Notes from my Knapsack 8-30-18

Notes from my Knapsack 8-30-18

Jeff Gill

 

A lap around the track

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Word origin is a subject not everyone is familiar with, but I think it has an impact even when we don't quite realize it.

 

Etymology is the technical term, and it's archaeology done by digging through the layers of development in a word, from the current usage back through the stages of transformation to root words in other languages.

 

Curriculum is a word we use or hear about fairly often, especially if you have children in school. It's a kind of modernized Latin that was picked up a few hundred years ago in Scotland, at universities there to describe their standard round of coursework for students. It comes more deeply from the Latin "currere" which means "to run," and it has echoes in circles and currents and the course of taking a lap around the track for chariots and horses and riders.

 

So the quiet undercurrent of curriculum is that when you take the classes in a school's set curriculum, you're on track to graduate. Take these classes, in the proper order, and cross the finish line at the end of the circuit, closing the circle, completing the course of study.

 

Which is where I worry about the more contemporary word extracurricular. As in "extra" which comes from Latin as well, an adverb or preposition meaning "on the outside, without, beyond." So extracurricular means outside of the course of study, a deviation from the track, beyond what's necessary.

 

To which you might ask "well, that's correct, isn't it?" And in a specific interpretation of curriculum or curricula (see how Latin has a way of sticking its head out?) I suppose that's exactly what extracurricular activities are, academically.

 

In terms of education, though, I'm not so sure. And I worry, as I know many do, about the fact that Granville Schools have crossed over into the fairly common world of "pay to participate." Words have meaning, in this as well, and administrators are very quick to correct anyone who says "pay to play" with the indication that if you are paying, there's a guarantee of playing. Our new extracurricular model in Our Fayre Village is now "pay to participate."

 

One problem with this is, of course, that some families will find the fees hard or even impossible to pay. Yes, here. If that's a surprise to you, let me say it clearly. Years of Cub Scout leadership rubbed my nose in the reality that we are not all well-off, financially comfortable folks here in Brigadoon. There are many working class families proud of having a place in this community, but struggling to keep up with simple maintenance costs and property taxes each year. We may not need a backpack drive in Granville, but a few hundred dollars can be a challenge for some households to come up with.

 

And frankly those are exactly the folks who need "extracurricular" activities for their kids as much if not more than others. The race to keep up on the course, the circuit, the "currere" of life means another adult input, an additional place for support and growth and engagement, is very important. There's enrichment you can purchase for some kids, but for many, they need all they can get and there's little money or parental time to spare. Extracurriculars are often an on ramp, a vital pit stop, a turbo boost for students just trying to keep up in the curriculum.

 

So if you would, buy those lemon shake-ups when you can. Get a hot dog at a football game, buy some candles or candy or whathaveyou. Because from where I stand, extracurriculars aren't outside of the educational experience today at all. They're at the heart of the infield.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; he's chaperoned, sponsored, and mentored all he can and welcomes you to join in the infield of the school circuit. Tell him what you think is extra or essential at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.