INTP personality and school

[Georgie]

I am awaiting my GCSE results at the moment. (I'm talking about the UK schooling system now).

For years I found school easy. Primary school caused a particular problem for me. The school's attitude was not "let's try and improve all students" but "let's try and make all the pupils as clever as the most intelligent ones". In adopting this attitude, the most intelligent people in the class (including myself, without meaning to sound arrogant) were left to their own devices, not given work that would challenge them, and so became lazy and frustrated.

I have to be learning and have my brain stimulated constantly, otherwise I become irritable. I crave knowledge, so the system of leaving me alone was one which did not suit me at all.

Secondary school was better for me, although I became frustrated there too. Girls in my class (I'm not being sexist, it's an all girls' school) asked silly questions and the whole class had to listen to the most simple questions being answered.

Perhaps for me that's the biggest issue with schools, but I don't think it's the school, just me. I can't wait to go to university, where I hope things will be more challenging.

 

[Jesin]

I like being left to my own devices, but only if there's a library, internet connection, or some such thing easily available.

 

[Georgie]

Yeah, I know what you mean. But with one computer in the entire school and no library access you can see why I got bored. I might as well have not bothered going to school.

 

[Jordan~]

The International Baccalaureate sounds wonderful. I don't know why you're complaining, aside from that whole community service thing and the fact that you can only get 768 UCAS points max without bolstering it with other qualifications. I can get 1040 if I get only As. How likely that is, I don't know.

But other than that, it sounds good from what I've heard about it. Maybe it's not.

...To clarify, I thought Wisp's post at the bottom of the last page was at the bottom of this page.

 

[Verity]

Not at all, but maybe that means I'm not really an INTP. When I was in college, on my way to graduating with a 4.0, I tested as an INTJ. I didn't like or respect all of my teachers, but they gave the grades, so when they asked me to jump, I asked, "How high?" That doesn't sound like an INTP to me.

 

[Drizzt]

Been a while since i been to school...

Like a lot of you, I did just about enough to get by . And ofcourse always got the remark that I could get much higher grades if I tried harder.

I remember being called into the principals office for a talk, and he asked me how much time I spent on my homework. Ofcourse I exagerated a lot and said, well about an hour. He got very mad as I was to spend at least 2 hrs or more .

 

[Jordan~]

Like I said, I get good grades. I don't work hard, a lot of the time I don't do the work; but what I hear, I remember. I'm about the least organised person I know, and I have one of the poorest work ethics - but I also get some of the highest grades.

 

[ElectricWizard]

The International Baccalaureate sounds wonderful.

As a wise man once said, 'IB screwed.'

 

[Jordan~]

I changed my mind, I like UCAS points better than education.

 

[severus]

Grades for 1st quarter of my first year of high school: straight As.
My science teacher last year told me that if I took biology (normally 10th grade in our school) I would get a C at best. "Don't take biology if you want As and Bs!" From what I've heard about chem/phys, biology actually sounds easier.

 

[Raku]

For me high school was never really hard. Here in the Netherlands we have a 1-10 grade system. I usually tried to finish everything as close to 5.5 as possible, just to make sure I didn't do too much. I never liked classes back then, but looking back I think I should have given math some more effort. I never finished high school tho, had some really bad problems with authority.

Now I'm a student at Uni (after going through various other studies) and when I actually am challenged by the subject I can do alot of work. Other classes however I stick to the bare minimum. I don't know if it's just about challenge tho. Most of the classes aren't exactly rocket science, but not that easy either. I also need it to be useful for myself or I'll reject most of the things I need to do.

When reading this thread the 'You can get really high grades if you try harder' sounded familiar. They usually said: "You have the brains to do all the classes and do them well, you're just not doing it" In the end I think I just value my lazyness more than I value grades in uninteresting subjects.

 

[Taylored]

Has being an INTP ever caused you any problems in school? If so, what kind of problems? I am talking strictly academically and not socially.

The biggest problem I had was seeing the value of grades and was completely satisfied with getting a C in every class. This wasnt because I did not want to do the work or was lazy but because I have no interest in accolades. This has regrettably cost me scholarships and being able to get into the schools that I would have liked.

I would also get very bored in school if I wasnt completely engaged and/or being challenged, which was almost always. This of course made me resent school a lot.

Because of my independent nature I found it really hard to focus on a topic that I was not totally interested in and would want to focus on my own thing. I would always just study my topics or something that was somewhat related to class.

I also found it really hard to respect and listen to a professor if I didnt respect them intellectually. This wasnt to bad in college but it definitely made for some horrible classes.

I dont know if this is INTP related but I also cant spell to save my life. I know another INTP with the same problem and I think it has something to do with how we love systems and how messed up of a system the spelling system for English is. Does any one else experience this at all?

I agree with everything you just said 100%

 

[ChaosTheory]

Let's see. I've always procrastinated, rushed through projects that should take a lot more time to do, been bored and daydreamed in pretty much every class except Spanish because it actually made me interact and pay attention. School was easymy entire life. I never had to study or work really hard for my grades. But now in college, I found the need to study and spend more time on projects to get satisfactory grades.

I was not prepared for this at all. I used to be able to glide through the material in high school and middle school with ease, but now I need motivation and the urge to do things thoroughly and properly. I can't just change my ways like that. I was not ready for that change and my grades and motivation to do anything is waning.

 

[stercusaccidit]

Eh... I've been in those ridiculous GT programs since fourth grade. I recently found out that one of the reasons I was pushed into that first one was because my teachers decided I was intellectually unmotivated by my work, but also by my peers. In other words, I was antisocial...

Always been a straight A student though. The later programs focused on writing/literature/history/film/journalism and other stuff I was actually interested in (I guess I'm an atypical INTP in despising math and physical sciences). I was surrounded by other "gifted" people; I made a bunch of intellectual and even INTP friends. Also, classes were generally done sort of seminar style-- lots of discussion encouraged. I like hearing all the different opinions.

Other classes-- math and physical sciences-- that I genuinely hated, I'm just sort of good at... I slept through AP Calc BC (literally-- the teacher made all sorts of snide remarks) and got straight As and a 5 on the AP. Half the time I did the homework during class the day it was due... My ESFJ friend was FURIOUS.

This year my English class is HELL, though. The teacher refuses to accept that there are multiple interpretations for works of literature and makes comments like, "I can't see why other people don't understand this work, because I understand it perfectly." I want to kill her. Plus there is ZERO class discussion and there's no freedom in the assignments. Maybe I've been spoiled, but I don't care.

 

[severus]

Ah, that teacher, horrid^

I was in the "Merit Program" in fourth and fifth grade. Still no INTPs. We did go on an awesome field trip though. I probably wouldn't even have my half-friends without it. Apparently the schools in Indiana are dreadful. Sucks.

 

[ElectricWizard]

Has being an INTP ever caused you any problems in school? If so, what kind of problems? I am talking strictly academically and not socially.

The biggest problem I had was seeing the value of grades and was completely satisfied with getting a C in every class. This wasnt because I did not want to do the work or was lazy but because I have no interest in accolades. This has regrettably cost me scholarships and being able to get into the schools that I would have liked.

I would also get very bored in school if I wasnt completely engaged and/or being challenged, which was almost always. This of course made me resent school a lot.

Because of my independent nature I found it really hard to focus on a topic that I was not totally interested in and would want to focus on my own thing. I would always just study my topics or something that was somewhat related to class.

I also found it really hard to respect and listen to a professor if I didnt respect them intellectually. This wasnt to bad in college but it definitely made for some horrible classes.

I dont know if this is INTP related but I also cant spell to save my life. I know another INTP with the same problem and I think it has something to do with how we love systems and how messed up of a system the spelling system for English is. Does any one else experience this at all?

Basically all of those problems except spelling. I like the English language, it's fun.

 

[Chimera]

Eh, school isn't very hard for me at the moment. I had very little motivation to do anything when I was in 7th grade, but I still managed to get all A's and a B (in Algebra). Math has never been my strong point, but I get by. All my other classes are just easy to me.
My mother tried to motivate me to do my homework by giving me a limit on computer time...but that plan backfired, because as soon as she made me get off the computer, I went up to my room and listened to music until I fell asleep. I always hated it when my mother shut off the internet; it's one of the only times I can remember ever being tempted to yell at her. I never gave in to that though.
But nowadays I don't have a problem with motivation anymore because my days after school get so boring. I'll do homework just for an excuse to exercise my mind a little, even if it's just the tedious worksheets we're given in Photography. I get so bored with my afternoons, but it's a relaxing boredom...time passes so slowly, which is really a miracle after school.
Uh. What was I saying...?
Oh, ja. Besides ignoring my Algebra II teacher sometimes and then having to read the book to figure out what's going on, I generally glide through school without much difficulty...academically-wise, anyway.​

 

[Gorgrim]

Alot of the described problems and tendencies are exactly like me. Weirdly though, I enjoyed myself immensely calculating math when i was age 5-7. As soon as a teacher wanted to take over what I was meant to do, I lost interest to work with it. By then i could calculate thing's the rest of the class was kinda awe struck of. But eventually I found other hobbies, and in 8th grade I would consider myself a C in most things.

Then I slowly evolved some other sides, that I would learn to enjoy on my own despite having to take a bite of the evil apple of school-teaching.

