Do you feel you learn more from Tolkien and the Downs than School? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

**lindil** · 04-08-2003, 01:26 PM

A question geared for the younger crowd.

I am thinking back [waaay back] to when I was in High School and trying to cometo terms with the absolute bizarreness of life and especially life in middle-class America.

I had a close circle of friends, all of whom of course read Tolkien (and listend to Yes) and spent alot of time exploring the remaining oak forests between suburbs...

Anyway at the time I felt rather outraged that society was forcing me to learn it's to me absurd and misguided ways...so I was rather rebellious [and thus missed out learning a lot of extremely goood things I could have, especially syntax and rules of grammar [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ]

Anyway at the time I very much thought I was learning more about what was true and important from Elves, hobbits and Maiar than Algebra and 'History' teachers.

Was I crazy? Have things changed much since 19xx ?

I wonder now if the Downs would have inspired me to actually work harder in school, I am terribly envious of the depth and polish most of the folks here who have been to College display [and I rather painfully lack]. I would like to think that having been exposed to the Downs might have sparked my zeal for English [ and especially Latin which I utterly wasted, though the phrase Manus manum Lavat certainly holds true. OK so I only wasted 99.98 % of Latin but anyway...thoughts?

Also I envy you folks still in school, for while your personality is still (relatively [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]) malleable, to be able to in a sense find at least intelectually and emotionally if not viscerally, mentors of many different kinds here.

[ April 08, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ]

04-08-2003, 01:26 PM	#1
lindil Seeker of the Straight Path Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: a hidden fastness in Big Valley nor cal Posts: 1,680	Do you feel you learn more from Tolkien and the Downs than School? A question geared for the younger crowd. I am thinking back [waaay back] to when I was in High School and trying to cometo terms with the absolute bizarreness of life and especially life in middle-class America. I had a close circle of friends, all of whom of course read Tolkien (and listend to Yes) and spent alot of time exploring the remaining oak forests between suburbs... Anyway at the time I felt rather outraged that society was forcing me to learn it's to me absurd and misguided ways...so I was rather rebellious [and thus missed out learning a lot of extremely goood things I could have, especially syntax and rules of grammar [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ] Anyway at the time I very much thought I was learning more about what was true and important from Elves, hobbits and Maiar than Algebra and 'History' teachers. Was I crazy? Have things changed much since 19xx ? I wonder now if the Downs would have inspired me to actually work harder in school, I am terribly envious of the depth and polish most of the folks here who have been to College display [and I rather painfully lack]. I would like to think that having been exposed to the Downs might have sparked my zeal for English [ and especially Latin which I utterly wasted, though the phrase Manus manum Lavat certainly holds true. OK so I only wasted 99.98 % of Latin but anyway...thoughts? Also I envy you folks still in school, for while your personality is still (relatively [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]) malleable, to be able to in a sense find at least intelectually and emotionally if not viscerally, mentors of many different kinds here. [ April 08, 2003: Message edited by: lindil ] __________________ The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night exchanging lore & wisdom such as they still possessed that they should not fall back into the mean estate of those who never knew or indeed rebelled against the Light.