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old school school - nathanology lyrics

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alright class, we’re gonna get started. everyone, please don’t take your seats, close your textbook, stand up, and dance to this song

what do you think of when i use the word school?

you might shrug your shoulders and be like, ’s cool –

a needful but imperfect institutional tool

to make the people on the planet not be absolute fools

or you might have the view that it’s only half true

what they teach, and that in truth it’s a tool that uses you –

subject to abuse, and the subjects you take

are designed to make your mind subjects of the state

…some say it’s great tho — a*ok –

and the best way to go is to go and get a’s –

but whether you b for it or don’t c it as best

society d*mands that you go or you’re f’d

when we were kids

we would sing this hook:

‘no more pencils

no more books’
when they made us go to school

and yet in the days when the tradition began

way before the institutions and the social demand

the ancient greek “schole” from which “school” is rendered

didn’t mean work you had to do, it meant leisure

leisure? — yessir — free time? — yes! —

if you had food to eat, and other needs didn’t press

you might read or write, if you liked — free of stress –

so yes — in a sense, school meant recess

you might spend your time with a socrates

and talk thoughtfully about god and being

and contemplate concepts of cosmic things
with no obligations or college fees

and speaking of ironic etymologies:

‘education’ from the latin educare means

to lead out from, not to sit inside —

and ‘study’ meant passion for a task — yeah, right

now you might ask why, like — bruh, what da fuh…?

how’d it all become the opposite of what it was?

school meant days off; study meant fun;

why’s it upside down? i’m confounded. it’s dumb

welcome to the club. are you really surprised?

humans have a tendency to systematize –

and the systems are fine, until the systems are blind

to the very human beings for whom the system’s designed

it’s a means to an end. and in the end that means

that whoever’s at the head gets to set the meanings

and assign the readings, and to set the times

and to regulate the rhythm of our lives and minds

way before pencils

and way before books

and way before the tests

that everybody took

there was old school school

alright let’s go ahead and walk outside now, put our hands in the soil. … don’t forget your improvised song is due…at any time

it ain’t about your interests, kid –

it’s how ya get ‘er done:

better aggregate your passions into learning outcomes

you’re burnin’ out, son!

reevaluate your goals:

crack another statue from the economic mold

got you docile till you’re old –

‘they don’t want us to know!’

but the thing about ‘them’ is

the ‘they’ is us, bro –

life is short, learning’s slow –

why go back to the source

when you could simply get it second hand?

a requisite course

and yes, you’re being forced –

and while at times it may be free

so is all your social media –

it’s not that hard to see

that that’s another way of saying the commodity’s me

and the product is becoming what they want me to be

you’re so lucky –

old school study –

so what are we to take from it

and what disintegrate?

how to disentangle

the age*old angle

of obligation in the way

when we educate –

how to make it relate

so it ain’t

disembodied

and a knowledge but in name

without making the body of our knowledge all but impossible to gain?

make it a game — make work play –

never have to go to, and yet learn everyday –

make it into songs, teach lessons over beats

and not just on the internet but also on the streets

education is an art

and performance is a part

of its method and its manner

‘cause the head needs the heart –

hip*hop history

schoolhouse rock

indigenous traditions –

times change. tiktok

here’s a thought — honor teachers in the game that go the hardest:

‘cause in the end the teacher is the same as the artist –

let em play their part as pop*stars, getting famous

being bona fide philoso*rapper viral sensations

…i’m biased. … should i even talk?

i’m a product of the system, a philosophy doc –

and my knowledge, on which i base this critical thought

is predicated on the privilege of having been taught

– i’ve thought of that a lot. …if we lost what we’ve got

is it tantamount to tossing out the board with the chalk?

but it may be worth a shot: and here’s the reason why:

like nails on a chalkboard, we’re just squeaking by

education is the basis of society’s design –

the system that instills what’s in everybody’s mind

and under this system, the society we find’s

economically unequal, ecologically awry

so redefine school: not a tool of the state

but a movement that arises from those who create –

whose mode of exchange isn’t monetary wealth

but relationship and wisdom. an end in itself

no more tests

no more rules

no more half*truths;

back to the roots –

back to old school schools

you’re so lucky –

old school study

old school study

old school study

old school study

old school study

old school study

old school study

no more hassles

no wack books

no more teacher’s dirty looks

no more bureaucratic crooks

and school boards with too many cooks;

no more standards

no more rules

no more half*truths;

back to the roots –

no more half*truths;

back to the roots

back to the roots

old school schools

adlibs, subject to change:

alright, that’s it for me today … but we’ll meet again for our next session … whenever we meet again. …until then… study!

- nathanology lyrics

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