I started to love English, aswell as Physics and Math alot more again. But only as long as I can go at my own pace. When I do have to turn things in, they are either turned in as fast as possible with everything needed to be in it. Or it's something where I work hard, which happens rarely. Day to day homework are not important, I tend to see if i can understand it, but don't put extra effort in it, unless it's physics or mathmatics.

I think the biggest problem is teachers misunderstanding you, or not giving you any space. I absolutely hate that.

I want to sort of rise from the A and C's sort of thing, and step by step take the neccesary steps to become moderately decent at some other subjects, to make sure I get into a university I want to go to....
I figured i could start by learning myself good crafty words for them. Then,
take it step by step, and read once in a while about the subjects.

Perhaps trying to get some other senses into play will you remember some of the most un-interesting things, as long as you can manage some energy to work on these not so interesting subjects, that I find I dont give enough work to become decent enough for a B.

 

[jamez345]

I've been told I was not properly "motivated" since the fifth grade. In highschool my grades varied by class. The core classes were usually around C or D because I never did homework and rushed through most projects. I remember at one point in AP U.S. History one of the girls who was in the top 10% of the class became furious because I always scored higher on tests than her w/o doing anything. Elective classes depended on the coarse. Architectural Drawing and Communications technologies (both taught by a teacher proud to be an authoritative asshole) both earned me about 13%s because it was just incredibly boring.

As far as projects go they either interested me entirely or not at all. I remember two specific Projects that gained my interest. The first was a persuasive speech in English. My topic was the fascist tendencies of the Bush administration, which made my teacher laugh. I ended up getting an E because I ran about 2 minutes over the limit. I think the max time was supposed to be 7 minutes which left me about 20 seconds for each point of fascism. The other was a presentation about 60s pop culture in US history. I came dressed as a hippie and talked about music. It was easy enough because at the time I had extremely long hair.

But other than that I didn't really put too much effort into school until early 12th grade, when I was expelled for the first semester.

Wow thats why people make fun of me - because i can do tests and do really good without studying - mabye thats why im a target lol otherwise all that fits me everyone says im "unmotivated" or an "arrogant bastard" in some classes. i was put in special education for english class in 6th grade simply because i read a lot better than everyone else! almost everyone else was grade level or below while i read on an 11 to 12 grade scale. I think that was a good move since i am "special" in a sense. And i love classes that challenge me BUT let me do it my own way, as soon as someone says I HAVE to do it this way I lose intrest and do it my own way and thats usally why i dont get good grades (Which might be part of the reason why i flunked 5th grade). I love english math and science but social studies not much but enough to be genuinaly interested.

 

[Gorgrim]

I'm beginning to realise the High School level in the danish schoolsystem makes it impossible for me to get these so called: "How you're doing grades" that are offered a couple times through the year to tell you how you are doing.


I just got it back. It was really odd. I got a B+ in biologi where, I give effort in, but that doesnt mean im any good at biologi. im mediocre.

English writing: no grade, didnt turn anything in, it was not worth writing any of the things we have been asked, except the latest one which she hasnt seen yet.

Talking english: B. I never bother, it's just not worth it since i'm thinking for myself anyway.

Oral Chemistry,Physics, Geography: C

Math across the board: D

I've had problems doing mathmatics the teachers way, so he has been forced to grade me badly. It's not that am not good at it. In class I don't talk i just do my own thing, he doesnt mind, but again, I get an F for what I Say in class. Depressing.


There are two problems to this. One, it is the first grade report for the year, and none of them really understands INTP's or me for that matter.

The second is that I do not like to follow the way that most teachers want you to. Talk alot out loud about what you think.

I would like to ask all of you how you manage to talk in class more than the odd ocassion, because I am often quite horrible at formulating what I'm thinking of. If i could do that, I would have rated myself alot differently, since my worst subject, danish, seems to be about a B. As i am neither that good or that bad.


Btw, our grades are different but I transferred them to american grading systems, or you wouldnt understand

 

[gsubr17]

The main source of my problems in school was the policy of requiring homework to be completed. Every class counted homework as part of the final grade. I never did homework. Usually I could easily make up for it with test/quiz grades. I had a great disdain for homework because I understood something, I wasn't willing to keep practicing it. I loved tests though, I would always get an A, and if I liked the class, it would usually be 100's. That was the case for physics, but I got a C. Same with Biology and Government. I'm glad to be done with high school. I am still disappointed with the amount of mandatory homework I receive in college though.

 

[sagewolf]

Wow. I guess I'm lucky I have the Leaving Cert. In most subjects we have a huge test at the end of two years' study: I can slack off for two years and just study before tests, which is the way our grades are calculated, and get nearly straight As. In the Junior Cert, i got As in everything but Irish (impossible!) Home Ec. and Geography, and it was because I hated HE and Geo. (I still got Bs.) I'm liking Leaving Cert English more than Jr. Cert English, because we have to think more, so I can get through well enough without paying attention to what the teacher says in class. Math and Technical (architectural) drawing I like for the same reasons.

