School..............

[anarchyx]

School is starting again. Ugh, I hate school!
 
Maybe the show in Thorntown on the 23rd will make it better. Still, school is extremely boring and I can't believe I have to suffer through it for 8 hours!
 
 
Also, Did you hear that Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac died?

[David Houck]

School is actually a great opportunity to learn a lot of stuff for free.  I study all the time, every day, just to learn more stuff.  The more stuff you know, the better decisions you will make.  It's also good exercise for the brain, developing neural pathways, logic and reasoning.  And the teachers are great resources; they know lots more stuff than what's in the textbook.
 
When you go into something with a negative attitude right at the start, then you're setting yourself up for an unpleasant experience; it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
 
School is an opportunity.  There is a lot of potential there waiting to be utilized; but it won't be there long.
 
Everything that will happen to you for the rest of your life will flow from what you do now.  The decisions you make each day effect the course of your life from that moment forward.  Cause and Effect.  Everything is related.  Everything we do, say, and think, has consequences.  Nothing is irrelevant.

[3rd_ray]

Great points Dave. I hated school too, but now I wish I didn't. School is one of those things that the more you fight it, the more you hurt yourself in the long run. School isn't easy, but it's worth the effort in a lot of ways.  
 
Learning is also one of those things that's never too late to start. I got a bachelor's degree at age 35. I'm 46 now and I'll have a master's degree next year. Even so, I'd say that most learning happens outside of school - and it never ends.  
 
Looking at this materialistically, the more schooling you have, the more money you'll make (usually). The more money you make, the more Alembics you can buy. It's hard to argue with that!
 
There may be easier ways to make money, but the odds are lower. School puts the odds in your favor.  
 
Mike

[dannobasso]

Just think about the poor so and so's who have to endure all the wonderful children who believe they know it  all and whose parents were too busy to impart basic manners and respect. As Dave stated, it's free and its not that hard to be a graduate.  Acquire the skills that someone someday is willing to pay you for. Work hard because it means the difference between just living and living well. Most working and touring musicians I know, and I know a few, still work jobs when they are not on the road. Even the ones with record sales have to make ends meet, pay for food, gas, clothing, housing, cars, medical, dental, child support, cell phones, cable, utilities etc. It's not all that its packaged to appear like on Cribs and in Metal Hammer. Real life is a great deal more challenging than going to high school. Try achieving at your maximum and see how life will change in school. You should be pleasantly surprised.

[olieoliver]

I SO agree with Dave and Mike. I'm almost 46 and taking online courses at Berklee Music and loving it. I'll admit though it can be challenging sometimes but your brain is a muscle that needs exercise. Use it or lose it.
Just remember,  
Knowledge is great but Applied Knowledge is the key to success.  
 
OO
PS. Mike, the fretless on your profile is WAY cool man.

[tbrannon]

I'm a High School teacher, here's my advice:   School isn't about what you learn, school is a place where you should be learning HOW to learn.  Life isn't always going to present itself to you in your favorite format- the most important skill you can learn in life is the ability to think critically and respond appropriately in whatever environment you might find yourself in.  
 
Everyone learns differently, for some math comes naturally, for others it's science, English or languages.  Sounds like you might be a musician.... either way, the point of school is to put yourself into as many different learning environments as possible and to learn HOW to learn in those different ways.  I can honestly tell you that on a daily basis I only use about 15% of what I've learned over the years in my studies, but the process that I went through to gain the other 85% of knowledge has proven to be invaluable.
 
I teach my Biology classes with the following understanding: less than 5% of my students are going to work in a science related field later in life, but ALL of my students will benefit from learning how to approach problems logically.  Being able to critically analyze data and come to a decent conclusion is a life skill- the 'irrelevant facts' and Biology content are just the tools used to learn those skills.  Every class you'll ever sit in offers you the same opportunities for learning.  
 
Toby

[811952]

In most ways, education in the USA is designed to groom us into roles we'll play for the remainder of our lives.  It's a terrifically difficult environment to showcase your creativity, but is a hurdle that must be crossed.  Doing it well and putting forth effort will make crossing that much easier, and will position you well for dealing with all the bullshine life after school has to offer.  I tend not to regret much in my life (I think it's bad energy), but I do think I should have made school a higher priority.  
 
John
 
edited to add:  If you're a cool musician who also has a handle academically, you can draw from a wider pool of the opposite sex.  
 
(Message edited by 811952 on August 12, 2008)

[glocke]

School is awesome (well, high school did blow).  Just this morning I was longing for my college days.  
 
I try to keep educating myself as much as I can, and try to hang out with people that are smart and educated to avoid the dumbing down that happens with age and having toi put in a 40 hour work week.
 
Enjoy it while you can, they could turn out to be the best days of your life.

[lbpesq]

As you progress through life, if nothing else, you will learn that, in addition to all the noble reasons stated above, school is, far and away, the absolute BEST place to meet women!  Enjoy this part of your life, for it will end all too soon!  Then you'll have to work!  If you think school is bad ....
 
As Chef in South Park says: There's a time and a place for everything... and it's called 'college'!  Goodbye Isaac, wherever you are.
 
Bill, tgo

[3rd_ray]

Thanks Olie, Alembic did a great job on my Excel. It sounds great too.  
 
I wanted to add something to my previous post - It's never too late to go to school, but the older you get, the harder it is to do. It's best to get as much school as you can when you're young. Get the formal stuff out of the way, and learn how to learn, like Toby said, then you can focus on whatever you want.  
 
Mike

[lbpesq]

Mike's right: get as much school as you can when you're young.  I started college in 1973 and graduated in 1982.  I remember when I was a junior ... those were three of the happiest years of my life!  lol
 
Bill, tgo

[glocke]

All I know is that my college years were filled with beautiful women, lots of learning and all kinds of intellectual stimulation.
 
The Real World pales in comparison, and work is a drag.
 
If Icould do it all over again Id have gone into a field where I could teach at the college level and be able to stay in that environment.
 
Alas, Big Pharma now owns my soul...

[811952]

I know that the quality of people in my life changed drastically when I quit playing music for a living.  Not to say that there weren't wonderful musicians in my life (there still are), but as we all know there are a lot of people with significant personal issues in and around the music scene.  Going back to school (while still playing music on weekends and working as a photojournalist) allowed me to meet my wife, who is both a complete babe and my best friend ever.  If I'd not gone to school, I'd still mostly be meeting people with hangups in bars and backstage.  College is where the the opposite sex is waiting...
 
John

[thumbsup]

School...hated it too....I quit....got a GED (at least)...And woke up to the real world!Labored my butt off and the man took my whole paycheck every week. I then desided school wasn't so bad after all! Went back,got some education and now own a sucessful business. My advice,stay in school as long as you can.Be a career student! If mom & pop will pay...stay in school...if they can't ..get assitance or work part time and school part time.Trust me here...it will pay off in the end. Oh yea, and then there are the girls

[richbass939]

Jared,
Maybe you were expecting the membership here to chime in with Yeah, school sucks, bummer for you.  Remember that just about all of us are 30-, 40-, 50-somethings.  We have experienced many things since high school that were very boring, that we hated, and had to suffer through for more than 8 hours.  Even if we hated school we have had to do many things since that sucked more.
One suggestion: see if your school has a jazz band that you could join.  Even if the music they play isn't your cup of tea, you could learn to read and learn theory.  If you already read and know some theory, you could get more practice at it. Those things really do come in handy if you want to try to make music a career.  
Hang in there.
Rich