✳flâneur — a map of the web's best reading

11 behaviours punished in school -- but rewarded in adulthood.

substack.com · 1,362 words · saved by 1 readers

One strange realisation as you get older: A lot of the behaviours you were punished for in school are rewarded in adulthood, and a lot of the behaviours you were rewarded for in school are punished in adulthood. A large part of adulthood isn't learning anything new; it's just unlearning lessons from school, debugging the code the education system has written in your head—line by line, habit by habit, assumption by assumption. Here’s a list of behaviours punished in school — but rewarded in adulthood: 1. Questioning the highest status person in the room - At school, it’s easy to see your teachers as gods that can’t be questioned. That’s the default assumption the school whispers to you: teachers are the highest-status people in the room. One of the biggest red pill moments comes in your early 20s. A person you know who is lost and confused says to you: “I’m unsure what to do with my life, so I’m going to become a teacher. It’s got great holidays!” You then do the mental maths: “What %

11 behaviours punished in school -- but rewarded in adulthood. I left the education system. But the education system did not leave me. George Mack Aug 20, 2025 445 35 88 Share You may have left the education system. But did the education system leave you? One strange realisation as you get older: A lot of the behaviours you were punished for in school are rewarded in adulthood, and a lot of the behaviours you were rewarded for in school are punished in adulthood. A large part of adulthood isn't learning anything new; it's just unlearning lessons from school, debugging the code the education sy

Explore this link on the map →

related reading