First Day...

Yesterday saw many Scottish schools reopen after the holidays.  These usually begin the first week in July unlike the English holidays, possibly so the Scots don't have to mix with the lager louts while away.  Yesterday many a child was dressed in new school uniform, or occasional hand me downs, and frog marched cheerily to the school.  Photographs of clean smart kids appear on social media but non reflect the terror many felt being shoved into a room full of brats and abandoned by parents.  My first day was many years ago when we got two buses to the school, my mother and sister and for some reason a woman neighbour also, forced me into a class of about 40 children and threatened to leave.  I was not having this and made it clear by attempting to escape several times, I was not the only one.  A ginger lad left more times than I but we were forced to remain and endure a day with a strange woman (who we never saw again as she broke her leg next day) and all these little horrors. Looking back it appears many were happy enough to remain, possibly they were alongside friends from the local area, possibly the richer ones (this was a very egalitarian area) had been at some sort of Kindergarten, I know not but I was not happy.

Indeed in spite of my sister being there, she was three years ahead of me, I remained unhappy until the day I left.  Then of course I 'progressed' to a secondary school which was much, much worse!  But enough of that.  In those days girls and boys were rightly kept separate and non of this gender fluidity nonsense was allowed, this does not mean it did not exist but certainly not in primary school, what went on in the houses round about we never knew, indeed at that age no child cares.
While I was educated to some degree, report cards full of "Could do better," and "Take him away," flowed over the years, football was developed in the playground, this could occur as girls were as I said kept out of the way though they had grass and we had some form of tarmac, and by the time I left after seven long years I had some form of happiness there, this ended with the new school of course.  
How much did I learn at school?  Laziness and a lack of zeal for things I did not care for, yes maths I mean you, prevented me for becoming Prime Minister or indeed anything else, my real education began when Jesus turned up and indicated he was alive and took me out of my trough.  His report card on me I do not wish to read.  Only after this did I come into the real world and learned many things, mostly by mixing with clever people outside of my limited ken.  I still consider mixing early teens with a wide variety of different classes, backgrounds and cultures a more important education than forcing them to pass exams.  From 14 onwards they ought to be in the real world not poring over books.  Mind you I was 14 when I left school, my 15th birthday was the next day, soon I entered the world of work where soon I learned how to run from one job to another before you get fired.  You see, education in the real world.