This week’s guest post on Education comes from Krystallina,
Krysta, from Fairytale Comes Alive. Kyrsa is from Greece
First of all I want to thank
Julie for giving me the opportunity to express my opinion about such an
important matter.
I would like to begin with my
story. As a child I hated school. I had average grades (mostly because teachers
liked me for some reason –maybe because I was quiet). I had no interest
for most classes and teachers, so I was never paying attention in the classroom.
Therefore, homework was a huge mountain to climb. And I had no intention to. I
was not uninterested for my family’s judgement though, and so I was getting
very anxious to be good at something that really didn’t interested me at all.
Right before my teenage years, I began having terrible migraines. After a
couple of years I suspected that stress might be the problem, so I decided to
never care about grades (and other things too but that’s another story) again.
Guess what? I rarely have migraines now!
Arts, psychology, English and
writing were the classes that I really enjoyed (although there were so little
of it and most of the times the teachers seemed to be so bored and ‘teaching’
basic stuff was all they were doing). With the high grades of my favourite
classes, I was managing to pass the others, until 16. Then in the middle of the
school year I decided to stop attending classes. And something totally
unexpected happened. A teacher of mine, called me on my cellphone (I still have
no idea where he found it) and told me “You should finish school. Not because
it has something to teach you. Everything you have to know, you have already
learned it from somewhere else. You just have to finish it so you’ll have the
paper. If you don’t many doors will close to you. Krysta there are only two talented
kids in this classroom and you’re one of them. Don’t go away from this road.” I
was shocked. It was the first time someone has seen things from another point
of view. Not exactly my point of view, but he motivated me anyway. I was ready
to go back to school. But then, I couldn’t. I had so many things to see so many
things to do. And school was keeping me back.
That very night, I took a
backpack with a few stuff and left my house. The years that followed were
the most wild and furious years of my life. I travelled (inside my own country)
a lot, met so many beautiful people, read so many amazing books, had lots of
drugs, did a few different jobs (but most of the time I was not working), gave
away all of my super expensive shoes and clothes and kept only the ones I
really needed in an effort to get rid of my emotional attachment to materials
and did a bunch of other experiments too that made me the person I am today.
All the things I have learnt
from this full life I’ve been living, are my education. All these other
experiences like yoga, theatre, juggling, kids games, face painting, dancing,
cooking, sewing define me too. The biggest thing, the one that changed me the
most…the best thing I’ve ever done is of course becoming a mother! But
guess what? None of them I learnt in school!
Now, and even though, I have
“no proper” education and just like my teacher said many doors have closed to
me, I have an amazing job that fills me with joy and happiness. And even at that
hard times it pays relatively well. I’m very satisfied with the conditions in
my life. I keep trying new things, making mistakes, listening to my inner voice
(and other people voices too) and this is how I learn. People keep asking me if
I’m planning to go back to school. “No” I say. “I don’t have time for
school…there are so many things I have to learn!”
Now, we all know, that the
educational system needs changes. It’s very sad but I can’t find even one
reason that our kids should be going to school. And I can’t stop worrying about
the fact that my little one should go to school too one day. Do you think I’m
over reacting? Please, I would really like to read your thoughts!
Please Note: Images and words are Kyrsta's unless otherwise indicated
