We were reminded by Professor John MacBeath of Cambridge University at a recent conference of the differences between the aspirations and realities of school life.
The Peanuts cartoon strip by Charles Schultz, he recalled, notes: “I learnt something in school today. I signed up for folk guitar, computer programming, stained glass art, shoemaking and a natural foods workshop. I got spelling, history, arithmetic and two study periods.”
“What did you learn?”
“I learnt that what you sign up for and what you get are two different things.”