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To everyone who joined these forums at some point, and got discouraged by the negativity and left after a while (or even got literally scared off): I'm sorry.

I wasn't good enough at encouraging people to be kinder, and removing people who refuse to be kind. Encouraging people is hard, and removing people creates conflict, and I hate conflict... so that's why I wasn't better at it.

I was a very, very sensitive teen. The atmosphere of this forum as it is now, if it had existed in 1996, would probably have upset me far more than it would have helped.

I can handle quite a lot of negativity and even abuse now, but that isn't the point. I want to help people. I want to help the people who need it the most, and I want to help people like the 1996 version of me.

I'm still figuring out the best way to do that, but as it is now, these forums are doing more harm than good, and I can't keep running them.

Thank you to the few people who have tried to understand my point of view so far. I really, really appreciate you guys. You are beautiful people.

Everyone else: If after everything I've said so far, you still don't understand my motivations, I think it's unlikely that you will. We're just too different. Maybe someday in the future it might make sense, but until then, there's no point in arguing about it. I don't have the time or the energy for arguing anymore. I will focus my time and energy on people who support me, and those who need help.

-SoulRiser

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on being done with school
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Faby Offline
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Post: #1
on being done with school

I was browsing through my older posts, and besides cringing at how much of a dumbass I used to be, I came across my school schedule from 2007.

WOW I am so glad school is over jesus o.o

You know what they say about counting your blessings? I just realised life is not that bad after all. At least I don't have 8 hours of school each day any more. It's just insane. I am feeling a tremendous sense of relief.

Let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.

~~

Good fortune follows upon disaster;
Disaster lurks within good fortune;
Who can say how things will end?
Perhaps there is no end.
(This post was last modified: 08-11-2015 07:47 AM by Faby.)
08-11-2015 07:46 AM
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schoolsux Offline
fuck this school bullshit

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Post: #2
on being done with school

Only after 2024 will I have freedom... (my parents are going to make me go to college)

schoolsux's countdown until school ends:

177 days until i get out of freshman year (aka hell)
1280 days until I get out of prison (aka school)

(as of november 28, 2016)

also Fu school

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(This post was last modified: 08-11-2015 07:49 AM by schoolsux.)
08-11-2015 07:48 AM
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Faby Offline
work in progress

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Post: #3
on being done with school

College is cool, yo. People treat you like a responsible adult, and you get to feel like you are coming into contact with valuable information as opposed to getting surface information in a lot of areas.

Let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.

~~

Good fortune follows upon disaster;
Disaster lurks within good fortune;
Who can say how things will end?
Perhaps there is no end.
08-11-2015 07:54 AM
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xcriteria Offline
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Post: #4
RE: on being done with school

(08-11-2015 07:48 AM)SchoolSux Wrote:  Only after 2024 will I have freedom... (my parents are going to make me go to college)

(1) How are they "making" you? (Legally, from age 18 on, you can make your own decisions if you can find a path to independence.)

(2) What kind of colleges do they have in mind, or would they be open to?

(3) Why not start college early, like now or next year, and complete it during the time you'd be in high school? (There are a range of options for this, including part time.)

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08-11-2015 11:37 AM
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schoolsux Offline
fuck this school bullshit

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Post: #5
RE: on being done with school

(08-11-2015 11:37 AM)xcriteria Wrote:  
(08-11-2015 07:48 AM)SchoolSux Wrote:  Only after 2024 will I have freedom... (my parents are going to make me go to college)

(1) How are they "making" you? (Legally, from age 18 on, you can make your own decisions if you can find a path to independence.)

(2) What kind of colleges do they have in mind, or would they be open to?

(3) Why not start college early, like now or next year, and complete it during the time you'd be in high school? (There are a range of options for this, including part time.)

1. They are saying that I need to go to college. And they are really pushing me into getting good grades to go to college.

2. There is one in particular (one which one of my ancestors founded), which is Cornell.

3. When is the earliest I can start taking college courses?

schoolsux's countdown until school ends:

177 days until i get out of freshman year (aka hell)
1280 days until I get out of prison (aka school)

(as of november 28, 2016)

also Fu school

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schoolsux's "k" Count: 60
08-11-2015 12:03 PM
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brainiac3397 Offline
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Post: #6
on being done with school

Quote:a popular 1865 Ezra Cornell quotation: "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study."

Yeh ok. Gonna achieve that with a 14% acceptance rate and a tuition of like $60k a year?

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(06-14-2013 08:02 AM)Potato Wrote:  watch the fuq out, we've got an "intellectual" over here.

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08-11-2015 12:09 PM
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schoolsux Offline
fuck this school bullshit

Posts: 627
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Post: #7
on being done with school

Ezra Cornell even uses incorrect grammar.

schoolsux's countdown until school ends:

177 days until i get out of freshman year (aka hell)
1280 days until I get out of prison (aka school)

(as of november 28, 2016)

also Fu school

Hidden stuff:

schoolsux's "k" Count: 60
08-11-2015 12:19 PM
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xcriteria Offline
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Post: #8
RE: on being done with school

(08-11-2015 07:46 AM)Faby Wrote:  I was browsing through my older posts, and besides cringing at how much of a dumbass I used to be, I came across my school schedule from 2007.

That seems like a common pattern here when people look back on their earlier days.

