True story, she sent me to the principal's office and I returned to class with a lollipop in my mouth. I didn't realize the significance of that until I was older.
Is there significance to this beyond the obvious, that the principal agreed with you and rewarded you for it after telling you not to do it again? The way you phrased this made it sound like there's more subtext to this, but I'm missing it.
I had grown up in an immigrant family and had no idea what cursing was. In first grade I heard that two boys got in trouble because they were "cursing" in the bathroom. I thought they were performing witchcraft and was really confused.
Eh, that's not too young. While I never called someone I perceived to be my superior a bad name (because I wanted to live) I did have a potty mouth by the age four. I'd say "goddamnit" a lot.
One bright and early morning in the summer of 1980, I called my grandma an asshole because I wanted her to get out of bed and come downstairs. I was 3 years old and I imagine I said it in a sweet and innocent voice.
My mom is a high school maths teacher and she taught me the concept of algebra at a young age. This stuck out to me because I had a teacher in preparatory school who marked me wrong because I didn't use the method he showed us but instead I used algebra. The question was one of those "if Jane gets an amount of pocket money and her Margret sister gets double, and they get a total of R500 combined then how much money does Jane get?" I think we were just supposed to guess or something, I can't remember the method he wanted me to use but algebra was much much simpler. It's the one of the few times I saw my mother get pissed at one of my teacher hahaha
I married and had a child early in life - only then did I learn what a huge responsibility I had shouldered, and how it meant that carefree, impetuous youth was gone forever.
Awareness of my own death. Most late adolescent and young adults have this general feeling that they will either live for forever or that their personal death is way to far in the future to contemplate seriously. I was in war at 20 y/o and had to seriously come to terms with my own death much earlier than most. Now I have a generally lack fear of death. I don't want to die (no suicidal thoughts at all), but I wouldn't mind it much.
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Algebra.
My mom is a high school maths teacher and she taught me the concept of algebra at a young age. This stuck out to me because I had a teacher in preparatory school who marked me wrong because I didn't use the method he showed us but instead I used algebra. The question was one of those "if Jane gets an amount of pocket money and her Margret sister gets double, and they get a total of R500 combined then how much money does Jane get?" I think we were just supposed to guess or something, I can't remember the method he wanted me to use but algebra was much much simpler. It's the one of the few times I saw my mother get pissed at one of my teacher hahaha
Sex.
That is to say, I learned about it in the wrong context.
I feel like you can teach kids a lot of things, it's just a matter what of subjects you introduce to a kid first and how nuanced they are.
Responsibility.
I married and had a child early in life - only then did I learn what a huge responsibility I had shouldered, and how it meant that carefree, impetuous youth was gone forever.
How to be alone.
Awareness of my own death. Most late adolescent and young adults have this general feeling that they will either live for forever or that their personal death is way to far in the future to contemplate seriously. I was in war at 20 y/o and had to seriously come to terms with my own death much earlier than most. Now I have a generally lack fear of death. I don't want to die (no suicidal thoughts at all), but I wouldn't mind it much.
I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Woody Allen
Poverty, disease, disability.