I have no problems with any of my teachers; they all think I'm wonderfully motivated. My stance is that if I'm quiet and non-confrontational and do all my homework, they'll leave me alone, which is ultimately what I want. So that's what i do, and they love me for it or something. O.o

I can't stand my English teacher, though; she tends to tell us things, like Macbeth is doing this because x y and z. I will disagree with her and write an essay in which I disagree with it. She then corrects me, and she gives me this air of always thinking she's right. That annoys me. She repeats herself a lot too, and she explains texts as she reads them to us. While she's doing this, I read ahead and *gasp!* think for myself. Everyone else doesn't bother to think, and they listen docilely,

Why is Art getting such a bad rep here? I love art... I hate Art History, but I love Art appreciation and the practical stuff.

I think I annoy all my friends; they think I get high grade without all the study they do. They annoy me because they get the same grade without any original thought; they just regurgitate the teacher's words or methods. Different people, different methods, I suppose... But the tendency of the school system to reward regurgitation pisses me off. It does just churn out mindless, compliant drones.

 

[citrusbreath95]

I am still in school and many things interfere with my academics. I use to make great grades, now they are slowly slipping as I am getting much more apathetic. I am very sloppy and unorganized, so even if I were to take notes I would lose them by the day of the test, I procrastinate like MAD (I will be doing a book report in class the class before it's due)- yet I usually do well on it. Focusing is nearly impossible. (I never listen in class, I'll just read the book later) I never study, I just cram the last few minuetes before the test/quiz, and sometimes don't even do this... most of the time I do fine on the quiz... except math... I usually mix up formulas then. I'm going into high school so I don't know how much more complicated it shall get, I'm in the honors classes and they are getting more difficult (well math is) yet I still like math, like I said, I just can't focus in class, I get the materials I need and complete the rest at home, or in homeroom. I think what it is, is that I have so much confidence that I can do the material on my own, that I don't bother listening (unless it really interests me). Who knows, school is O.K. but I would rather be traveling the world, and just studying on my own time...

 

[NothingTodo]

My mom yelled at me because she knew i could do better. I really can but school does not interest me. If i tried i could get As but why waste the effort?

 

[Cryss Winters]

I lost interest faster than most kids.

 

[NothingTodo]

I wish i had teachers or parents that actually could understand me.

 

[Synoptist]

I have two pieces of coursework that were due in two days ago and I also have an exam next week.

So naturally I've decided to bunk college this week and stay home so that I could play repetitive computer games and read some old threads that I won't remember in a week's time.

 

[Luminates]

I'm in my senior year now, and so far its been a straight road for me. the only problems i find are ones listed, my laziness and my loss in interest. IF if loose interest in something, i don't give much or no care at all, and since many of the things I am learning don' even phase me much, my grades are C average, somtimes a little lower.

The only problem i see for intp's is laziness and lack of interest for some in whatever.

 

[ashitaria]

I like being left to my own devices, but only if there's a library, internet connection, or some such thing easily available.

So true.

 

[ashitaria]

Wow. I guess I'm lucky I have the Leaving Cert. In most subjects we have a huge test at the end of two years' study: I can slack off for two years and just study before tests, which is the way our grades are calculated, and get nearly straight As. In the Junior Cert, i got As in everything but Irish (impossible!) Home Ec. and Geography, and it was because I hated HE and Geo. (I still got Bs.) I'm liking Leaving Cert English more than Jr. Cert English, because we have to think more, so I can get through well enough without paying attention to what the teacher says in class. Math and Technical (architectural) drawing I like for the same reasons.

I have no problems with any of my teachers; they all think I'm wonderfully motivated. My stance is that if I'm quiet and non-confrontational and do all my homework, they'll leave me alone, which is ultimately what I want. So that's what i do, and they love me for it or something. O.o

I can't stand my English teacher, though; she tends to tell us things, like Macbeth is doing this because x y and z. I will disagree with her and write an essay in which I disagree with it. She then corrects me, and she gives me this air of always thinking she's right. That annoys me. She repeats herself a lot too, and she explains texts as she reads them to us. While she's doing this, I read ahead and *gasp!* think for myself. Everyone else doesn't bother to think, and they listen docilely,

Why is Art getting such a bad rep here? I love art... I hate Art History, but I love Art appreciation and the practical stuff.

I think I annoy all my friends; they think I get high grade without all the study they do. They annoy me because they get the same grade without any original thought; they just regurgitate the teacher's words or methods. Different people, different methods, I suppose... But the tendency of the school system to reward regurgitation pisses me off. It does just churn out mindless, compliant drones.

Sorry for double posting but, I really agree with this one.

