Further topics for consideration

Accidents

Anything out of the ordinary can provide material for your writing: being sick in class, getting caught short, accidents or illness at school, a fire alarm … or even the real thing.

Crazes

Try to recall some of the crazes at your school. These might include:

• collecting cigarette cards – name the various series;
• marbles – describe any favourites;
• conkers – what was your highest scoring conker?;
• hoop-la – what was your best score?;
• playing with yo-yos — until they were confiscated;
• diabolo – and seeing how high you could throw it.

Sex education

The likelihood of any formal sex education was slim, and parents rarely talked about such matters. Indeed, it was not unknown for children to come home to find a new baby brother or sister … and they had not even been aware their mother was pregnant!

Parental involvement in your education

You might like to consider how big a part your parents played in your education – something that may be easier to evaluate if you have since been a parent yourself. For example, did they listen to you reading and help you with any difficult sums… or did you not want them to? Indeed, they may have been too pushy or perhaps constantly compared you with a more conscientious or brighter sibling. If so, how did you feel about this?

If parents’ evenings were provided, did yours attend, and what did you think about such occasions – you may have been apprehensive, or perhaps forgot to hand the note to your parents in the first place! Of course, your parents may have been called to see the Head for some other reason. If so, it will undoubtedly be worth recording.

Examinations

Write about any important exams that were part of your school experience, even if they largely passed you by. Perhaps it was a very stressful time – not that stress would have been a word often used in your childhood! If you took Matriculation, perhaps you can recall the frustration of having to pass a certain number of subjects to avoid failing overall. In writing about exams, include such insights as nerves, your mind going blank … or cheating!

What next?

Sharing thoughts and feelings is an intimate way of future generations really knowing us long after we have disappeared. Aspirations fall into this category, and this is your opportunity to record what you wanted to be when you grew up. Whether they were modest aspirations or wild flights of fancy, the reader will be able to assess how far, if at all, they were realised.

You might also feel comfortable in sharing how some of your ambitions were thwarted – the fact that you could not become a teacher because your parents could not afford the uniform to send you to grammar school, despite your passing the eleven-plus. Perhaps you were given an opportunity you did not pursue, or had to fight hard for a particular opening, deriving great satisfaction when you achieved your goal.

Whatever the aspirations, for most people it was a case of leaving school and getting a job. This will be considered in greater detail in the next chapter. However, for those who were able to pursue higher education, the remainder of this chapter will be relevant.

Further education and university

Especially if you lived away from home during your studies, this is likely to have been a very significant time in your life, developing your character and laying foundations for the future. As such, it is worth writing in some detail about these formative experiences.

If you returned to education after having worked for some years, this section can be addressed at the appropriate point in your story. Include such things as:

• first impressions of your new place of learning;
• your apprehension and excitement of what lay ahead;
• the course you studied and any memorable lectures or seminars;
• .lecturers and tutors who left their mark for whatever reasons;
• friends made, and other students who were influential during this time;
• dealing with the opposite sex and any romances;
• societies and clubs you joined;
• how you spent your free time;
• .your accommodation and its merits or otherwise;
• how you managed to fend for yourself, particularly if it was your first time away from home;
• how much you had to live on, how far this stretched and what you did if there was a shortfall;
• any jobs you had to help fund your education;
• the long holidays and how they were spent;
• the value of your experience, quite apart from what you learnt academically.

Of course, what you learned during this time was far more than what was on the syllabus.

Useful materials to consult

For those who wish to undertake further research, the following ideas might be of use:

• search out any old school photographs, reports, prizes, books, etc.;
• if you are in touch with any old school friends, chat to them – you’ll be amazed at the memories you stimulate between you;
• if your siblings went to the same school, repeat this exercise with them;
• if there are any school reunions, consider attending one;
• the website, www.friendsre united.co.u has led to countless people getting back in touch after many years, often also resulting in class or school reunions – you might like toarrange one!

Points to ponder

Decisions made at school, either personally or those made on your behalf, will have had far-reaching consequences. It can be an interesting exercise to review some of these decisions and contemplate their importance in later life. These might include:

• the schools you attended – if there was any choice
• a teacher believing in you or inspiring you to follow a certain direction
• taking a stand on a particular issue
• not taking a stand and subsequently regretting it
• standing up to a bully
• passing the eleven-plus
• passing the eleven-plus and not being allowed to accept your place
• failing the eleven-plus or not being given the opportunity to take it
• choices made in certain subjects
• deciding to leave school
• staying on at school – or not being given the opportunity to do so
• not being able to pursue further education.

Also, what was your proudest achievement at school?

Top tips

• Draw on your emotions — outrage, fear, infatuation, embarrassment, etc. Even now, years later, we can cringe or feel embarrassed about some trivial event from our childhood, and schooldays in particular. Not only is this likely to make an excellent anecdote, you also have the opportunity to set the record straight and formally apologise.
• Be careful not to include too many dates. It is easier for your readers to know that you were nine years old than if you write ‘in 1941’ and expect them to remember that you were born in 1932 and then work it out. It might be obvious to you, but it is not necessarily so for others. Of course, from time to time you will need to include the year, and there’s nothing wrong in occasionally combining the two bits of information: ‘In 1950, when I was 18 ….’