It is the second day of being a Sophomore for Reid. (Insert jokes using the word sophomoric here.) For some reason, that reminds me of looking at my dad's annual from Louisville Male High School from his Senior year, and reading the signatures and comments. I wish I still had that annual, but I think my mom got rid of it years and years ago. There were several comments that used the word tyro as a derogatory epithet against underclassmen.
I had to look that one up. I like to try and use new words as I find them so they become a natural part of my vocabulary. But lo, in all these thirty years, I have never found a proper occasion to refer to someone as a tyro.
Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Latin tiro young soldier, tyro. Date: 1587. : a beginner in learning : novice. synonyms see amateur ...
Somehow that is just a cool word. Makes me think of that Robin Williams movie, Dead Poets Society. Makes me realize, yet again, how woefully "today's youth" (OMG, could I possibly sound older and more crotchety?) are being educated. I know every generation says the same thing. I know these kids are whizzing along at literal light speed with technology, and maybe that is what is needed now, not fusty literature and language from the past (yes, I just used the word fusty...)
I am extremely thankful for this: that my sons will go to college. Did you see the new statistics on college attendance and graduation that came out the other day? They were woeful. The media announced that this will be the first generation less educated than their parents. I assume they mean...ever...in American history. Which would make sense. Know what else? Also the least healthy, most overweight, etc etc. Did you know reading quietly burns twice the calories of watching TV? You probably did, but the kids don't. At least in college, with a few exceptions, you are still required to read literature, write thoughtfully and creatively, study history, classical Greek and Roman civilization, and THINK for yourself.
Today I go with Guy to register for his college classes. He is already into his Freshman year thanks to concurrent credits he took at NWACC. Currently he is an Art major, but is considering a change to Psychology major. He already has his "Psych 101" AP credit, so maybe some sociology this semester. And Art, too...
I hope someday he gets to take Greek Civ. Probably my favorite college class I ever took, with Roman Civ in the top five, as well.
I worry so much about this country. And I don't spend my time obsessing over the Federal Reserve, or the unbelievable scandals and travesties on every corner that our corrupt government perpetrates against us. Because to me, the very worst thing that could ever be done is to rob our future- the kids- of the ability to reason, express themselves in a literate and articulate manner, and to appreciate the arts. There is literally no one to blame but ourselves. All the governmental acts in the world, all the failures of anyone at all, cannot stop one from overseeing the education of their own children. Other people in other countries seem to get this, and to the mortifying extreme of sadness, we don't.
For those of you who are supporting and genuinely educating your children, God Bless You a thousand times over. 'Cause they are all we've got for what is coming.
I, myself, can say one thing, weird, silly, and outmoded as it is: I have not raised a couple of tyros!
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Hear, hear!
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