Memorization though, is very important for tests, and studying a day before tests is generally how I do it. The thing with teachers though is that if the information you provide is not the same as the information they provide, they hate you for it because they know that you are not paying any attention in class (sigh) despite the fact that the information you provide is true, and thus they give you worse marks (trust me, if the teacher likes you, she will give you good marks and vise-versa), so I could never really get above a B (as they give you half-marks for true answers that do not go accordingly to the worksheets and information they give you).

 

[bovinity]

I dont know if this is INTP related but I also cant spell to save my life. I know another INTP with the same problem and I think it has something to do with how we love systems and how messed up of a system the spelling system for English is. Does any one else experience this at all?

That's a cop-out, I've been anal-retentive about spelling since 1st grade. Some people just don't spell that well, it's not too big of a deal.

 

[LAM]

I am lazy, but generally I do all the work I can. The difference is that I either get 80% by doing the minimum or I get 90% if I try...

 

[chaomon]

I am pretty normal.. at least that was what I think. When in terms of school staff I am pretty lazy, I actually dont excel academically. That's why I am surprised that most of the INTP were doin good at school. And it makes me that I am dumbest INTP, I know I'm smart in my own ways. I'm not interested on my subjects at school, I'm not interested to learn what other people already knew I want to know something that only few people knew.

 

[PapyrusAirplanes]

I was decent in school. This may be attributed to the fact that my mother is an ISTJ and she's only gotten one B in her life, so I had a lot to live up to. But if I had been left to my own devices, I probably would have given up on the things that didn't interest me (coughmathcough).

I had an A average in middle and high school. But college is... a different matter (whether it be due to the environment or to the course-load). Except for the music classes. I still get A's in those. The stupid thing is that I get the bad grades in the classes that are easiest, because I don't see the need to spend time on the material. *rolls eyes*

... I'm glad that you guys are bums, too. From the MBTI books, I'd been assuming most INTPs had brains the size of Greenland.

... Not that you're not... smart... or anything.... Just... lazy? *laugh*

 

[Enne]

For years I found school easy. Primary school caused a particular problem for me. The school's attitude was not "let's try and improve all students" but "let's try and make all the pupils as clever as the most intelligent ones". In adopting this attitude, the most intelligent people in the class (including myself, without meaning to sound arrogant) were left to their own devices, not given work that would challenge them, and so became lazy and frustrated.

I have to be learning and have my brain stimulated constantly, otherwise I become irritable. I crave knowledge, so the system of leaving me alone was one which did not suit me at all.

Secondary school was better for me, although I became frustrated there too. Girls in my class (I'm not being sexist, it's an all girls' school) asked silly questions and the whole class had to listen to the most simple questions being answered.

^This. I was transferred midyear in junior high when my mom became convinced that I had exhausted the school's curriculum, only to go to another 'big fish/small pond' school.

College is much better, though the biggest thing for me was the steep (vertical) learning curve that amassed from being around people who'd hit the ground running. It was akin to having to work muscles out of atrophy, and the adjustment was tough. I still preferred my own "projects" to the syllabus though.

 

[nexion]

Truthfully, about this school thing. If I like the class, I generally actually try and usually get pretty good grades. In classes I don't care about (not many, I love most every core subject and many elective ones) I do absolutely nothing to learn anything and I still get good grades. However, in both situations, I am highly lazy (slightly less in classes I care about) and I don't try that hard.

Truth is, school is easy. There's no challenge in anything, it's learn, adapt, and respond to learning. It all follows a really easy process that is also really easy to put into practice. You can get through school on straight memorization while at the same time having no idea what the subject matter is truly about.

Prioritizing also has much to do with the grades I receive from various classes. For example, science > math > history > english. The former two are my favorites and the latter two are my not favorites, yet I still like them all. In the former two, I have more drive (because I like them more) and motivation (because my career will be related to them). I generally do homework and do my best to learn. In the latter two, I generally don't do homework (unless it's important, aka heavily weighted) and I don't really try to learn (although, I am a natural at history and writing). Those are the classes I sleep in either because I am tired or because they are boring. Based on that, I get notably higher grades in the former two than the latter two, but I still do decent in all of them. I have only gotten one grade lower than a C before on my report card (I swear to you it was because my teacher was terrible), and, if I remember correctly, have never had anything lower than a B as a final grade.

 

[EditorOne]

My environment was a lot different than many of those who are even just a bit younger. When I was in elementary school and high school, one had to do well. Teachers were definitely authority, and a phone call home from teacher to parent was like convening the World Court or something, with sanctions and economic penalties and corporal punishment. So I grew up believing I had to do well. I did -- high grades throughout -- but it is probably one of the reasons I'm such a mess today. The juxtaposition of knowing that many of the teachers were dumber than a bag of doorknobs but I still had to put up with them apparently left deep antisocial scars manifested in oozing sarcasm and scarcely concealed contempt for all authority figures, even those doing their best to reign it in and just serve a useful purpose.

