Actually...

I just thought about it, and I should probably expand on what I think about school.

Now, I'm not sure what sort of degree my cousin Kevin has (it might be a 2 year, it might have somethign to do with his time in the military) but I believe I am the first male Kelly to have graduated from College (assuming I do not fail my French final or Writing in Cyberspace, which I do not see happening). This doesn't really make me feel important or special, considering the degree of success members of my family have experienced without formal education. For instance my father is the manager of Radiation Control and Protection, Health and Safety, and Enivronmentals for General Dynamics Electric Boat. I think he wanted to get a degree in anthropology.

Does this mean I don't value education? No, but I do abhor schools. I can count on one hand (maybe one and a half) the number of teachers I've found truly valuable- and considering one or two teachers a year for K-6, and 5 or 6 teachers a year for 7-12, and numerous teachers per semester for four and a half years of college...Well, the track record for teachers is pretty bad. Maybe I'm a tough audience. Or maybe they're not as heroic as they're always claiming.

Now this doesn't mean that all the other teachers were incompetent. I just feel that as individuals they offered very little that could not be had elsewhere. I remember in eleventh grade I skipped school for a day to read a Stephen Hawking book (Brief History of the Universe). What I want out of a teacher is an experience and a lesson that I can't be getting somewhere else, or even by myself.

I will miss Cortland, but for very specific reasons. Raquette Lake, meetings with my writing teachers to workshop pieces, workshops in general, putting together the magazine. All good things. I won't miss attendance policies, bullshit busy work, bureaucrats, poorly ventilated buildings, or really anything else.

Friday

Today is Friday, as I'm sure you've noticed. What is special about this particular Friday is that it was my last day of classes ever.

Ever.

Unless I go to Graduate school, I am now offically done with being in school. I can finish my wiki entries, my reader responses, study for my French final, and consider myself a fully educated human. Not fully learned, but fully educated (quite a difference).

And I can honestly say: Fuck school.

In good news, UPD randomly called me and told that they "still" had my flash drive. I was unaware that they had it in the first place, but what a pleasant surprise.