Instruction – (PIP #41)

By Louise Peloquin

A hundred years ago, a call for instruction.

L’Etoile, September 3, 1924

Instruction 

(Of Liberty)   

     Our little schoolchildren, with schoolbags strapped over their shoulders, will soon return to school.

     Vacation time and endless games will have lasted the lifespan of a rose. Looking retrospectively, the days of happiness, once passed, appear to us, alas, excessively short!

     And the more we age, the more time flees rapidly, which reminds us of these oh so true verses of Lamartine:

Thus, ever driven onward to new shores, borne constantly away,
Can we never, in the Ocean of the Ages, drop anchor for a day? (1)

     A certain number of children who attended parochial school last year will not return this Fall, not because they have terminated their studies but because, having reached the legal age to enter into an apprenticeship, their family has decided to send them to the plant or to the factory where without delay, they will largely forget what they learned in class.

    Very often, these young workers were gifted with talents and admired by their teachers. If they had pursued their studies, they could have become instructed and brilliant individuals.

     But their parents judged differently, most of the time because they had a false idea of instruction and especially because they were anxious to rid themselves of the burden imposed by raising and educating children. The parents want to quickly benefit from their children’s earnings in order to buy a car, to burn up gas every Sunday as long as the beautiful season lasts, to frequent stylish beaches, finally, to live like the rich. In order to have their children educated, it would be necessary to deprive themselves of all of these pleasures. They do not have the courage to do so.

     And thus, from one generation to the next, some remain in ignorance, barely able to read and write.

     There are exceptions but they are too rare.

     Let’s tell the truth because it is necessary: some people do not value instruction enough.

     One can undoubtedly be a good man, very esteemed, intelligent and successful in life without instruction.  This has been seen more than once. But be convinced that these cases are exceptional.

     A moment of reflection will quickly make you realize that the most difficult and lower-paying jobs are destined to the people who are deprived of all instruction. Look around you and compare. See for example under the beating sun or in an icy wind those who, with parchment skin and calloused hands, move heavy stones, dig deep trenches, place the tracks of the railroad, cut down trees in the forest, engulf themselves in the dark stomach of the earth to extract ore… Even in these most humble careers, a bit of instruction could do no harm. How many workers in our factories could, with a bit of instruction, move up in rank, become foremen and rise even higher?

     We complain about the slowness in taking advantage of civil service offerings. Here again the stumbling block is the impossibility to pass the exams with success.

     Our children leave school too early. They should spend a few more years there.

     Once the opportunity for instruction is lost, it is for life….. (2) 

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1. Le Lac is 10th in the 24-poem collection called “Les Méditations poétiques” by Alphonse Lamartine (1790-1869) published in 1820. Even today, Le Lac is considered the jewel of Romantic poetry. It was inspired by the amorous liaison Lamartine had in 1816-1817 with Julie Charles, a married woman who died of an incurable disease. Lamartine returns alone to see the places he had formerly visited with her. Le Lac has become an immortal poem about destiny, ephemeral love and eternity.Ainsi, toujours poussés vers de nouveaux rivages,
   Dans la nuit éternelle emportés sans retour,
   Ne pourrons-nous jamais sur l’océan des âges
   Jeter l’ancre un seul jour ?

2) Translation by Louise Peloquin.