“He was not of an age, but for all time!”

Is the epitaph on William Shakespeares’ gravestone. 

Can you picture him? Shakespeare? No, not ‘in’ the grave, gross, but what he looked like when he might have been living? You can, can’t you? What does he look like? Quite a normal looking chap? Slightly balding? Facial hair? Do you see him with a mustache? Beard? Gotee? (Spell check, really? Goat, Go T. Goatee. Sheesh, bet ole Bill didn’t have this “Gordian knot” problem, to quote the man). What about his hair? Shoulder length? Are his eyes peering to the right, or left? Head angled right or left? Full body or bust? What of his Attire? It’s the collar…  Oh the collar, am I Right? Triangular? Liturgical? (Sort of choir meets religion neck lace). Or do you see the Ruff? That Elizatethian, starched silk, Renaissance, Tudor, later circus clown- ruffled costumed collar? ‘Normal looking chap’ until the ruff, eh? (Strike that.)

Get an image. Got it? Good.

Now image search Shakespeare. 

Keep looking.

What do you see? If you didn’t actually look, you will have to trust my descriptions. I get it. Facial hairs differ in various portrayals, but not by much. There are some anomaly poses which make him look like Plato or Salvador Dali. Few works show him below the shoulders. Most are busts. Many of those look like they should be hanging in a mansion with cut-hole eyes peering at you like a Scooby Doo mystery scene- as in “His eyes are watching. Following you…for all time..” bwahahaha… 

Ruh-roh and Jinkies, I digress! But, do you think Shakespeare might use Jinkies? I do.  That Velma was sprag! (Spell check again? Really? On Shakespeare? “You obscene greasy tallow-catch!”  Henry IV Part 1 (Act 2 Scene 4) 

Back to Bill Basics. 

Shakespeare paraphernalia includes: Insult calendars, crackers, biscuits, bracelets, bags, shirts, “to tea or not to tea” pots, socks, shower curtains, “the nose that knows” tissue box holder (yes, up his nose), soap, pillows, cookbooks, ‘shake spear mints’, “I put the ‘lit’ in Literature” pipes (yes, those paraphernalia pipes). All to extol the man himself. 

And with all his images, we have absolutely no idea what he accurately looked like. No other images nor descriptions exist. None. Just that one painting of him, posthumously done. (Ok, I don’t know, if it was painted after his death. Well, yes, I just looked it up, and it was.)

Anyway, my long, drawn out point is this- What we think we “know,” through innumerable resources, (including education), about reality is mere perception. Not reality. Our perception about education is “this is what we’ve always known; this is what we have always had.” Limited, unknowing assuredness. (I know what I said). 

But, no- I don’t know ‘exactly’ what education is supposed to look like, but I’m sure it is not’ this’. ‘This’ is a system of the ages. (Boy she sure likes ‘air quotes’). Industrialized and painstakingly ‘rigorous’ . Learning, however is for all time; and I don’t want to paint a portrait of education myopically. One-dimensionally. I have ideas, lots and lots of ideas about learning, but I fear it could turn counterfeit. If we don’t have better dialogue about the content of education- it would be like just painting another Shakespeare. It doesn’t matter what he looked like, because- oh my god, have you read Henry IV Part 1? Sheer brilliance. I don’t care about his ruff. I care what is underneath his ruff. Wait, strike that. 

Believe it or not, this past hundred years or so of ‘schooling’ is a historical abnormality.  A blip. A neolithic SNAFU of prophetical proportion. Historic puberty that may result in either arrested development or acute discernment as we des/as/cend.

I caution us to not focus on the current age or era of education but on the learnings of “all time”. 

What lasts?

A Shakespeares grave marker with ““He was not of an age, but for all time!”? 

Not that. Nope. Not even on his grave. I lied. 

(head nod for English teachers who continued reading after such blatant untruths!)

But the real headstone IS haunted! Believe me? Questionable? Good.

Happy Tuesday!