Seeking revenge against life’s drudgery

By Al S. Mendoza

MORE years in school?

From 10 years, make it 14 years.

That’s broken down to two years in “kinder,” and six years each in elementary and high school.

What a waste of time. And money.

Are we that short of brilliant ideas that we now tend to indulge in recklessness, if not brainlessness?

Six years in elementary, four years in high school.

That’s what I had.

That’s what Guv Spines had.

That’s what Al Fernandez had.

That’s what Belen Fernandez had.

That’s what Joe DV had.  Manay Gina, too.

And also my handsome mayor, Ted Cruz of Mangatarem.  And Mr. Baloto, too, at assessor Dick Estrada’s well-disciplined office.

OK, include Raffy Baraan and Butch Velasco.

To the authors of K + 12, what’s with you that you now craft a thing almost called a pigeon dung.

Your formula will produce better citizens of this republic?

Your formula will reduce nincompoops all around us?

Your formula will make this nation great again?

I beg to disagree.

On the contrary, your formula will produce more jobless flock from Laoag to Legazpi, from Tuguegarao to Timbuktu.

Your formula will increase nincompoops who will flood the archipelago with all gobbledygook from too much schooling but emptiness in real substance.

Your formula will make this nation grouch again.

Now listen up: Most of us had 10 years of schooling before we entered college.

The unlucky ones never reached college.  Too poor to afford school fees, no matter how minimal they might be.

And now you intend to add more years to school stint?

The craziest idea since someone said the world was flat.

Before the advent of kinder, this has been life’s normal cycle in this part of the universe:

We start school at age seven.

After six years in elementary and four years in high school, we are 17 years old.

College life usually takes four years, unless you take up law or medicine, which takes a little longer.

At 21 or 22, you start working.

Before age 25, you get married.

For the next 25 years, you build both your family and career, or business.  Hard labor, if I may so.

At 50, I must insist it’s time to relax.

Pampering time.

With the kids now through with school and, probably, with families of their own, begin reinventing yourself.

Start doing things you missed doing from age 25 to 50.

Drink and be merry.

Dance and be healthy.

From 50 to 70 is 20 years.  That’s a lot of time to seek revenge against life’s drudgery.

But now look, fellers, Armin and his think tank thugs at DECS want us to derail that?

I hate their detour.

It will just inflict more punishment on our people.

Presently, our school years are more than enough .

What P-Noy should zero in actually is on the job availability for our graduates of today, not adding years to school for future generations.

In short, more jobs at hand, less years spent in school.

That should be the mantra for economic growth, for licking poverty.

Poet Gabby C, if not Dr. Boyet R, any last words?

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