There are lots of kids in my extended family going back to school and even one little one starting her first day of Junior Kindergarten. There are so many different courses, levels and experiences in store for all these wonderful young folks and I wish them great success and enjoyment in their various studies.
Education is a wonderful thing and I can say that because it was my career. It just hit me though, that now that I think of my own education experience it was more of a path that I travelled rather than something to reach any life goal. It seems to be a different thing with the kids in my family. They have goals for the most part and know what they will be doing in the future. I think even the very little one has a clear image of what she would like to do when she is all grown up.
In my own case, I had older siblings to emulate so I did my best to stay in school and ended up teaching for over three decades. I think almost every day of my schooling and my teaching was positive. Few negative memories can be recalled to darken my recollection of my education experience. Rare situations of unpleasant schoolmates can be looked back on as merely learning experiences. One early experience was just getting my face washed with snow by an older girl and a much later issue was with an obnoxious high school classmate desperate for attention.
As a teacher my experiences with fellow staff, students and parents were as you might expect them to be in a professional setting. Some days there were a few distractions or frustrations but for the most part it was a lovely and creative living. Throughout all of these years at school I kept the idea of goals at an arm’s length. Life in general took me on a path and the concept of goals didn’t quite fit my scenario. I just did my job and did my best.
Now instead of thinking of meeting goals I try to concentrate on rejuvenating my dreams. Packed away, underneath the stuff all along my path I think my dreams may have survived. I’m really not sure what they were as they never really developed into something I can identify. By scratching away at the surface, day by day and reflecting on what I read, experience and reflect upon I’ll stay rooted to the same old path but with a few pit stops, perchance to dream.
An Embarrassment of Freedom 