SOPHIE LI

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Book Quote #11: “Ten Lies They Tell You In High School”

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THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL

1. We are here to help you.
2. You will have time to get to your class before the bell rings.
3. The dress code will be enforced.
4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.
5. Our football team will win the championship this year.
6. We expect more of you here.
7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.
8. Your schedule was created with you in mind.
9. Your locker combination is private.
10. These will be the years you look back on fondly.

– Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

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I love this quote from Speak (AMAZING book) because it makes me reflect about my own high school days.

  • Perhaps I was naive, or lucky, or both, because I did feel like teachers were there to help me.
  • The dress code was NOT enforced.
  • YES people smoked (cigarettes and otherwise).
  • The teachers expected a lot of us because we were in a science program (yes, I was a nerdy kid am still a nerdy adult). And I did a lot of studying. Like, seriously. I did more studying in high school than in university.
  • It was a confusing time. But I… actually didn’t mind high school. I loved that I had the opportunity to explore my interests (drawing, sewing, music), and I made some friends that I still keep in touch with today.

Often, high school is portrayed as a pretty cruel place. My experience in high school was actually okay. Maybe I lucked out because I went to a good school and had a good group of friends. Our preoccupation was acing the linear algebra test and preparing for college. We could care less about boys or dances.

What do you think about the “ten lies they tell you in high school”? Do you agree or disagree, based on your experience?

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Question for all y’all bookstagrammers out there: Do you keep your bookstagramming and personal instagram accounts separate? Being a newbie bookstagrammer, I find it hard to only post about book-related things because there are also other things to post about (such as DIY projects! Or pole dancing pictures!)

BUT I am afraid that if I post all these other things, it’ll annoy my bookstagrammer followers. AND I am afraid that my book-related posts aren’t interesting for my real life friends to read (because most of them are not super into books.) Therein lies the dilemma.Blog_signature

Sophie Li

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10 responses to “Book Quote #11: “Ten Lies They Tell You In High School””

  1. MichaelK Avatar
    MichaelK

    High school is quite different here (Greece) but some things never change. I’m away from home and on mobile but I promise to elaborate (if you’d like) when back. And I remain a nerdy adult too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Sophie Li Avatar
      Sophie Li

      That’s cool that you went to high school in Greece! I’d love to hear more about that. And I think that nerds rule the world 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. MichaelK Avatar
        MichaelK

        Of course we do, the force is with us!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Sophie Li Avatar
        Sophie Li

        Haha yup 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. MichaelK Avatar
    MichaelK

    I am back now (albeit with too many things that eat up me time). High school in Greece is not a great experience mainly because it lacks infrastucture (hey we are a broke country after all) and the teachers are underpaid (although not overworked). The approach of education in Greece is quite outdated in my opinion, it is just “study the curriculum, get tons of homework done and learn by rote”. We do tend to learn much stuff but it is a painful, unsatisfying process. And of course everyone is so preoccupied with the final exams and getting good grades to get into one of the prestigious university schools. But as you’ve already said, it all comes down to people. Most of the teachers are OK, friendly and try their best and the most important thing is friends! With the right company you can actually have fun and remember those years fondly.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Sophie Li Avatar
      Sophie Li

      Welcome back! It is interesting to read about how school is like in Greece. It reminds me a bit of my experience as a student in China (though I only went to grade 1 and 2 there). There was a heavy focus on memorizing and we got a lot of repetitive homework. It was very stressful even though I was only 7 years old! I did hear from my relatives in china that teenagers are very pressured to get good grades to be able to enroll in the best school.

      One thing I found lacking in the Chinese curriculum is allowing students to express creativity. When I came to Canada, I was surprised that we were express our own thoughts, opinions and ideas through art and writing… and that school was actually fun. In China, it was all about memorizing and repetition 🙂 Of course that might be related to the politics in China, and that freedom of speech is not encouraged. That is my rant 🙂

      I do agree that having good friends is so important in school (and life!) Even the most stressful and difficult times feel better when there is someone to share it with. Thank you for your insightful comment and for telling me about Greece!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. MichaelK Avatar
        MichaelK

        You are welcome and thank you for sharing your experiences! We are also lacking in creativity due to the legacy of politics of ages past but it is changing, slowly unfortunately.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Sophie Li Avatar
        Sophie Li

        You’re welcome! I complain about China a lot, but I still love the country because it’s where I grew up. I agree that change takes time to happen. Small steps 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      3. MichaelK Avatar
        MichaelK

        We complain about our countries because we care!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Sophie Li Avatar
        Sophie Li

        That’s is very true 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

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