An old prompt, I chose mathematics

Posted on May 5, 2025May 5, 2025 Posted in UncategorizedTagged arithmetic, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1890, dyscalculia, exams, Learning, mathematics, People, School9 Comments

What’s something most people don’t understand?

I’ve been wondering what to write for this prompt, and I realise that apart from basic addition (arithmetic) people struggle with calculations and formulas.

I was dropped down into the CSE group when I did maths at school. In the end that did me a favour. The exam was like a normal lesson and I got an o level pass.

I just about understood quadratic equations but never liked having to go through the stages of the calculations. I could follow logarithms, but never did calculus. My understanding of sine, co-sine and tangents left something to be desired.

But at least I understood numbers. There is something like dyslexia that some people have, it’s called dyscalculia. As people become aware of it, it might explain why they struggle.

Nostalgia, schooltime

Posted on May 2, 2025 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged childhood comprehensive, CSE, lessons, Life, Nostalgia, o levels, SchoolLeave a comment

The world was simple once. No one had smartphones. If you wanted to find something out you either looked it up in a book at home, in the library or looked in an encyclopedia at school. I’m remembering my school now.

Lessons were many and varied. We had a choice of Art, Biology, Human Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, History, Pottery, Woodwork, Domestic science, Technical drawing, Sewing (can’t remember what it was called), Geography, French, German, Spanish, Music, Sport science, English language, English Literature. At “O” level or CSE.

These were the days when Comprehensive schools had recently been created and our school had been amalgamated from two other senior schools. I found out later that our area was well thought of and the money used gave us standards equivalent to London and Edinburgh! We had an orchestra and other clubs. Computing was just coming in but I never used one. We still had exercise books and biros and pencils.

The school had a swimming bath, sports hall, science and art blocks and a music block later on.

We were just normal council house kids, we were really lucky to have a wonderful school. I remember my time there with mostly joy.

Art

Posted on November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2115, junior school, Life, Memory, Painting, Pencils, School, Time2 Comments

What was your favorite subject in school?

I’ve loved art since I was a child. In fact, at school I would finish paintings ahead of everyone else in my class. One day I painted the wooden bit of my pencils to match the coloured part of them. I actually got in trouble for doing that. But I was bored. I got sent to see the headmaster (I was about 7),but ran into the cloakroom and hid. I was fetched back to class in tears and very upset. So much so my class thought I’d been smacked for painting the pencils! I was too upset to tell them what had really happened. I still loved art though!

Crushed!

Posted on June 19, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged boy, class, crush, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1974, Life, lone ranger, Memories, School, slade, Starsky and Hutch2 Comments

Write about your first crush.

My first crush was a boy in my Junior school. I think I was about 9?

For one year he was in my class. He was tall, I think he had dark blond hair. It was the time of the Lone Ranger on TV and he reminded me of him.

No notes were passed, no looks exchanged, but I would sit behind him in class and listen to him when he answered the questions the teacher asked us.

Time went by. I was wearing glasses by then and had to put up with being called “specky four eyes!” and nasty names because my surname wasn’t Smith or Jones. I wanted him to come to my rescue but he never did. Eventually it was the end of the year. He was put in a different class. I had to get on with life. But then I fell in love with Slade the Rock Band, or was it Starsky and Hutch? Anyway I moved on. And no I actually wasn’t crushed but it made a good title!

Good question

Posted on April 11, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Art, Biology, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1905, Learning, Memory, School, Sixth form, Time12 Comments

Describe something you learned in high school.

I’m not sure what high school is? When I was at school we went to primary, then secondary school. The top (final year) was the sixth form where you took your final exams.

One of those was biology, we studied a lot of information, photosynthesis, stomata in leaves (the holes underneath leaves that allow gases in and out. Things like the function of the kidney (was there something called a glomerulus?), the layers of skin, probably the structure of the eye? I think liking art helped because I could draw diagrams.

I enjoyed biology and am glad I chose it as one of my subjects.

An art school?

Posted on March 30, 2024 Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged art school, Challenge, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1893, Idea, Life, Name, Reuse, School, Thought2 Comments

If you could have something named after you, what would it be?