There was another paradigm going on, too, one that I eventually exploited with great glee. One "always had to do one's best," which in the case of many teachers meant you did immense amounts of work regardless of how long it actually took you to master the material at hand. So in high school I got a lot of "A" marks, but only "2" for effort instead of "1." When confronted about this failure to achieve perfection by my parents, I could shrug and point out that if the necessary effort to achieve an A only required modest work on my part, that really wasn't my fault, and besides, there were no marks higher than an A. It also, if you notice, falls right into the INTP cheerfulness zone of studying something only until it is mastered, not until one is an expert.

I envy those of you who escaped these kinds of situations. I've noticed that generations after mine, in the U.S., seem to be happier as kids than we ever were.

 

[shadowdrums4]

Eh never had to work that hard, never had trouble in school. I just graduated with like a 3.2 not bad. It's enough for the scholarship anyway.

School sucked the fun out of learning for me for the most part. I still learned well enough and made A's and B's and I don't think I've ever failed a class. (I came close in anatomy).

As for problems, I was a procrastinator. A huge one. (Did a 3 month project at 4 in the morning the day it was due once) I guess I always had somewhat high standards (NT competence and all that) so when I actually did stuff it came out pretty good.

I actually refused the advanced program though. I failed the test on purpose and the teacher figured it out. I simply told her I didn't want to be in it and she respected my wishes. Funny thing is if I had gone into it, I would have missed a bunch of music classes including a couple of the defining moments that prepared me for percussion. I wonder how different I'd be today had I gone into that program.

I was "unmotivated" I guess. I actually got in trouble earlier this year because a teacher saw a post I had made in the music theory thread on here and asked me why I couldn't write that much on a book she knew I had read. I said something about not being driven when it's being rewarded with numbers and I'm really not that interested. I got a detention.

I was organized and everything when I was in band but other than that, I wasn't. Actually I had finished the band class about a week before I had to. The teacher was assigning things to do and had left me out. Noticing me, he said "Hmmm Shadow...... I want you to fight anyone who you thinks deserves it" "Heck yes" and I'd randomly go up to people "Let's go!" but he and I were only kidding. Actually if it weren't for him I would have dropped out in sheer boredom. He helped me see that as dumb as high school and stuff is, I should decide to do it so I have an easier time getting to a place where I can make music.

I have no idea how much of that related to the thread.

 

[Soledad]

I never had a problem at grade school because I knew what I was doing (=getting it done to get to college). College has been different for me because I get to decide what I want out of life, and man!, I still don't know what kind of job I want to do afterward. I am so free-sprited that I am pretty much late for most lecture classes, or don't attend any at all if it's too early in the morning, caring more about the contents of the subjects themselves than the grades I will get. Last semester I got an F in Greek and Biblical mythology which means I'd have to retake the subject to gain enough credits granted (and in order to graduate). My grades aren't as extraordinary as when they were in high school years, but I am not stressing about it because I'd like to broaden my vision of the world first and learning never stops. Now I'm one step closer because I just discovered a week ago that I am an INTP. It's really no wonder why I am the way I am!

 

[KazeCraven]

I put too much faith in the system, I think. I made getting into college a big deal, and I made a good faith attempt on most assignments, so I ended up doing quite well in most all classes. The only thing I considerably slacked off on was studying, and for good reason.

Then again, I think the archetypes that MBTI gets from its test results is just plain dumb. I only consider myself 'NT' because I love theories and... well, maybe this needs its own thread.

This thread is pretty old anyway.

 

[MrSandman]

I could use some help with this perpetual pain in my ass people call the educational system, actually.

It all started in first grade. I and everyone else in my class obeyed our teacher, following her every instruction word by word. One day, I forgot to complete a homework assignment. I felt immured with fear as I walked into school. As the teacher took attendance and checked our homework, I tried with every facet of my being to hold back the tears. Then, it happened. I didn't have the homework when she checked! She was astounded, the class was astounded, the teacher's aide was astounded. But that's ALL that happened. There was no lashing, no excommunicating, no shooting. NOTHING happened.

From then on I continued to perform dis-honorably in school. I had always picked up on concepts incredibly quickly. That which took hours for some took me mere minutes. Homework, essays and projects just seemed like trivial, useless time killers. Luckily, my 90+ test grades offset the zeroes I'd get on homework, essays, etc. I was fine and dandy with my grades until high school, where these "not-tests" as I like to call them were heavily weighted. Bs and Cs became Cs and Ds.