I think it's understandable that people growing up with horrible education (ill-fitting schooling), and often less-than-optimal parenting, may not be the most mature in their early-mid teens.

But, does it have to be like that? What if the growing network of people who want to help, could actually help with mentorship, promoting real learning, and helping young people figure out their lives in a positive way?

That's a lot of the idea behind Catalyst Learning Network, which is partly inspired by the more positive aspects of School Survival over the years, and partly inspired by self-directed learning centers like North Star Self-directed Teens, that have been doing that with in-person learning centers for many years.

(08-11-2015 07:46 AM)Faby Wrote:  WOW I am so glad school is over jesus o.o

Yeah... there really is a reason (for those who can) to get out earlier, isn't there? I feel like in many cases, as much as people hate school, it's not just parents and society that are keeping them there, but a feeling that life without school won't be much better. But it really is, even if there's the challenge of taking charge of your own life.

(08-11-2015 07:46 AM)Faby Wrote:  You know what they say about counting your blessings? I just realised life is not that bad after all. At least I don't have 8 hours of school each day any more. It's just insane. I am feeling a tremendous sense of relief.

Yeah, I know the feeling. And it's really true: whether you leave school early, or grind through it in the typical way, it's not forever. And real life can be so much better if you make the most of it, whatever your current situation, and as you gain more freedom and opportunities along the way.

(08-11-2015 07:46 AM)Faby Wrote:  College is cool, yo. People treat you like a responsible adult, and you get to feel like you are coming into contact with valuable information as opposed to getting surface information in a lot of areas.

Agreed. College is generally much better than high school. How much better depends on the college, what works best for you, and what you do with the freedom it can provide.

At the same time, there are many ways to come into contact with valuable information beyond college, especially since much of college and other kinds of learning are available online for free, in books, and in life in general.

Sometimes even college only presents relatively surface-level learning (though often deeper than K-12 education.) But even that counts for something, and there are also other ways to learn if college isn't proving to cover everything you want to learn. (I personally found value in college classes, but also found a lot more value elsewhere.

Still, it can be all of the above... and going to college early is one way to get what you can out of college, while also having more freedom to learn and figure out your life in general, than school tends to provide.

Peter Gray & allies launching the Alliance for Self-directed Education

ASDE Newsletters: #1 Announcement | #2 History of ASDE | #6 Education Liberation


School Survival & Catalyst Learning Network featured on AlternativestoSchool's blog
“Mom, Dad, can I stop going to school?”

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when the Stakes are High

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08-11-2015 12:49 PM
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Faby Offline
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Post: #9
on being done with school

Well, I'm an English major -- was? -- so I spent much of my time treating college like a glorified "recommended reads" list. But we also did linguistics and English/American history and Old/Middle English and critical theory and a lot of things you'd never be taught in school, at least not in my country. That being said, college is just a starting point, and it's regrettable that you only get to study in a proper environment after twelve years of bullshit.

I know there are sites with detailed syllabi, and there are ways to reconstruct the teaching environment shaped up in famous colleges... But as you said, taking charge of your own life -- studies included -- tends to be difficult, yet ultimately rewarding.

Is going to college early a thing in America? Over here you definitely have to pass your baccalaureate exam at the end of grade 12.

Let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.

~~

Good fortune follows upon disaster;
Disaster lurks within good fortune;
Who can say how things will end?
Perhaps there is no end.
(This post was last modified: 08-11-2015 05:22 PM by Faby.)
08-11-2015 05:19 PM
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xcriteria Offline
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RE: on being done with school

(08-11-2015 05:19 PM)Faby Wrote:  Is going to college early a thing in America? Over here you definitely have to pass your baccalaureate exam at the end of grade 12.

It is, although sadly so few people realize it. I dropped out of high school, got a GED (equivalency diploma), and went to college a year earlier than I otherwise would have been able to. Homeschoolers can graduate at any time by issuing their own diplomas or getting a diploma from a private high school that awards diplomas to self-directed learners (there are several of these in California, like Beach High School, and a few more expensive / school-like options.)

Blake Boles has a whole book called College Without High School

I wonder how getting one of these alternative diplomas awarded in the US would affect applying to college elsewhere in the world....

Another option is to do something like Arizona State University's new program, Global Freshman Academy. It lets anyone (regardless of age or diploma) complete freshman year of college online through MOOCs (free/cheap open courses), and then get official ASU college credit by paying tuition and taking exams based on the classes. This college credit can then be used to apply to other colleges as a "transfer student," in which case they generally don't even look at your high school record or diploma.

Peter Gray & allies launching the Alliance for Self-directed Education

ASDE Newsletters: #1 Announcement | #2 History of ASDE | #6 Education Liberation


School Survival & Catalyst Learning Network featured on AlternativestoSchool's blog
“Mom, Dad, can I stop going to school?”

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when the Stakes are High

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08-11-2015 09:59 PM
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Faby Offline
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on being done with school

You guys have got amazing systems in place. Kudos for that. It's sad to hear that these alternatives aren't brought to the forefront like they should be. And I'm curious to see how MOOCs will develop in time -- gain more credibility and use, and stuff like that.

Let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass.

~~

Good fortune follows upon disaster;
Disaster lurks within good fortune;
Who can say how things will end?
Perhaps there is no end.
(This post was last modified: 08-11-2015 10:15 PM by Faby.)
08-11-2015 10:15 PM
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