“They’re back” aren’t the words the class of 1995 (or 2026) will be hearing next year. They won’t be — back, at least for the most part.
Where they will be is still, for many, in the planning stages, taking a back seat just now to parties, celebrations, and graduation activities. Just now, college admissions, leaving home, getting jobs, being married, and other responsibilities of the “adult world” are still far away even though the realization of “ending” slips into awareness.
The words, “This is the last time we will ever ______,” spoken daily, bring closer with each expression a finality unlike that known by most young, and for the moment, at least, a cause for celebration. Remember, “No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks?” Well, guess again. Maybe no more school or teachers, but certainly lots more learning.
For those going on to colleges and training programs, the learning years are certainly not over. Their “formal education” will continue, with grades, teachers and evaluations for some time. Others, entering the work force, will be learning also, about just what constitutes a “good” employee performance record and about how to manage financially in the real world.
For those choosing marriage, the learning is just beginning and will never cease as building lasting relationships can prove the most challenging of learning experiences ever. No matter how you felt about school, to believe that ending school ends learning is not only foolish but also self-defeating. It teaches sad and false lessons to those following and limits potential. There literally is never an end to learning and to treat learning as a chore rather than an opportunity is to shortchange us all.
In his book, “The Once and Future King,” T.H. White has the main character, Merlyn, a magician, tell the young King Arthur about learning. “The best thing,” replied Merlyn, “… is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may be awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your home trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.”
Learning is the thing for each of us. There is so much to learn and the new things we must learn about never stop.
Kids want to be like adults and older young people in their lives. If those they admire don’t value education and learning just for the sake of learning, then little learning or education will take place in the lives of the children.
Darby Kethan has a master's degree in child development, and has experience as a social worker, educator of young children, educational consultant, and as a professional trainer for a national educational foundation providing professional development to teachers. Visit her website at darbykethan.com.
