Bored, of Ed (?): Your choice, course, electives - Part 1

Mean-fullness, at its core: Of course, one of the cornerstones, which influence the choice of courses, of a core curriculum, by boards of education, for example, in setting the course(s) for both current and prospective students, those who will be the products of "public education", many of which will be compelled to go beyond the requisite years, and others nonetheless compelled to be "present" (as in "compulsory education")...courses that make up a "curriculum" which may have been envisioned by some early educational pioneers and refined in the ivory towers of colleges by those who learn how we best learn, which may for them earn a Ph.D. or "Doctor of Curriculum"😔. Other-wise, we can only hope, us aspiring students, that the courses that have been designed, initially selected for us, are relevant today, as well as hold meaning for all our tomorrows...useful, meaningful, relatable -- applicable to the problems our teachers and/or textbooks present to us in the present chapter (literally) as well as those chapters in our lives yet to come...those that can even be associated with previous learning, both incidental and formal, which might actually allow it to be stored into LTM...perhaps assisted by some auditory/visual aids as supplements to formal teacher instruction...

Song and dance, dog and pony: Especially when well-timed, versus "out of tune" with the times, lessons that may have actually been introduced to us and part of our earliest "lessons of life" prior to ever entering the 'brick and mortar' of our neighborhood elementary school, such as those we learned as nursery "rhymes" (some did, did not), some of which were obvious and others, only upon later retro-inspection, held hidden meanings, even some with a darker edge to them, which I now realize could only be appreciated with time and distance, when we were deemed "ready". Oh, that's what they meant by "readiness"?! Some tunes and rhymes that may actually sounded like they were emanating from our parents' larynx, voice box, but in their attempt to simulate, imitate, we were led to believe, were being sung, brought to us by various four-legged creatures, some of which may be found in and around our homes, as in "domestic" and others in the barnyard ("Farmer in the Dell"𝅘𝅥𝅮) and others from tails, tales originating way, way, way..."T-Rex!" That we, either through inspiration, or boredom, started imitating, mimicking, even in harmony with our folks...now even through a 'virtual' sing-a-long...incorporated into song, dance, even song and dance, simultaneously...Many of which get repeated, re-iterated, copy-righted, by more contemporary musical genres...tapping😊...rapping😜...in order to commit to memory😒...

Staying the Course, In (dis)harmony: Lessons that, in retro-grade, were actually with-in us early, at the start, at least when we, from earlier gens, used to start our more "formal schooling", as enumerated (all 16) and "spelled out" (e.g., "CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS") in Robert Fulghum's treatise on this subject, published about three decades after we, Boomers, had managed to "graduate" from kindergarten (we didn't call it that back then, we just kind of moved on...). Lessons that remained meaningful, time-tested, in and out of the classroom, even on the playground...even becoming part of the time-honored educational traditions, such as "honors night" where, if you didn't quite make the grade, you could still be "honorably mentioned"😒. And those that we, upon finally, formally "graduating" from our local high school, once we were "free and clear" (e.g., of all "delinquent fines, holds") in harmony with Paul Simon: "If I think back on all the crap I learned in high school..." ("Kodachrome", 1973) All of which sets my mind to wonder, wander...in awe of just how little we actually learned and actually made it through...how we managed, somehow, some way, to...

Stay, the Course: As in staying engaged, if only to prove the teacher wrong ('dis'engaged? 😂😟) This, versus the more frequent experience, at least for me, with my limited attention! span, where I was more likely to veer, stare off...course. Sometimes, of course, steered by a "negative attitude!" -- one which began forming just after attending "Orientation" -- "I'm already bored and I haven't even begun attending classes, given the courses THEY selected for me; when am I going to actually have a choice, with course selection, election?!") Trying your best to stay engaged, in the face of ho-hum content (versus that which our boards of ed. have touted as "meaningful") and in the presence of a monotonous, monotone, drone of a teacher such as that depicted, an "exemplar", by Ben Stein in "Ferris Buhler's Day Off" (if you, like me lack the attention! span, just check out the scene regarding "taking roll, a lesson on the negative impact of tariffs...") which might, if UR not careful, result in you "hooting and hollering" in the back of the class, which could, if not well-timed, set you back a bit, be detained (as in "lunch detention"😟😡)...So, staying engaged, on course, it turns out, is ultimately up to me...whether I stay in class, in tune with the teacher, if only to 'dis'approve, of their teaching style...other-wise you might, be tempted, on occasion, like Ferris and Me, to take an occasional mental break, if not a whole "mental health day" (which is what they now call it, we simply referred to it as "skipping"😆)...which, if you don't have the community support that Ferris enjoyed, land you with a few of your "buds" ( word that has stood up after all these years) in "Saturday School" --"totally 😒"!

Next: Bored, with Ed.(?) - Course, election...in the "nick of time"

(Or, from "bored to tears to cheers and jeers"😪😄😠)