Such, Such Were the Joys

Though the situations were entirely different, elements of Orwell's essay on his school days rang true for me too. The practice of memorising certain facts and passages in preparation for exams rather than actually engaging with the subject certainly existed 15-20 years ago in Ireland. I suspect it still does.

Orwell does a magnificent job of writing about the complexities of being a child trying to understand the world around him, giving voice to thoughts I'm not sure I ever considered. It was certainly a timely read personally, as my 5 year old son starts school this week. Thankfully, times have obviously changed for the better, but I do wonder how my son will view this new world.