"The word syllabus makes me think of "syllabus week," those opening days of a college semester, when there was still time to switch out of an arduous course. I was a picky student, I'll admit; if my would-be professor was lacking in sense of humor, or assigning too many readings, I'd just jump ship for something else. This process, repeated over and over for years, imbued the word syllabus with a degree of pessimism."
"Why? What's changed? I just miss learning. I didn't know what I had. I'm not alone in this realization. There's a reason that adults audit courses, that middle-aged men become history buffs, that Duolingo is worth $15 billion. Curiosity's creeks, so far as they don't dry up, need somewhere to run to. And when academic-style learning is an alternative to the doldrums of adult life, instead of the only, over-scheduled show in town, it all of a sudden feels refreshing, freeing, even addicting."
Syllabus week offered a chance to drop arduous courses and fostered a habit of abandoning classes lacking humor or manageable readings. The older sense of 'syllabus' reads like a concise table of headings, a chores-like list. Years after graduation, regret arose over resisting assignments and challenges encountered in school. Many adults seek academic-style outlets through audited courses, hobbyist study, or language apps like Duolingo. Curiosity requires places to run, and structured, self-assigned syllabi can make learning feel renewing and addictive. A personal syllabus was assembled around the United States in the 1870s, the Wild West era.
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