The other problem I had in school was the fact that I am not an auditory learner. This is one of the reasons I hate talking on the phone.
In fact, the worst intellectual torture I ever had to endure was when the company I worked for got Nextel phones, with that stupid, stupid, horrible walkie-talkie feature. Some people would talk forever, and there was no way to shut them the hell up. I would repeatedly push the button just to hear the sweet sound of the shrieking beep, which was much welcome over the droning voice on the other end of the devil-device.
A photo I took at Hesperia Lake: Reminds me of an infinitely growing imagination, with many, multiple offshoots |
So, back to my original story. For someone who is auditorily deficient in terms of learning, a droning teacher who never writes on the board is what causes the mind to wander into never-never land. This includes most teachers for subjects such as economics, history and English. Unfortunately, some math teachers are so incredibly dull, it's really tough to follow them even when they write on the chalkboard.
This is why, despite being a terrific math student, I failed algebra in high school. But then I took it in the summer and got the highest grade in the class. See how that works? The quality of a teacher can spell the difference between an utter, giving up F and the highest A possible. I was so good at math that I went on to tutor math in college, and to get an engineering degree.
Another photo from Hesperia Lake: I also think of an infinitely increasing imagination as what almost seems to be an infinitely expanding root system. |
Now that I'm finished with college, and have had a great career in programming and web development, I'm ready to get back to using my imagination. I'm bored with my old job. My imagination could only take me so far when it came to programming. Now, I want to implement some of the many ideas I've had over the years. I want to keep those ideas increasingly building on themselves to infinity -- or at least to my heart's content.
Everyone learns different, and all teachers teach differently. The good years/classes are when the teacher and student connect. It's usually a mistake, as noone really matches up students that way, though it's too bad they don't.
ReplyDeleteA-Z
I think schools should ensure teachers engage their students more, and make learning fun. The best class I ever had was actually an English class where the teacher wanted us to make a diagram of the scene we read about in a book. It really puts you in the story. Hands-on learning makes every subject so much more fun.
DeleteI wrote my first three historical novels in Math and English (or, rather, Hungarian). It wasn't one of the assignments, that's for sure. The fact that a teenager has time to write three (!) freaking novels in class speaks volumes of how entertaining the lectures were... :D Yay for imagination!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes it's so easy to let your mind wander to other things when you have to sit in a lecture. :)
DeleteKristen,
ReplyDeleteBoy do I remember the old Nextel phones!
Great post! I have a crazy imagination too. Teachers have to be the right kind of people to really teach you. Some aren't very good at it.
Sunni
http://sunni-survivinglife.blogspot.com/
Weren't those phones horrible? LOL
DeleteYes, I even had a math teacher that would drop his chalk so he could look up the girl's skirts and joke with the boys in the class -- and this was 9th grade!!
My mind wanders more when I am driving. Know this is not a good quality.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and cheers to your imagination. :)
Oops, be careful! :)
DeleteThank you for the compliment. :)
I was told in primary school by a teacher that I had a wide imagination and praised my approach to the story I had wrote, I was only 9 and these words stayed with me, hence why I now want to be a successful novelist. Hopefully, one day, I will be.
ReplyDeletehttp://thenovabug-blog.blogspot.co.uk/
You were so lucky, that's great! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteIt seems I'm reading about my days of school. My imagination always got the best of me and my teachers didn't appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHehe... too bad some teachers don't know how to use those imaginations as a benefit to make learning fun!
DeleteHi Kristen! Sandy from www.sandysanderellasmusings.blogspot.com! Thank you so much for your compliment about the hearts, I love them too...and yes, our imaginations can be our best friends when we need them! Good post!! I also know what you mean about droning...there is a woman that calls my cell all of the time from a past employer, and I have a feature that when I see her name, I can say...I am in class, at the movies, driving, etc....She drones and I can't get a word in or finish a sentence. She keeps calling, and I keep up the excuses...hopefully soon, she will get the message! Not imagination...just using the tool and it's wonderful advantages! Ha Ha Sandy
ReplyDeleteI hope it works out for you, so you don't have to continue dealing with that.
DeleteIf you had trouble paying attention today in school, you'd probably be diagnosed ADHD and put on medications. And have your imagination thoroughly stomped upon. Not so good at all.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
I was thinking the same thing! It's crazy how drugs are handed out so frequently these days. I actually have such a strong aversion to drugs that I don't even take aspirin, even when it may do me good.
DeleteI was thinking the same thing as Rob-bear, which is the miserable truth. We're all expected to fit into a mold, but that's a load of BS if you ask me. Let your imagination run wild!
ReplyDeleteWe are all on the same wavelength! :)
DeleteNice post. My imagination has been both a boon and a bane too as it can get really out of hand at times lol. You're right about a teacher being a factor in passing or failing a class. I dropped my first attempt at Algebra due to a lifeless instructor.
ReplyDeleteI think the overactive imagination is better than none at all, so I prefer the out-of-hand problem than the alternative. :)
DeleteI liked the humor in this. Made me smile. And I hear you on wanting to use your imagination more. I worked a full-time job for a long time that didn't utilize any creativity at all. It does get tiring in its own way.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliments. I'm glad you get to use your imagination now. :)
DeleteI'm not fond of talking on the phone either. Congrats on your great leap from "F" to "A" to college tutor. Excellent! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm so glad I was able to hop back from that F, or I never would have had all my experiences!
DeleteI can so relate to your post. That's exactly what happened to me in classrooms too, except that I have always had excellent English teachers that I have never had reason to let my attention wander.
ReplyDeleteWow, programming? Nope, nothing of the sort for me.I put all my imagination not housework, raising kids and now, writing :) (also photography which followed) You are invited to myo ther blog http://shailsnest.com for a sample :)
Psst... I like the way you write :)
Thank you so much for the compliment. It sounds like you've had a great life, with much more fun and imagination to come. I just followed your other blog. It looks very nice.
DeleteThose photos really do depict growing personality, although the second one kind of freaks me out!
ReplyDeleteInteresting story about audibility issues and the walkie talkie. I always hated the idea of that phone, and was so glad when its popularity suddenly died out. But, do you have that issue when speaking one-on-one in person? Interesting subject. Writer’s Mark
Thank you! I actually like the creepiness of that photo, haha.
DeleteI do actually have that problem in person at times, but it's not nearly as bad. The visual stimulation really helps, unless the person I'm talking to is droning on and on without letting up, and/or standing completely still with a really dull, bored look on their face. I still try to appear interested, but it's difficult.
I think it definitely depends on the teacher whether you like a lesson or not and how much you learn. I have a massive imagination, which thankfully I put to creative use quite often although it can lead to me drifting off on occasions....better to be imaginative that not though, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely! We would all be very dull people without any imagination at all. So very active imaginations are the opposite of dull! :)
DeleteGreat post Kristen! Interesting that we blogged on the same topic. I wonder if anyone else did.
ReplyDeleteI saw one other on the same topic. Out of 1,882, there are probably a few more. :) Thanks for the compliment!
DeleteYour infinitely increasing imagination shows in ur blog :)
ReplyDeleteKeep it up
i was also a disoriented kid in school. Disoriented as in I build my own stories and land in Narnia when actually some other lesson is going on :P
loved this post Kristen !
good lck
Thank you, and thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI feel you! I hate my teachers coz they're so lazy to write something on the board. They just sit there, reading the book out loud.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,Miss Uncertain---sidetracked
So can I call you Buzz?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll let you hang out in my Imagination Room if you can fix my computer. :P