As Homer Simpson would say, “The lesson is, never try.”

Bart and Lisa Simpson have been in elementary school for 25 years. But that hasn’t stopped them from showing up on college campuses.

TV’s animated smart-mouths are now a teaching tool at colleges across the nation.

At Hofstra University on New York’s Long Island, a class examines Broadway musicals, American literature and other topics using plot lines from “The Simpsons.” One course is titled “The D’oh! Of Homer.”

Hofstra professor Richard Pioreck (pee-OHR’-ihk) says using “The Simpsons” is a way to engage students familiar with the pop culture phenomenon.

He says that if the references are important enough to be lampooned by “The Simpsons,” then the works must be important cultural milestones.