Autobiography #5

[robinturner]

Of course this prelapsarian existence could not last for ever, but in this case I didn't pick the apple, I was force-fed it: school. Studies in EU countries have now shown that starting school at an early age is generally a Bad Thing; when I went to school I was immediately convinced that a suitable age for starting was about thirty. At first it didn't look so bad. There were a lot of big toys, a sandpit and a large sink where you could play with water (it was called "capacity", which I realised much later was because that was what you supposed to be learning there). My mother showed me round, introduced me to the teacher, and told me to wait outside when school finished and she'd take me home. When the bell rang, I went outside and waited patiently, not realising that this was just the first break. I repeated the procedure at lunch time and at afternoon break, so when she cam to collect me at four o'clock, I was pretty pissed off. "Oh well," I thought, "at least that's over."

What I didn't realise was that I had to go back the next day. Struggles, screams and tears ensued. Fortunately the headmistress was very understanding, and took me into her office, where she let me play with her toy donkey and explained that school wasn't really so bad. I was mollified, but I never got over the sense of outrage, especially after I got home and, on asking my father how long this had to go on, learned that I was in for at least a twelve-year stretch, with no remittance for good behaviour. Compulsory education may have been the main element in empowering the working classes of the western world, but try telling that to a four-year-old anarchist.

Comments

[chr0me-kitten.livejournal.com]

lovely :-D