I heard a corny Joan Jett song today. It gave me a flashback of 8th grade. On the way to History class, Peggy Frisen and a bunch of other girls would howl along with Joan Jett on Peggy’s boom-box.
7th and 8th grade gave me swagger. I’m a decent cook because of cooking class. I’m not afraid to rip my house apart and put it back together because of Plastics/Metals/Woodworking classes. I’ve played in bands because music classes taught me how to play three chords on a guitar. I wasn’t afraid to write songs because in another music class we spent 9 weeks analyzing the music of the Beatles and Rush. Because of 8th grade sewing class, I sewed curtains from scratch for my daughter.
I taught 8th grade for one year. I feel sorry for those kids. Aside from having a lousy first-year teacher, they didn’t learn any of the things I learned in 8th grade.