Ah, MSH, let me put it in clearer terms. High School did more damage to me than it did benefit, on pretty much every level. Academically, I got worse. Socially, I got worse. Psychologically, I got worse. The only social lesson I had reinforced by high school was avoidance, and that did nothing beneficial. Pretty much every gain I've had related to what you're talking about either occurred outside of high school entirely, outside of normal classes, or after I got out -- as near as I can tell, I'd probably be notably more psychologically stable and socially able if I had avoided more of the experience.
Pretty much this. HS provided nothing to me but misery and terrible experiences, and deeply exacerbated the mountain of personal issues from my home life as well. How I see it is, if you're a normal person, you're good; if you're not, HS is there to fuck you and permanently ingrain into you that you're different and an outsider in society. I would give anything if I could somehow erase those years from my life.
I'm by no means normal and High School was good for me.
It was in highschool I learned what, prescisely, WAS normal, and how to pantomime it to get into where I wanted to go. If you don't think that knowing how to pretend to fit in isn't one of the most useful social skills out there you have another thing coming. Elementary school is for learning to play nice. Middle school is for learning how to fight with words (sometimes). High School is for learning how to bide your time, and strike when the time is right.
Maneuverability in the social medium is more vital than knowing where you'll be happy. Because if you can't move your station, how can you find where you fit in? What if what makes you happy changes?
I also learned how to not be friends with douchebags just because they'd talk to me about video games in Middle school. And also not to stalk people, in middle school. I learned how to discern which people were lying in high school, and how to avoid giving it away on my side. I finally decided that I wasn't going to be a default awkward nerd anymore, I decided I was going to be that one kid with a purpose, only nobody knows what it is.
Least of all me.
I also learned I am only an armchair biologist and autopsies make me sick. And that Florida does not take astronomy seriously.