DCML Digest Issue 10

[Matthew Williams]

Thank you, Mr. Rosa, for the fascinating and thought-out response!  I would
have been surprised if you had just accidentally overlooked the story.  I'm
still turning over how much I like the idea of Scrooge going to college
myself.  As a very satisfied reader of "Life and Times," it comes most
naturally to me to think of Scrooge as a grade school dropout.  There's
something romantic in that notion oddly enough.  It makes Scrooge seem even
more self-made.  I have known many older folks in my life that dropped out
of school very early on and still have managed to acquire an incredible
amount of knowledge and skill.  I can't imagine most of America's dropouts
today reaching the same plain!

But as a community college instructor, I have had many older students who
have had to fight tooth and nail to gain their education.  I have had many
folks who dropped out of middle or high school or had to leave because of
unfortunate circumstances.  These people often have to struggle to gain
their high school equivalency and later struggle with college level work.
Many of them struggle immensely to pay tuition and have to work harder then
other students because of poor preparation for the college arena.  Still, I
am moved by these folks' hard work and thirst for knowledge.  I like
thinking of Scrooge as one of these determined, scrappy folks.

Still, you are probably best to overlook the whole college bit.  Equal
education for all has been more of a later twentieth century fight, and I
have serious doubts that Scrooge could have afforded an education during his
pre-Klondike years.  At any rate, thank you for your fascinating response!

Matt