For all of Freshmen/Sophomore year, I'd get 2.0 - 2.5. At first, my family was disappointed, saying that I "wasn't living up to my potential" or that I "was much smarter than this". Then, they took a different approach, saying that I was “stupid” or that I was “never going to be anything”. Come junior year, I decided to break the pattern. I put about 20% more effort into school and ended up bagging a 4.0.
I wish I could say I did this for the sake of learning or increasing my abysmal class rank, but I can’t. I’ve come to realize that the only reason I did well in school was for the comedic value of seeing my family’s reaction to honorsocietyesque grades coming from the consummate underachiever. When I had my fun, I went right back to sucking! I had set the high score, right? Why beat it? Hell, I almost failed English senior year because of my academic tendencies to not do “not-tests” in a class that was all “not-tests”.

I’d be kidding myself if I were to say that this crisis wouldn’t follow me into to college (I’m going to CCRI. “RI” stands for Rhode Island, and I’ll let you guess what “CC” stands for based on my performance in highschool). How do I stop what happened in elementary/middle/high school from happening in college? What motivates you/how do you stay motivated in school? Why can’t I just do my work the day before it’s due rather than the day after it’s due when I’d use the same amount of time in both situations anyways? How do I break this mindset?

 

[vavel7]

One thing i always had a problem with was my lazyness. Ok, well, the teachers mostly had a problem with it
In what was interesting i got god grades, in other things i got medium grades, but i never worked for school (except when it genuinely interested me). I seldomly had done my homework, and for exams i didn't really learn.
But i got through not too badly.
In university now i see the same behaviour, although sometimes i have to work (for example now, for a 10page-paper), and that is pretty annoying^
I wonder if i will ever learn some self-discipline...

Ogion

Yep, that sounds too familiar.I always had just good enough grades and my teachers always said that I have great potential but I'm lazy, if only I tried harder...
I did "learn" some "self-discipline" finally but this happened only when I became really insired. I think it was my Ni that really shouted outloud! It was a unique time in my life and I seriouly doubt if it is possible to ever experience anything like this again to the same extent (I'll always remember that moment).

Luckily, I found an academic-mentor that was interested in those things that I'd become so passionate about so this wave that I got myself into produced something useful for my CV through his work. Unfortunately, my "official" grades in my degrees have never been high for the same reasons that everyone describes. I only blossomed when I got involved into resarch projects and especially in my doctoral studies! I'm now really working in my studies for only one reason... to find my way in academia, it's the only environment that despite its problems, I'll be able to breath.

 

[Hysteresis]

In school, I just pulled out regular Bs and Cs without doing anything. Occasionally a project would come along that I actually found myself interested in and I would get 100% on it. The teachers all thought I could get A grades easily if I just applied myself. I kind of agree with that, but I never really did apply myself, because for the most part, I had little interest in what was on the syllabus of whatever subject.

I understood the importance of grades, but didn't really like the system. As was mentioned earlier in the thread, INTPs tend to do things on their own terms. I almost never did homework, as it didn't count towards grades, and I preferred to keep my school time and free time separate. I believe that grades aren't a measure of intelligence, but how much bullshit one can put up with. Problem for me was that a lot of people were judging intelligence and ability based on these grades.

I always showed respect to the teachers. They ask a favour, I do it. They say jump, I say how high. They were authority, whether I liked it or not. I also respected them for having to put up with some utter idiots, not just from my class but from the entire school.

Fortunately for me, In a couple of days I'm going to start my A-level courses, where grades actually matter. I chose English literature, Economics, Maths and Psychology. These are all subjects that I'm actually interested in, so I know I'll end up with good grades. More to the point, I'll enjoy them.

 

[Words]

Hmmm.....yeah~

.."I hate school" was my motto. Though I learned that it was all through the conditioning of addictive videogames, social expectations and my own unwillingness to view it with a second eye.

I can say that, like most examples here, I have learned not to do tedious homeworks; I have learned not to worry about those numbers. The separating factor however is that I did not academically progressed as easily. failed, failed failed. But I didn't really care, I just wanted to sleep and go home.

 

[DesertSmeagle]

My first day of college is tommorow. Im scared of failing, i hope i do ok. But in highschool, i really was kinda lazy and didnt try. Finished with a B though..I wonder what i could have done if i studied..Id just get really good grades on the papers. I got through my Advanced English class without reading one of the books. And we read like 6 books..I actually read 1, which was Anthem by Ayn Rand, it was really good..Can anyone give me a realistic view of the difficulty of college?

 

[Ermine]

My first day of college is tommorow. Im scared of failing, i hope i do ok. But in highschool, i really was kinda lazy and didnt try. Finished with a B though..I wonder what i could have done if i studied..Id just get really good grades on the papers. I got through my Advanced English class without reading one of the books. And we read like 6 books..I actually read 1, which was Anthem by Ayn Rand, it was really good..Can anyone give me a realistic view of the difficulty of college?

