The Essence of Time

This text is intended only for those of us who are mortals. It is of no concern to those intending to live forever.

Carpe diem! Seize the day! Seize the moment! Tempus fugit. Time flies. Time is of the essence. And if not now, when?

We have many ways of expressing our great respect for the importance of time. But for almost all of us, this is just lip-service. Just look at the people commuting for hours to and from work. Look at the people at work, doing a job they don't like, and willing to wait "just eight more years" until retirement. Look at the people sitting in front of the TV for hours, watching programs they don't particularly like, just to kill time. Look a the people submissively waiting in line for the doctor, teller, waiter; waiting on the phone for the "next available operator", or for the mechanized answering service to complete its text before they can press the next key; waiting at home between 8:00am and 2:00pm for the cable guy, or for the washing machine technician. Look at the people putting a sticker on their car, saying "I'd rather be skiing", instead of going to ski. Look at people being presented with ads, and giving their time away 30-second-slot at a time.

Oh, and look at kids in school. What happens with the 13-or-so years of K12 schooling? Looking at the 13-year whole period, is it well used? How much more could we have given them? How much of that time was wasted on time-fillers? How much was spent teaching materials we know have no bearing on their lives - present and future? Ho much of that time got lost looking for the pencil, recapping last week's forgotten lesson, trying to appear awake (both student and teacher), trying to appear interested (ditto), trying to appear knowledgeable about something we don't understand and don't care to understand (ditto ditto), trying to avoid studying, trying to avoid learning? Where do the answers lie, on the line between "depressing" and "horrifying"?

How much time was spent looking wistfully at the clock? Actually, this last question is a very useful test. Whenever I catch myself looking at the clock, I know I am in trouble - I am not enjoying what I am doing, and I am not even convinced enough that it's necessary. I should get up and do something else, or change my attitude towards what I am doing right now.

Look at the people living in the mirror. Are they making the most of their limited time?

All of the above are important thoughts, especially for those of us who are not immortal. But in the context of education, there is another question: What are the habits we cultivating in the children? The children are the subjects of a system which conveys a very clear message that time is not very important: "The teacher is in a meeting, so just wait." "It doesn't matter that you already understand the material and getting bored; just sit through the class." "It doesn't matter that you don't understand the material and getting frustrated; just sit through the class." "It doesn't matter that the subject doesn't interest you and has no bearing on your life; just sit through the class." "Here's your homework."

There are also indirect messages the kids witness. Messages conveyed to teachers: "There's an extra meeting. It doesn't matter that you don't get paid, appreciated or asked if you think the meeting is important; just sit through the meeting." "It doesn't matter if you think the subject matter of a lesson is unimportant; just go through the motions." "It doesn't matter what you do during the long school vacations; there is no really valuable way to use your time." "It doesn't matter whether what you study to get further-education points is relevant to your work or not; just sit through the course."

The system (education or other) would benefit from respecting the time of all involved. This kind of respect doesn't come naturally. Everything is easily measured by money, but employees’ unpaid overtime - by definition - doesn't cost anything, so it's hard to respect it. Employees’ standard time - being paid anyway - suffers from an "optical illusion" that makes people think it doesn’t cost anything, so it is difficult to take it seriously. Volunteers’ time doesn’t cost money (directly), so it's easy to waste it. All this unused time is an unwise waste: First of all, a resource is a potential for beneficial action even if that resource doesn't translate directly to dollars and dimes, and can be put to good use for advancing the mission of the system. Secondly, People quickly get used to the idea that their time is not important to the system, and then they either stop trying or go away. The potential for beneficial action doesn't just stay there waiting: It is either spoiled, or it disappears.

All this doesn't mean the life of the child or the adult should be all work and no play. Play is a great way to use time, if that's what we want to do, and it's certainly so for kids. Waiting mindlessly, or doing what we don't think is important for hours, days, years - that's an unforgivable waste of time.

Respectful, active, careful attitude towards time - our own, collaborators, underlings, pupils - doesn't come naturally to most people. Creating a culture of such positive concern for time is very difficult. Some religions and philosophical schools have been trying to get us into such awareness for millennia. To make a few steps towards such a culture, we would need to start at a very young age. Since kindergarten or school is often the first place that "tasks" are introduced into the life of the child, K12 education establishments are a good place to start. If we manage to change our habits to pay attention to the potential of our limited time, we will see the results in the behavior of humanity as a whole. I think.

"...fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance run..."