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I’m glad I was an outcast in middle school in hindsight. It prepared me for being okay with some social isolation required in college to study like crazy and en

I’m glad I was an outcast in middle school in hindsight. It prepared me for being okay with some social isolation required in college to study like crazy and end up with a great career.

skavi 3y ago
I assume you mean such social isolation was required for you? I know a fair number of people who were able to study like crazy while maintaining a rich social life.
fnordpiglet 3y ago
Agreed but I wish I hadn’t suffered. I plan to do something like take my daughter out of school and home school for those years or live internationally. She is both attractive and athletic, but I wouldn’t want her to be on the other side of the equation either.
- orev 3y ago
  I understand the desire to protect your children from having bad experiences, but isn’t that exactly the time when she would need to start learning how to handle these things on her own? If you isolate her, how’s she going to learn how to handle the politics of high school, college, and adult work life? At what point do you decide to throw her back into the pool, that’s now full of peers who already had the chance to figure out how to navigate the social intricacies? It seems like providing open communication and support for her struggles would be more constructive for her future.
  - fnordpiglet 3y ago
    I didn’t find middle school behavior to be particularly material for further social interactions in life. High school, college, yes. Pubescent bullies and cliques? Not so much. Puberty is hard enough without swimming in a sea of it. My experience was middle school was nothing like high school, college, or life afterwards. It was like some weird collective psychotic break for a few years then everyone went back to being normal. Sounds like a great time to explore the world and gain social skills that way.
- porkbeer 3y ago
  My parents did this to me. Please don't. It was a huge burden on my social development at a critical time. The trials and tribulations of school suck, but are needed challenges in a teens life.
deleted 3y ago
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Waterluvian 3y ago
It’s a bit of a false dichotomy. Perhaps it can be a silver lining, though.
hackernewds 3y ago
What is the opportunity cost though? Guess we'll never know without a control group, but possible to do both
Aurornis 3y ago
> It prepared me for being okay with some social isolation required in college to study like crazy and end up with a great career. I’m glad it worked out for you, but social isolation isn’t the only way to study and land a good career. Even my friends at notoriously difficult universities had good social lives as long as they had a modicum of time management.

I’m glad I was an outcast in middle school in hindsight. It prepared me for being okay with some social isolation required in college to study like crazy and end up with a great career.

skavi 3y ago

I assume you mean such social isolation was required for you? I know a fair number of people who were able to study like crazy while maintaining a rich social life.

fnordpiglet 3y ago

Agreed but I wish I hadn’t suffered. I plan to do something like take my daughter out of school and home school for those years or live internationally. She is both attractive and athletic, but I wouldn’t want her to be on the other side of the equation either.

orev 3y ago
I understand the desire to protect your children from having bad experiences, but isn’t that exactly the time when she would need to start learning how to handle these things on her own? If you isolate her, how’s she going to learn how to handle the politics of high school, college, and adult work life? At what point do you decide to throw her back into the pool, that’s now full of peers who already had the chance to figure out how to navigate the social intricacies? It seems like providing open communication and support for her struggles would be more constructive for her future.
- fnordpiglet 3y ago
  I didn’t find middle school behavior to be particularly material for further social interactions in life. High school, college, yes. Pubescent bullies and cliques? Not so much. Puberty is hard enough without swimming in a sea of it. My experience was middle school was nothing like high school, college, or life afterwards. It was like some weird collective psychotic break for a few years then everyone went back to being normal. Sounds like a great time to explore the world and gain social skills that way.
porkbeer 3y ago
My parents did this to me. Please don't. It was a huge burden on my social development at a critical time. The trials and tribulations of school suck, but are needed challenges in a teens life.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

Waterluvian 3y ago

It’s a bit of a false dichotomy. Perhaps it can be a silver lining, though.

hackernewds 3y ago

What is the opportunity cost though? Guess we'll never know without a control group, but possible to do both

Aurornis 3y ago

> It prepared me for being okay with some social isolation required in college to study like crazy and end up with a great career. I’m glad it worked out for you, but social isolation isn’t the only way to study and land a good career. Even my friends at notoriously difficult universities had good social lives as long as they had a modicum of time management.