School days are the best times of one’s life.
Many may debate this statement. For some, great things have happened that surpass when education occupied the bulk of the clock. One person contended each new day exceeds the one before. While that could be true, nothing replaces those years when we had no major responsibilities and “not a worry in the world.”
Diverse and, yes, exciting have been our many activities, since we hurried through school. Our official education lasted 16 ½ years or 33 semesters, because we were in on the beginning of kindergarten, and we got through college faster than the norm. In
the name of savings, we always took class overload to “not waste time and money.”
Hindsight is best, and now we kind of wish we hadn’t rushed so much in our final educational years, and been eligible to judge in a few more collegiate contests. Yet, if we’d stayed longer, most likely we wouldn’t have followed the career path we’ve led, which we ultimately credit to “God’s plan for us.”
Of all the wonderful memories and instruction received during school, our teachers and our friends have to be the most influential and most enduring. One’s education is
never-ending, as we continue to learn until we die. But, those who guided our initial stages and remain links now are the greatest of all assets.
Ones who contend they hate, or hated, school are completely beyond our understanding. In minute cases that might be true, but in a vast majority of situations, when they look back, school days’ experiences are probably the most memorable and generally positive with all aspects considered.
Home schooling is a common practice. Reasoning often is that children must not be exposed to dangers in public school, drugs, rough language, etc. Why not? That’s the real world, and they will find out, better sooner than later. Those who must be home or mail-order schooled due to family profession often still go to public school in off-seasons.
Talk of a four-day school week raises our ire, too. Understandable that education costs would be reduced by not having to open the buildings that extra day. But what are our children going to do with all that time, which they already have such a surplus
of?
We agree with the U.S. Education Secretary: “I fundamentally think that our school day is too short, our school week is too short and our school year is too short. Students should go more hours for six days of school 11 months a year.” That extra time is needed to compete with students abroad, who tests show are smarter than our kids.
While we have considered going back to college or taking evening classes for credit, our education since school has been limited to training sessions for horse show judges, Extension-type seminars we’ve attended and, of course, reading and airwave media.
Our schooling must never end as in Proverbs 1:5: “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.” Such is further ordered in Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.”
+++ALLELUIA+++