Back to School

On most of these recent mornings, while on my way home from my walks at the Ayala Park, I’d be following a bunch of small kids walking on their way to school. The girls’ ponytails and the boys’ white-side-walls are quite a sight. There’s this particular quality of freshness about small children that makes you feel good.

As little feet zigzag the pavement, still sleepy faces grimace in the first rays of sunlight.

Older companions, mothers or yayas or bigger siblings, tell the kids to hurry up. And then, pouting, the little ones murmur their protest over such sacrifice they are forced to make.

If only these kids would persist in their schooling, maybe some of them will make a significant contribution to the world someday. Maybe one will be able devise a way to stop global warming. Maybe, and more interestingly, another one will discover a way to prevent people from aging.

Probably none of us in this present generation is going to live a hundred years. Even if our breath can hold on that long, we’d certainly be either suffering senile dementia or bedridden vegetables for many years before we could become centenarians. And, apparently, it is of use to be alive but no longer able to take care of ourselves and contribute positively to the lives of those around us.

Given our limited lifetime – limited energies, as well – we therefore need to plan wisely what activities to embark on that will bring us the most benefits in return. There are things that might seem interesting to engage or get involved in, but will no longer count in the scheme of things in our life after a short while. For instance, when you’re already into your fifties, would you still want to go back to school?

I would.

But there was a time, not long ago, when I had no inclination whatsoever to immerse myself in academic studies again. What for? I thought. I already know everything!   

Well, as it turns out, I don’t know everything, and I’m ready to spend more time learning more things. I have a technical diploma in Movie Arts and Science. I’ve also practically finished a whole course in Psychology, except for some lacking units in ROTC. But I don’t want to simply pick up where I left off. I’d like to start all over again.

Aside from education, there’s another thing about school that I’ve come to appreciate now. I’ve been to several college campuses lately, and college life looks refreshingly amazing to me. There is something to it that I’d never seen when I was yet going to school.

All that a young student wants is to finish college quickly, get out, and get at life. He doesn’t seem to understand that while at school he’s having one of the best times of his life. In practical and general terms, a student has no responsibility to anyone but himself. He has a hundred or more ready-made friends at each school term, teachers ready to help him, and money from home coming in regularly for his living and other needs.

Of course, he may not have the best boarding room and may not always get to eat his favorite food or have the kind of shirt and shoes he likes. You can’t have everything. A student lives by and within the means of his providers back home.

Many students don’t have much patience with the process of being educated. They sometimes complain that some of their teachers are not knowledgeable enough, that the educational system is flawed, stuffing their courses with a lot of unnecessary subjects that do not have any direct connection with their specific line of studies. They never appreciate what a great time of life college can be, until it’s over. 

Students are only interested in acquiring scholastic credentials they think they need to make money. They aren’t really interested in education for education’s sake. From my present vantage point, this mindset looks very unfortunate. I know now what a joy real education can be, by and of itself, independent of the practical benefits it can bring.

There are certain things I ought to know and I never will, unless I’m forced to by a good teacher. That’s why I want to go back to school. There’s something about Mathematics that repels me; I’d like to know what it is and understand why it does. I’d like to tighten my grasp of the languages I already know, particularly Pilipino and English.

For instance, what part of speech are the words “e” in Pilipino and “please” in English? We say, “Please tell me.” And, “Sinabi ko na e.” I have my own idea on the matter, but still I’d like a competent teacher to tell me.

I’d like to enhance my thinking process by taking up several Philosophy subjects. You may be thinking that philosophers tend to be unnecessarily fussy about things, but they also have a much better understanding of life and the universe than any average guy. And, perhaps a subject on the Bible or any other holy book will help strengthen my faith in God; I’d like to take one, too.

I’d also like to improve on my History. There must be more to History than simply names and dates. I think now that the past is supposed to do more, to both inspire and warn the succeeding generations. I’d like to know if I’m right.

But what good does it do to become fully educated and very knowledgeable and you’re already very old? I can’t say for sure. Hopefully I won’t yet be very old by then. But I think it would be such a personal satisfaction.

Personal satisfaction is no small achievement. It is the thing that motivates us all – everyone, young and old – to rise up in the morning, take a bath, take breakfast, brush our teeth, and then head for the world. The pursuit of personal satisfaction is the very reason why we do everything that we do.

Some people are involved in changing the order of things, while others are busy just trying to comprehend why things are what they are. Although the scales of their activities are different, their feelings of accomplishment, when successful, are essentially the same.

I want to go back to school, soon. I want to become like one of those praiseworthy, highly educated people they invite to speak at college graduation ceremonies. If I succeed, well, maybe they’ll have me as the speaker at my own graduation. Who knows?

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