Paideia: Seconds in Silence

Empty dance studio

Another thing about Summer, there is something both peaceful and creepy about an empty campus or classroom. Peering through the windows into a room, where one would normally hear the constant chatter of students, the sounds of occupation, finding it abandoned and silent can be disturbing.

Of course, teachers probably see it as wonderful thing. Like Sisyphus and his stone, it is the moment that the task has been completed, if only for a while, before the next academic year starts the whole process over again.

But I'm not a teacher. I look at the emptiness with an eye towards poetry and purpose. Without habitation, we can appreciate the structure and space of the buildings, their functional design. However, classrooms without students are not fulfilling their purpose. And there is something transgressive about that.

Empty classroom

It's as though the space echoes with impressions of what has been, what will be, and what ought to be. It is as if every empty classroom is haunted by the ghosts of potential students.

With that thought, let's listen to some music:

"This Killing Emptiness" by Ice Ages