I’d like to be able to open an art school for anyone that wants to be involved. If I had the money to open it, it would be free to artists and art enthusiasts.

Would I name it after me? Possibly. Or call it the CMB art school. I would like to think that it would encourage creativity in all aspects of art. I have an idea of saving a derelict building for perpetuity and the school would be housed within it.

I would also try and involve local schools to seed the idea of arts and crafts in the children’s minds. It’s a pipe dream. But I like it.

My Geography teacher

Posted on March 22, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1885, geo politics, Geography, Influence, Learning, Memory, School, teacherLeave a comment

Who was your most influential teacher? Why?

My geography teacher influenced me a great deal. I can’t remember his name and I gave up geography when I had to choose my subjects for my exams. I couldn’t carry on because the lessons clashed with art which was always going to be my main subject.

The reason for the influential effect was the thoughtfulness of the teacher. We learnt a broad range of things from the crops some countries grew, to vulcanism, plate tectonics, details of maps, and lots of other information. The lessons were interesting, the teacher got our attention. He explained things clearly, he was patient and understanding. We got an insight into the geo politics of the world.

I wish I could remember his name but despite my poor memory I think he was most influential.

Leaving school

Posted on February 28, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged Cleaning, College, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-1862, jobs, Learning, leaving home, Memory, School, Time, waitressLeave a comment

Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

When I left school all those years ago I remember feeling like I was falling off a cliff. Hard to change my life.

Everything had been about learning, getting up every day, going to classes, coming home, doing homework. Trying to make the switch to ‘real life’ was a shock. I knew the times I worked would be different, but I got a couple of part time jobs cleaning and waitressing so I was not free to enjoy weekends or evenings anymore. This got worse as I went to college in the following autumn so I was trying to fit in my college work and my jobs and trying to get some work life balance.

I managed the change in my life OK after a few months but strangely it was hard to say goodbye to. I was still with my family and friends. The next year I left home. That was the real shock to my system.

Art

Posted on November 10, 2023 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged accomplished, Art, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2115, Design, Learning, Life, Prompt, School, Subject2 Comments

What was your favorite subject in school?

Forever and ever, Art.

Art at school. I studied many other subjects but Art had my soul from four or five. I used to hang my drawings on strings across my bedroom because I didn’t have enough wall space. My mom would show off my Art to visitors to the house. School sent one of my paintings to our twin town in Germany where it was exhibited. I was asked to do a portrait of a group of school children when a headmistress was leaving.

Art wasn’t the thing to do in many ways. I needed to support my family as we went though some bad times, but my mother supported my wish to go to college. I felt so lucky to be allowed to leave home and learn more about art.

I found out that my ability helped in other aspects of life and jobs. I notice things others miss. I can look at the world and imagine it as a painting. I am good at colour matching, composition, I love to experiment and being an artist makes me more involved in lots of ideas and thoughts.

Would I recommend studying Art to someone? Definitely, cover other bases too, but it has made me a well rounded person. Career choices could be architect, designer, print maker, painter, technical design, surface pattern, ceramicist, sculptor, editor, illustrator, graphic designer, digital media, computer game design, and many more subjects. Go for it if you can. X

I don’t know

Posted on August 23, 2023August 23, 2023 Posted in UncategorizedTagged archer, Baker, Bandit, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2037, origins, School, surname, Time, what's in a name2 Comments

Where did your name come from?

If I had a name like Archer or Baker I could assume my name had come down from the work my family used to do. Archer could be a soldier or hunter, Baker a cook or a bread maker.

But where does Mallaband or Brown come from? One is a strange name the other ubiquitous. Mallaband was a name that got me bullied at school. If I had a ‘normal’ name I think I would have been overlooked.

When I was little I thought Mallaband could be broken down into Mal la band. I thought it might mean ‘the bad band’. I decided we must have been part of a group of French bandits! What an odd thought.

Later I heard we might have a Yorkshire connections. But this was only a suggestion and there was no indication where it came from. I could join a genealogy website. But I don’t know if it would be something I would be interested in.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: School