h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey...would you mind answering a set of questions about your highschool career?
SuperMoo

I wouldn't mind.

What are your questions?

okay...thanks...here they are...

1. How important were grades for you when you were in high school?

2. Tell me a time in high school when you studied a long time for a certain test.

3. How much effort did you put in your classes? Can you tell me of an instance when you put much effort into a certain assignment or project?

4. How much did you work for grades and how did it affect your social life?

5. Who was the most important person to you at school (peer, teacher, etc.).

6. Which teacher inspired you most in school and how?

7. Can you recall an incident of bullying where you were involved?

8. Recall a memorable experience with friends that you will never forget.

9. Can you recall a high school dance you attended? Specifically what about that event made it memorable?

10. Did you have much school pride in high school? What special activities did you participate in that showed this?

11. What clubs, sports, or music programs did you participate in during your high school years, and what did you do in them? (You may have to repeat this question again since the answers may be quite long for some interviewees).

12. Did you go to parties often in high school? What specifically did you do at these parties?

13. Do you look back fondly on your high school experience- Why or why not?

14. After reminiscing over your relationships, classes, and experiences, which of them have influenced you the most and how?

. How important were grades for you when you were in high school?

Very important. I wanted to get into a good college and escape from the boring small town I lived in.

2. Tell me a time in high school when you studied a long time for a certain test.

It's been too long since I was there. I can't remember. We had a strict teacher in biology and chemistry, so I always put in a lot of effort studying for tests in those subjects, but I don't remember any one test.

3. How much effort did you put in your classes? Can you tell me of an instance when you put much effort into a certain assignment or project?

Mostly I just kept up with the readings in English and history and the science courses. By keeping up with the classes, I didn't need to cram for exams at the end of the terms. I listened to my language lab records/tapes at night so I'd be able to keep up in Latin and French. I remember a very important paper that my Junior-year English teacher assigned. I was analyzing the cultural significance of the comic strips that I read in our newspaper.

4. How much did you work for grades and how did it affect your social life?

Social life? What's that? There weren't even any kids in my neighborhood to play with. As I said earlier, good grades were my ticket out of that place. Social life could wait.

5. Who was the most important person to you at school (peer, teacher, etc.).

Well, there was Karen, who was cute and blond. There was Nick, who was my lab partner in my biology class and probably had an I.Q. that was off the charts. There were a lot of classmates that I liked. I liked most of my teachers too. I didn't care much for the coach or the administators. They ran the place too much like a prison.

6. Which teacher inspired you most in school and how?

Probably the Junior-year English teacher, who seemed to have a pretty good perspective on life. He later gave up teaching and became a very famous writer, some of whose books were made into movies. He taught us a lot about rhetoric. He had an enormous amount of common sense.
He never talked down to us. There was always a sense that our lives were ours to live; that we were intelligent enough to make our own decisions.

7. Can you recall an incident of bullying where you were involved?

Yes, but the bully involved didn't have a friend in the world. He bothered *everyone,* and disappeared before long.

8. Recall a memorable experience with friends that you will never forget.

Sorry, it's been too long. I remember a few incidents with friends in college, but not in high school.

9. Can you recall a high school dance you attended? Specifically what about that event made it memorable?

I was a rotten dancer. I made it a point not to go to any dances. I did go to the Roman Banquet, and there was some dancing there, so I faked it as best I could.

10. Did you have much school pride in high school? What special activities did you participate in that showed this?

I had a lot of school pride. I wrote a school song.

11. What clubs, sports, or music programs did you participate in during your high school years, and what did you do in them? (You may have to repeat this question again since the answers may be quite long for some interviewees).

I auditioned for the class play every year, landing parts in three of them. I sang in a couple of operettas. I was in Concert Choir and Chorus, and All-State Chorus. I was on the staff of the school newspaper. I was in Assemblies Incorporated, which put on skits at assemblies, and also spoke on the loudspeaker. I participated in the regional Math Fair.

12. Did you go to parties often in high school? What specifically did you do at these parties?

I went to quite a few parties, because I was in so many plays. Cast parties are really cool.

13. Do you look back fondly on your high school experience- Why or why not?

Yes, I look back fondly. I had a lot more friends in high school than I did in grammar school. I had lots of outlets for creativity.

14. After reminiscing over your relationships, classes, and experiences, which of them have influenced you the most and how?

I've learned a lot of valuable life lessons from knowing so many different people, and seeing how they fared in school and afterwards.

thanks a lot...in case you were wondering this was for my psychology class, we've been learning about different types of studies...

Well, now you know that I'm now because I was then as well.