Founder's Diary #6 - Long Hours, Performance Pressure, Overwhelm and Shutdown.
I can't believe I still have to WORK?! OMG must I really labour all day?!
For the period between 1995 - 2000, when I was aged 11 years old to 16 years old, I woke up every day at 6am to go to school. I woke up alone, and in the dark, to get myself dressed, pack my own bag and walk to the bus stop to wait in the freezing cold for the school bus.
My school day started at 8.30am and ended at 4.30pm. We had 20 mins for breakfast and 40 mins for lunch -there was a rumour going around the school that that was the legal minimum. We had two lessons per day - one from 8.30am til 12pm, and one from 12pm to 4.30pm. For the subjects they deemed unimportant, like Religious Ed, they'd squeeze two lessons in an afternoon.
When you were in Year 10, it was compulsory to stay over at school til 5.3opm for extra study one night a week. In Year 11, they ramped it up to two. Because I also played a lot of sport, I often didn't get home til 7 or 8pm before collapsing into bed.
When I look back I realise now how much I was groomed for corporate labour because I was working full time hours from my pre-teens. That said, I won Sports Personality of the Year and I also secured 11 GCES Passes. So I guess it all paid off?
In 1995, this school set up was mind-blowing to people. It was one of the first CTC (City Technology Colleges) in the country and a precursor to the academy/charter system. It was free for everyone attend but not government run (ie not a state school) and it got a lot of haters. It probably took away my childhood, but what it gave me in return was this insane work ethic. The kind of work ethic that means I am able to get a lot done in short period of time.
