Well, it may have been the Eve of Destruction, but here was a world all about peace, love and brotherhood. Written by Papa John Phillips (Mamas and Papas), Scott McKenzie recorded it, and it became a hit.
All across the nation such a strange vibration
People in motion
There's a whole generation with a new explanation
People in motion people in motion
For those who come to San Francisco
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
If you come to San Francisco
Summertime will be a love-in there
Well, I wasn’t going to San Francisco, but I was finishing high school, and there was a new school in town. Now, this new school promised all kinds of classes and benefits that the school I was in didn’t have. Unfortunately, I wasn’t living within the street boundaries for the new school. Solution? Fake an address. Yep. Using the address of a friend of the family, I switched schools for my final year.
I was ENTHUSED for the first time since moving. I already had almost enough credits to graduate from my 4-year business program,despite my lack of commitment to school. So I loaded up with all the electives I’d been missing. I signed on for Art, Journalism, Theatre Arts.... I mean, I was in heaven. Even subjects such as Sociology were more up-to-date than the repetitious topics of the old school. I wrote a treatise on Canada’s penal system and was awarded an A, something I certainly wasn’t used to.
History class was same old, same old, so a friend and I approached the teacher and asked if we could take something more contemporary. We suggested Castro’s Cuba. The teacher, a dear soul of a man who was very frustrated because NO ONE in ANY of his classes gave a damn about the Renaissance (which we’d all already taken a couple of times) seemed taken aback at first, but he approached his department and requested permission to change the curriculum. This was granted. We all chipped in for our own books (paperbacks about Castro’s Cuba, indeed) and he decided to also change the format of his classes to the more college level approach of the seminar. Because he wasn’t studied up on the topic, we all took turns submitting lessons for discussions. It was a blast!
I also started letting my real self show in English composition, because this teacher was receptive to something different from the strict letter of the requested essay. I submitted poems, stories and other works that were received with appreciation, instead of narrow-minded chagrin.
We took the Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I submitted a poem as part of the requested book review and got an A.
The Heart of Darkness
It is a penetrating blanket,
which pushes its way into mans’ senses ~
deeper and deeper
into his very core.
The lurking death and evil
comes baited with an appeal.
Its mystery dares and haunts man,
until his nerves twitch with anticipation.
He sways toward it with pending freedom,
a captive snake which must uncoil,
and it becomes a heart
that beats to the rhythm of drums.
Wildness, lust and desire become forces
so strong, that they drive men,
drag men, farther and farther ~
into the unknown ~ into the heart of darkness.
I also “submitted” a song performance in one class to express a sense of social connection to our world. It was Home From the Forest by Gordon Lightfoot. This song is about one of the last Victoria Cross winners still alive, found homeless on the dirty streets of New York.
Oh the neon lights were flashin'
And the icy wind did blow
The water seeped into his shoes
And the drizzle turned to snow
His eyes were red, his hopes were dead
And the wine was runnin' low
And the old man came home
From the forest
His tears fell on the sidewalk
As he stumbled in the street
A dozen faces stopped to stare
But no one stopped to speak
For his castle was a hallway
And the bottle was his friend
And the old man stumbled in
From the forest
~Gordon Lightfoot
Guitar in hand, stool in front of classmates, I sang. Another A, and an invitation to sing at a local coffee house. This year of high school was my only happy, enthusiastic year of schooling and I think this speaks to the impact of the arts on some students. Take away music, art and other expression, and just shovel in the academics, and you have created a recipe for failure ~ for the student, for the education system.
In fact, it seems to me that our approach to education and indeed our culture, routinely under-estimates our children and creates an atmosphere in our schools intended to dumb them down, rather than lift them up. This belief would impact on my child’s own educational experience later in my life.
I’m writing these autobiographical sketches for me, and for my daughter, and I know it’s unlikely anyone else will be interested in the experiences of a nobody. But just in case, I’m here to tell you, you should never under-estimate your kids. And never under-estimate the impact that our cultural approach to education can have on someone, because it lasts a lifetime.
For myself, I graduated from my high school program with honours and with more than the required credits. Just shows what a little creativity can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment