Back to School

Why am I doing this?  I don't know.  Good question.  I guess I wanted to do two things.  First, to keep my brain working.  And second, to learn a couple or three new things in my old age.

What am I doing?  I have taken advantage of an offer, from the VA, to those of us who are legally blind -- to take online courses for free at the Hadley School for the Blind -- headquartered in a Chicago suburb.  I am taking a course in fiction writing in literature.  It is rather taxing for this old brain.  But I am loving it.

But that is not the subject of this blog.  Having to replenish my gray matter only serves to bring back lots of long ago memories of high school and college.  What I am thinking is -- there is no reason for students not to make good grades nowadays; to gather information, research it and write it and submit it to a teacher on time, well thought out and neatly printed.  You have all the tools.

I recall, when I was a senior in high school -- we were required to write an autobiography.  I still have mine stored away on a shelf in my little office.  I look at it now and then.  I am amazed and a little ashamed at my lack of creativity and neatness.  But then, I say to myself, I was only about 16 or so and had little help writing about this little slice of my early life.  It is written in cursive (longhand) and with a fountain pen (no ball points back then).  There was no typewriter available in my family.  The lines are crooked and the language is a bit sophomorish.  I did use a clever title, I think.  "The Life That Jack Built."  That was pretty good.  I used lots of pictures.  That took up lots of space, making it a bit thicker with more pages.  One thing I can take pride in -- I created this assignment all by myself. No help from anyone. Good or bad -- it was all mine.

There were assignments in college which required some research.  I trotted off to the library and scanned the encyclopedia Britannica or Americana and translated it's esoteric little Times Roman type -- pencil in hand  -- notebook at the ready -- and copied only what I needed to get this paper finished.  By this time, I had available a typewriter -- an old Underwood, I recall.  However -- even though I knew how to bang away at the keys by touch (which I later used, probably, more than any other class I took in high school -- right now, for example) -- I was not a perfect typist.  What does that mean?  It causes many really filthy words to come out of one's mouth.  Because, you see, with each typo, one had to start all over.  There was no room for mistakes.  Thus the required profanity.  But with careful concentration,  perfection was eventually achieved!  

What am I getting at?  Kids --you have no excuses.  The world of computers and word processors and calculators is there for you.  No more encyclopedias -- no more typewriters -- make a mistake -- fix it immediately -- rearrange a sentence -- no problem -- need some information about the dynasties in China or the Roman empire -- check your phone, ipad or computer -- print it out.  You have the educational world by the tail -- so no excuses.

OK  so I am envious.  I wish I could have had these wonderful things back then.  And, yes, I am using all these devices in my little Hadley course.  And I love it! I wouldn't change a thing. But please don't forget how to put your calculators away and add numbers in your head. Or make change for $1.53 when someone gives you two bucks.  Radio and TV folks -- do a live commercial now and then -- it makes your brain work overtime when it goes out at 186,000 miles per second -- that is seven times around this earth of ours every second -- there is no getting it back -- it's gone --  no redo.  Perfection is required.

So what is my message?  Kiddos -- put down your machines once in a while -- don't let your brains atrophy  -- put yourself in a little mental jeopardy once in a while -- it gives you a helluva rush.

From the heart of Olaf Hart .....