“Old School”

“Old School”

My over 7 decades on this earth have given me the vantage point of many years to observe a changing world. I will be quick to say that I am an advocate of change to a degree. I certainly appreciate modern advances in the treatment of diseases and modern inventions which afford a greater degree of comfort. I also much better enjoy driving my current car over the 1948 Dodge I started out with!
I have observed that we “old fogies” catch our share of flak from many of the young “whipper snappers”, who sometimes give the impression that they have all the answers and we “old school” need to catch up to the age. Most of us go through the stage of life when we think we have all the answers and, unfortunately, don’t even know the questions! It is rather humorous when your around someone who gives the impression that they invented the light bulb, discovered penicillin, and served as Newton’s professor at the time he discovered the law of gravity. If we could somehow take the zeal of youth and the wisdom of age and combine them in one person, we would have quite a human being! We do need the zeal of youth to speed us up and the wisdom of age to slow us down to give balance to society.
I am, however, proud of being “old school” when I consider many of the graduates of the “new school”! I love the people of the new school but resent the curriculum they have been taught! I feel sorry for the youth of our land who are indoctrinated in humanistic ideology in the school systems and then not properly trained and nurtured by loving and committed parents in the home.
I am just grateful to have been born when I was and to have had the experience of growing up in a hardworking society when Webster, common sense, and plain English were sufficient. Wokeness and political correctness were not a part of my old school curriculum. My school was not perfect but at least it taught that your sexual gender, in biological birth, was clearly recognizable as either male or female. My “old school” taught American history, including the good and the bad and held the notion that the way history happened is the way we have it, like it or lump it! My school believed it was normal and honorable to love our Country and respect its flag and Constitution. My, “old school” taught that our American heritage is honorable and the Founders developed the right form of government. My “old school” taught us to respect the police and understand that if we stole items in a store, we committed a criminal act and would soon be seeing the police! My old school taught that honesty pays, work is commendable, character means something, and happiness does not consist of simply “things. My “old school” taught that men and women get married and then have children. My “old school” taught that it’s okay to even offend people if offense was based upon truth and honesty.
The era of my “old school”, was an era when respect was up and crime was down. More people were seen heading to work than waiting for the check in the mail. More young people thought it was a privilege to join the Military and serve the Country. Old school taught that the things in life of the greatest value were not purchased by money, such as honesty, manners, morals, respect, character, common sense, trust, patience, integrity, and love.
Class reunions seems to have really changed in my “old school”, with the passing of time. Many are no longer here and some classmates have disowned their school but, praise God, some are still proud of their alma mater!

Chuck Peters – 8/10/2022