Corsicana Daily Sun, Corsicana, Texas

Opinion

Related Photos

  • Oliver Sheehan began work as a Daily Sun staff writer this week. He'll also report for 'Explore.'

    5-30 Sheehan Oliver.jpg

Discussion

September 1, 2010

My memories of ‘back to school’

By Oliver Sheehan Corsicana Daily Sun

Corsicana — It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since I last did the back-to-school thing, and yet those memories (most of them good) are still as clear as day.

I remember catching the bus at 7:05 a.m., knowing that it would be my last year at school.

There I was with my trusty backpack, full to the brim with a new packet of pens, a new packet of pencils, a pencil sharpener, erasers and markers. Of course I was also up to my armpits in books and files and full of anticipation for what the year would bring.

The first hurdle was to avoid all the townies (thugs/gangsters/delinquents) and chavs on the bus. They typically hopped on at their stops, made a lot of noise, threw things at each other and sometimes just threw each other. It was mayhem on that school bus.

The townies and chavs would sit (or just stand) on the top deck of the bus, smoking, playing their music and talking about fights they had been in at the weekend while wearing their ribbed puffer jackets and baseball caps.

Beyond that, school was fairly standard. A few new teachers, a few new soccer players battling it out for a space on the tennis courts and the standard ‘welcome back’ address from the school headmaster telling us he was looking forward to a great year ahead.   

The good thing was that when September rolled around in my senior year, I at least knew what to expect.

In England we start school a bit later than y’all. In fact, school in England only starts late this week (depending on the school), although I should be clear, school in England finishes in late July for a six week vacation, much shorter than y’all’s summer vacations. We don’t have one school system either. Some places have junior schools, middle schools and higher education schools, while others have infant, junior and senior schools. They sound the same except for a few significant factors.

In the first system you would go to a junior school until you were 8 or 9, then middle school until you were 13 or 14, then higher education school until you were 16.

In the second system, you go to infant school till the age of 7, then junior school until the age of 11, and finally we go to senior school until the age of 16 and take our GCSE’s (General certificate of secondary education).

There is also the public school, private school factor. A public school in England is called a comprehensive, while a private school is described as a public school. Don’t ask me why, I don’t understand it either.

We have a choice in England (for now) on when we can leave school. We can either leave at 16 and get a job, or 18 after completing our A-Levels and AS levels, or go to a college to complete courses ready for university.

The one major difference between here and there is that in England, schools have absolutely no say on the local tax rate. That is decided by the town, district and county councils and I can assure you, it costs significantly more over there. Any funding for schools comes directly from central government and it is merely passed on to the schools by local authorities.

Schools here seem to have much more power and influence than they do in England. I’m completely undecided on whether that is a good thing or a bad thing but hey, it seems to work, so who am I to judge?

Anyway, time to fill up and zip up my backpack. I have a bus to catch.

—————

Oliver Sheehan may be reached by e-mail at oliver@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Soundoff” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com

 

Text Only
Opinion
  • Corsicana Government Center Mayor: Welcome discussion of alternatives

    During the City Council meeting on Feb. 7, 2012, several people spoke during the public forum asking for the opportunity to vote on whether or not to issue $2,000,000 of debt to build a new animal shelter. In a recent letter I discussed the reasons why I cannot agree to place the items on a Council agenda.

    February 10, 2012 2 Photos

  • Bill Tinsley Kingdom Preview

    My wife and I like going to the movies. We don’t like all movies. We prefer comedies; light-hearted dramas and uplifting stories.

    February 9, 2012 1 Photo

  • Linex publisher.jpg Looking ahead to spring break

    Be careful what you ask for. Sounds straightforward, right? Then why do we keep pressing?
    People tend to hang around with people that think like them, act like them, enjoy common things. Thus, most of my close friends are border-line comedians.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Dick Platt As the Super Bowl turns ...

    As I am writing this rant we are about a week and a half into the two-week hiatus between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl. I am already starting to fall into my off-season depression and facing the prospect of having to watch arena football and reruns on the NFL Network.

    February 7, 2012 1 Photo

  • Gelene Simpson.jpg The Gladys We Knew

    If I had to choose someone to describe as a beautiful Christian lady, it would have been Gladys E. (Stratton) Dietel of Dawson who left this world at age 97 on Jan. 28. She had been a member of the Fellowship Sunday School Class at First United Methodist Church of Dawson, and as the teacher of that class, I learned to expect Gladys to put her whole heart into anything she undertook to do.

    February 6, 2012 1 Photo

  • Brown Deanna New09.jpg Food for thought

    If ever you’ve been one, like me, who battles their weight constantly, no doubt you’ve been on some weird diets.

    February 4, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill Tinsley Jesus’ creed

    Everyone has a creed because everyone believes something. Even atheists have a creed, which is their belief that God does not exist. A creed is simply a statement of what we believe

    February 3, 2012 1 Photo

  • Linex publisher.jpg Super Bowl fever hardly registers here, right?

    It’s the day after National Signing Day, the day of high school realignment. Coaching change talk can be found. The Super Bowl looms.
    But does it feel right?
    Living in North Texas, has getting geeked up for the Super Bowl become harder to do? Would it help if it were not 70 degrees so often lately.

    February 2, 2012 1 Photo

  • Dick Platt In the News!

    There are a couple items in the news this week I would like to report on. Now, mind you, these items are not goofy and zany like Janet Jacobs might

    January 31, 2012 1 Photo

  • Gelene Simpson.jpg Remember these signs?

    When I was growing up on the south side of Corsicana, a great many people were concerned with what they called “signs.” Some were related to animals and some were pertaining to the weather, crops and such. With Groundhog Day coming upon Thursday, Feb. 2, I am reminded of just how often signs were part of our daily lives.

    January 30, 2012 1 Photo