I'm going into my 3rd semester in a little more than a week. Assuming you're about as smart as I am, and given your work ethic in high school, you'll probably need to step it up a notch. I'm assuming you're going to college because you want to go to college. Just remember to act like it, even though there are easy lecture style general ed classes. Unless you're an expert in a class you're taking, I highly suggest reading the required material, participating in the class, doing the homework, and actually studying for the tests. But at least there isn't any busy work in college. It's all there for a legitimate reason.

Another thing to consider is that there are plenty of scholarships out there based on your academic performance. College GPA can also be weighty on a resume.

Just act like you care, and I guarantee you'll profit from it.

 

[dreamoftheunknown]

I could use some help with this perpetual pain in my ass people call the educational system, actually.

It all started in first grade. I and everyone else in my class obeyed our teacher, following her every instruction word by word. One day, I forgot to complete a homework assignment. I felt immured with fear as I walked into school. As the teacher took attendance and checked our homework, I tried with every facet of my being to hold back the tears. Then, it happened. I didn't have the homework when she checked! She was astounded, the class was astounded, the teacher's aide was astounded. But that's ALL that happened. There was no lashing, no excommunicating, no shooting. NOTHING happened.

From then on I continued to perform dis-honorably in school. I had always picked up on concepts incredibly quickly. That which took hours for some took me mere minutes. Homework, essays and projects just seemed like trivial, useless time killers. Luckily, my 90+ test grades offset the zeroes I'd get on homework, essays, etc. I was fine and dandy with my grades until high school, where these "not-tests" as I like to call them were heavily weighted. Bs and Cs became Cs and Ds.

For all of Freshmen/Sophomore year, I'd get 2.0 - 2.5. At first, my family was disappointed, saying that I "wasn't living up to my potential" or that I "was much smarter than this". Then, they took a different approach, saying that I was “stupid” or that I was “never going to be anything”. Come junior year, I decided to break the pattern. I put about 20% more effort into school and ended up bagging a 4.0.
I wish I could say I did this for the sake of learning or increasing my abysmal class rank, but I can’t. I’ve come to realize that the only reason I did well in school was for the comedic value of seeing my family’s reaction to honorsocietyesque grades coming from the consummate underachiever. When I had my fun, I went right back to sucking! I had set the high score, right? Why beat it? Hell, I almost failed English senior year because of my academic tendencies to not do “not-tests” in a class that was all “not-tests”.

I’d be kidding myself if I were to say that this crisis wouldn’t follow me into to college (I’m going to CCRI. “RI” stands for Rhode Island, and I’ll let you guess what “CC” stands for based on my performance in highschool). How do I stop what happened in elementary/middle/high school from happening in college? What motivates you/how do you stay motivated in school? Why can’t I just do my work the day before it’s due rather than the day after it’s due when I’d use the same amount of time in both situations anyways? How do I break this mindset?

I was kind of like that from like 3rd grade to 5th grade. I couldn't bring myself to care about my grades or much of anything dealing with school. I remember that once in 3rd grade, the teacher asked the class if they all wanted to do some work (an odd question), and I was the only kid who said "No." Of course, that meant that I was the only one who didn't get a recess. They had these games that they wanted us to play that I might have found interesting on my own, but I didn't think that I should have been forced to play them. By that point, my parents were either too busy fighting amongst themselves or fighting with my sister to pay attention to what I did. Left to my own devices, not surprisingly, I didn't do much of anything. It didn't help that all of my family, teachers, and fellow students all believed that I was stupid. I'm not sure exactly how I grew out of it, but it was a slow process. I had a different teacher in 4th grade, who was nice and was able to get me to do my homework somehow. But in 5th grade, I had had the same teacher for world history that I had had in 3rd grade, and my grades tanked. I was doing okay for a while. I turned in an excellent midterm project for that teacher that she gave one of the highest marks in the class. But after that, for whatever reason (either I got complacent or I couldn't stand the teacher), I just couldn't bring myself to care. By this point, I had developed my love for reading, and really, all I wanted to do was to read my books. Needless to say, that year didn't end very well. For some reason (perhaps because I got tired of being called stupid), in 6th grade, I decided that I wanted a clean slate and that I wanted to get good grades. After I got straight A's the first quarter, I missed a couple of history assignments and my grades fell. Not only did the teacher embarrass me in class, my classmates got on my case even though my grade was still the highest. From then on, I kept my grades up, and they all shut up. [Plus, the teachers were a little lenient about my tendency to read books in class when my grades were high, as long as I didn't do it while they were lecturing.] It wasn't until the next year, when my sister was applying for college and I was trying to get into the magnet middle school, that I actually realized that those grades do have consequences. So, I kept my grades up, went to the magnet schools, and took the hardest classes available to challenge myself. I had high grades, and I ended up going to one of the top universities in the country.