORD about the gloriousness of Latin. Learning a second language after the age of 3 is so hard that you have to beat it into them. Hallelujah. I learned to be a "Mathematician" in much the same way (I was my own cruel tutor)
“For your consideration cadets, I give you the doorknob. Imagine life without it. How could we navigate through rooms without them? We would be forced to live outdoors. Society would collapse…”
I joined The Royal Canadian Air Cadets in the fall of 1969. While government run grade school was horrible, the military environment of cadets was invigorating. Range, marching, ground school was all carried out in a very directive, authoritarian and unambiguous fashion by older cadets. As part of leadership, public speaking was taught by standing up in front of your peers and being given a random subject, doorknobs as an example, to “lecture” the class on for 3 minutes. You were forced to think on your feet, under pressure and deliver a clear, loud and totally false lecture. If you were forceful and entertaining you were rewarded with a congratulatory “times up, sit down.” If you were gentle, meek and boring you were told so immediately in front of the class. It was one of my cherished memories
It’s funny how that works. I totally get it.
In 1971 I was placed in a fairly famous English grammar school, at the time when these changes were in mid-flow, so there were still some of the Old School masters, with their capes and mortar boards and canes (which they used as needed), alongside an influx of liberal educated young bright eyed teachers with very different manners. By the time I left, girls were being admitted into the 6th form, by the early 1980s it was fully co-educational. I heard recently that it has gone, demolished. Very sad.
You are among the few who remember that the point of schooling is about a lot more that imparting skills and information. Good to hear that there are some readers who experienced the other side. It is sad that it is gone.
"The teacher was your enemy." Love that... ...now I know why I always loved Snape most among the HP characters. And why Debate Club was the highlight of high school.
For an example of the kind of classical knowledge now missing when the more-challenging teachers like myself are shunted off, see my recent "The Five Wonderful Lives of the Ancient World." https://pomocon.substack.com/p/the-five-wonderful-lives-of-the-ancient
The lives are: Hero, Poet, Philosopher, Statesman, Holy Man. They often had an agonistic attitude towards each other!
Love it. Thanks for sharing.
>Boys can be compelled in ways that girls cant.
I heard this, and then had a vision from the LORD about the gloriousness of Latin. Learning a second language after the age of 3 is so hard that you have to beat it into them. Hallelujah. I learned to be a "Mathematician" in much the same way (I was my own cruel tutor)
Many such cases.
“For your consideration cadets, I give you the doorknob. Imagine life without it. How could we navigate through rooms without them? We would be forced to live outdoors. Society would collapse…”