The reality is, if you intend to succeed, you cannot rely on the classroom to give you what you need to know.
This is true is any situation, from the lowest, most sadly run-down public school to the poshiest, most blue-blood private academies with the golden keys to the city; education does NOT begin or start with the class bell. It is a personal discipline, and will only give to you what you put into it.
That translates as personal sacrifice, personal study, and personal endurance for the purpose of learning. The more subjects you master and immerse yourself in, the more your mind becomes capable taking on new interests, and the more likely you will be to succeed in the areas of education, and the world which opens up to the educated (and not the merely "diploma'd").
To that end, we start with small baby steps. Your heart may not quicken when reading of the struggles people of the past have endured for the sake of their civilizations, of the heartbreaking defeats, the glorious victories, the intrigue, the romance, the betrayals, the murders of the ages. That's alright; some things are an acquired taste. The important thing to know is that, as with food, the larger and more sophisticated the range of your palate, the more mature and seasoned your taste becomes. The value of such taste extends far beyond pleasing your parents or your teachers, and even beyond getting into the right school or getting a scholarship; educated thinkers are valued so highly exactly because, apart from the practical uses of education, the soul which develops a yearning for knowledge in all fields is usually a soul which is full of the wonder of God's creation, and thus resides in a person who generally dedicates their lives to the Good, the True, and Beauty.
What's all this about? Well, Borders is going out of business, and that means there's a chance to catch some good deals on books which delve into topics you might otherwise only glance at in the course of your normal history class. Go get a book on the life of Charlemagne ($9), pick up a tome filled with the speeches of Winston Churchill ($15) or read about the driving psychosis behind the assassination of President Lincoln ($10). Enrich yourself; and if you don't use Borders today, find them on Amazon tomorrow. You'll never even begin to fully appreciate the life, struggle, and death of the people of Constantinople until until you invest a day or two and read their story for yourself.
My recent scores (and preemptive recommendations...):
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (fair warning - I have heard that the historicity of this is questionable to say the least. Probably still a fun read, if only as an exercise in when history goes wrong...)
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