#any study advice we got in big assemblies didnt acknowledge that some of us have no motivation

[moonmoonthecrabking]

every so often i remember "skills" which was this thing my school introduced when i was like 13 that replaced scripture half the time for students in years 7-9. i thought this was fucking stupid because of something something state religion guidelines and everyone vehemently hated the concept. AND THEN they introduced "skills" 6/10 weeks a term and it made me want to commit arson. they were theoretically teaching us about "study skills" (which we had heard before and we not at all helpful) and "growth mindset" (my school was so focussed on growth mindset at the time it was hell and that was with the least growth mindset teacher it was nuts). these activities had very "don't be anxious" energy to children who were struggling with their mental health and teaching use language concepts we should have learnt in english class. thanks, i hate it.

so they were cycled in our "core classes" (the group of 30 we had for english, science, history/geography, and pdhpe). my class' first week was with the school's principal. you think this would be reasonable right? right? wrong. she taught us about "left brain and right brain". this was genuinely less accurate than the bo burnham song. it was some bullshit about which side is bigger and how you can tell which you are using your fingernails and are you more logical and creative.

here's what i find interesting. when i graduated, the school had a focus on "high potential learners" (i played egg shakers at the open day so i heard her 10 minute long speech). this was also at a time that there was a big risk of the top-level music class not running. i personally believe that logic and creativity are inextricably linked. you may not find the artistry in maths or science or economics, but there are people who do. you may not find the rationale behind paintings or songs or design, but there are people who do. logic and creativity are not contradictory. however, if you don't support the arts in schools, if you don't pay attention to the studies that indicate how playing an instrument improves mental function, if you don't see to how logic and creativity play into each other, what then?

i in no way hate my former principal, she was a lovely person and i do believe that she cared for her students. that being said, we aren't really two. we are wholly ourselves, and you can't suppress one part without it effecting the other. the less we valued the arts (and mental health but that's a whole other fucking story), the more our state ranks dropped.

logic and creativity matter. mental health matters. that's the moral of this story.