Answer: If it is something akin to school - Yes! To be able to read and write instead of being babysitted is a great advantage as one enters 1st grade, or even some second pre-period of preparation. I don’t speak from simply theory; it is a great advantage to be able to begin learning increasingly complex matter as soon as possible. The brain is open to learning, and it is a waste with playing “tag” only. Surely the children should have playtime, but it should not replace genuine learning. We are dreadfully behind where we once were; and with the many changes that have come in the last half century, we can’t waste time catching up to at least where we once were scholastically. Teach the basics again, first - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.
If sounds as if it refers to his aching agony within his situation. ¨Bear up, old heart! You´ve borne worse, far worse,¨ shows how everything is affecting him. This is his attempt to tell himself to stay strong in time of dispair.
