There's not much to say about pre-K except I learned how to speak English there (I only spoke Chinese before), I refused to speak to anybody, sat in the corner playing with blocks, came home around twelve noon every day, whined a lot, cried a lot, did a lot, ate a lot, drank (non-alcoholic beverages only, please) a lot, and did absolutely nothing in Kinderland, so I'm going to skip pre-K to kindergarten.
In kindergarten my parents sent me to a private school called Some School* in Some Town*, New Jersey. It's starting to jump on the information superhighway, and two of its computer teachers, Mrs. Baer and Mrs. Massumi (sp?), have created a web page on Compuserve at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ranney_School/. You can also find an independent evaluation at http://www.petersons.com/private/sites/inc/010127ps.html by Peterson's.
Some School*Well, enough about Some School* -- it's a pretty good school. Back to kindergarden... Once again, I started the year refusing to talk. Finally, however, my determined teacher, Mrs. Laura Gilroy, coaxed me into talking. I had just one really weird experience with her, however.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away a long time ago, (I can still remember how that music used to make me smile...)...ramble...ramble...ramble...
Well, eventually I arrived at first grade, skipped second grade, went up to fifth grade, skipped that one in the middle of the year when I found it was too easy, and now I've graduated middle school and I'm in high school. Now, there seems to be some kind of coincidence/fate/luck against me. The year I skipped out of fifth grade was the year that they introduced the trip to Boston for the fifth grade. Then, in sixth grade, they shortened the time we had to take finals and midterms to an hour and a half, down from two hours. Unfortunately, most of the teachers didn't shorten our tests. Then, once done, we sat in a classroom bored for a half hour, forbidden to make any noises, because the other grades were still testing. Then, in seventh grade, they split the midterms and finals into two parts, forty-five minutes each. This was even worse. We were not allowed to go home in the afternoon after the morning exam, since they were split up, and we were forced into organized study sessions. Then in eigth grade, we were finally into the two hour exams. Much better. Then, they said, "No such thing as middle school graduation anymore!" [not sic]. They changed the name. Now it's a "promotion". Furthermore, the titles of valedictorian and salutatorian for the middle school were eradicated (if they had ever existed at all). Next step in education reform: they'll say that no matter what you get on your tests we'll give you an average grade, a C, on your report card.
Some School* also introduced the Ludi Romani, i.e., the Roman Games, in the 1996-1997 school year. To make up the class time, Field Day and Carnival were canceled. Each advisee group (also known as homeroom, except bonded somewhat more closely together) plans a procession, builds a chariot, and races (in the chariots). Each team also conjures up a motto and a team name with a Latin theme. For example, my advisee group was Diana and her Lunatics, since we were assigned white. The moon is white, Diana is the goddess of the moon, and luna is Latin for moon, and lunatics is derived from luna, so it's quite Malkavian. Another team was the Aves, or the birds, and they picked the Chicken Song as their theme. I raced in my team's chariot, since I was the lightest (I was only eighty pounds or so at the time). There was no problem for the duration of the race; we won. Then, the people pulling the chariot let the chariot go while it was still moving! Being that the center of gravity of the chariot was backwards, I jumped out to avoid scraping my back, and in the process I lacerated my knee. I went to the emergency room and got seven stitches on my knee from Dr. O'Connel, D.O. From then on, they raced the chariots without riders.
After being promoted from Ranny Middle School, I applied for and was accepted into the Science and Engineering Program (S&E) at Manalapan High School, essentially a magnet program, but known as a specialized education program. (I also applied to the Lawrenceville School, but I was not accepted.) This was a major change from Some School*. Not only was it much more challenging academically, but the atmosphere was much better. I was surrounded by students with which I shared many of my interests, and the somewhat closed and common nature of the S&E students as a group greatly facilitated the development of friendships and relations. Yes I know that sounds greatly idealistic... I also moved into a much bigger school (2000 students), which meant that there were more people to meet. The fact that it was a high school also meant there were many clubs that I could join. I joined the chess team, the Junior State of America, and the science league. For more information, please visit my S&E page. Please note that that page is primarily designed for S&E students...