School

Kids resent going to school because they feel they’re missing out on something. On what? On the magic life of adults? I’m old enough to remember being taken into town by adults who would park me and my sister outside a bookies, or a pub, whilst they popped-in to perform whatever incomprehensible things it was that adults did in such ‘no kids allowed’ venues. Standing on tip-toes to try and see over that portion of the windows opaqued with frosted glass; or snatching glances through the swinging entrance door as people went in, or came out—it was exciting. Of course the glamour of it was wholly a function of its mystery, and now that I am an adult (wa-ay past twenty-one) I understand that there is nothing but seediness beyond the magic door. What adults do when the kids are at school is dull, not glamorous. They go to work. But kids go to school to work too. It’s not much a secret to say that kids go to school not to work at their ‘learning’ so much as to learn work, more specifically to learn the rhythms and habits of work, sitting at a desk, fulfilling tasks handed down by their superiors, keeping regular hours. What happens when you feign sickness and skive off school? You end up watching daytime television, which activity starts out fun, and very quickly becomes boring. But perhaps this is a glimpse into a deeper mystery. What is it adults do all day? They are bored, which situation they fight more-or-less desperate rear-guard actions against, by (amongst other things) visiting betting shops and pubs.