on education

October 25th, 2007 Book Review, educationTags: Bernard DeVoto, education, history

I love to learn. In fact, if there is only one thing I can say I really love to do – it’s learn. That wasn’t always the case. In fact, I never started to read until second grade, much to my mother’s consternation. And I really didn’t appreciate “knowledge” until well into college. It was a chore – something I was obligated to do. School actually had little relevance to my interests. What intrigued me – caught my fancy – rarely emanated from the classroom and the classroom rarely reinforced my intrigue; thus no relevance.

For example, American History. Dates and names but no relevance and no intrigue. My academic Achilles heel. So much so in fact I had nightmares about my World History class in college. I barely passed. Where was Francis Parkman? Bernard DeVoto? Shelby Foote? Douglas Southall Freeman? Michael Shaara? Henry Adams? Page Smith? Barbara Tuchman? Dee Brown?

Ah… Bernard DeVoto. There’s a name. An author. Have you read “Across the Wide Missouri”? “The Course of Empire”? or “The Year of Decision”? Pick one and you’ll read them all. Such an education.