--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They basically said that if I didn't show…" description: "\"They basically said that if I didn't show up for school they'd mark me present, they wouldn't send the truant officer after me. At 16 I enrolled in som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/dave-van-ronk-21329_after_they-basically-said-that-if-i-didn-t-sho_895184.jpg" --- # They basically said that if I didn't show up for school… ![“They basically said that if I didn't show up for school they'd mark me present, they wouldn't send the truant officer after me. At 16 I enrolled in something called continuing education. Once a month I'd go out to Jamaica, but I didn't take it seriously.” quote by Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/dave-van-ronk-21329_after_they-basically-said-that-if-i-didn-t-sho_895184.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/dave-van-ronk-21329_after_they-basically-said-that-if-i-didn-t-sho_895184.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/dave-van-ronk-21329_after_they-basically-said-that-if-i-didn-t-sho_895184.jpg) > “They basically said that if I didn't show up for school they'd mark me present, they wouldn't send the truant officer after me. At 16 I enrolled in something called continuing education. Once a month I'd go out to Jamaica, but I didn't take it seriously.” [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes a lax school attendance policy that allowed him to avoid consequences, leading to a half‑hearted continuation of education. **In simple terms:** School rules were loosely enforced, so he drifted through education. Key Takeaway Recognize when systems let you slip and seek genuine learning. Themes education responsibility apathy Mood reflective nostalgic Type personal narrative anecdotal When to use this quote - high school - continuing education - self‑directed learning Key Concepts institutional laxity personal accountability Questions to Reflect On - How did this attitude affect his later life? - What could have changed his approach? A Different Perspective The anecdote ignores the long‑term impact of disengagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Continuing Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuing-education/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Enrolled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enrolled/) [Jamaica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jamaica/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) ## Related quotes > [I used to stand outside the theater knowing the truant officer was looking for me. 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I deferred from Sarah Lawrence, so I think I'm going to try to find time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-roberts/i-m-enrolled-right-now-in-the-school-of-life-i-deferred-from-sarah/) [Emma Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-roberts/) > [Young adults enrolled in universities and colleges or other postsecondary training should avail themselves of the opportunity to take institute of religion courses or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/young-adults-enrolled-in-universities-and-colleges-or-other/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) ## More by Dave Van Ronk > [“Why must the show go on?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/why-must-the-show-go-on/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [And then adds with a laugh, 'but in retrospect I think he may have been more sophisticated than we were.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/and-then-adds-with-a-laugh-but-in-retrospect-i-think-he-may-have-been/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [I think I have more in common with a carpenter than you might think. We're putting things together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/i-think-i-have-more-in-common-with-a-carpenter-than-you-might-think/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [I'm a very, very stubborn man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/i-m-a-very-very-stubborn-man/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [By the mid-70s, I wanted to get out of the business. I was tired anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/by-the-mid-70s-i-wanted-to-get-out-of-the-business-i-was-tired-anyway/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [I cut myself off from the mainstream of jazz. 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Romping through the swamp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/you-can-be-a-mighty-sailor-wrestling-with-an-alligator-romping/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [Most of what I listen to now is mainstream jazz from 1935 right up to and including early bebop and cool jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/most-of-what-i-listen-to-now-is-mainstream-jazz-from-1935-right-up-to/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [I don't think I went a year or so without a record between 1959 and 1979, sometimes two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-van-ronk/i-don-t-think-i-went-a-year-or-so-without-a-record-between-1959-and/) [Dave Van Ronk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-van-ronk/) > [In the early 1970s. 1971, '72. The rooms were closing down, record labels weren't signing acoustic acts any more. 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Don't set your heart on anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses/no-lusting-after-your-neighbor-s-house-or-wife-or-servant-or-maid-or/) [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses/) > [After I finished college, I got a job on Wall Street as a derivatives trader, but after a couple years of it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/after-i-finished-college-i-got-a-job-on-wall-street-as-a-derivatives/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. 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