BACK TO SCHOOL
Whoever came up with the idea
of schooling one’s children was a genius – and no doubt, a parent of many
children (apparently one of the oldest schools on record was from the Shishi Middle School in China 143–141 BC. God bless the Chinese). Hmm, how do I legitimize sending my children somewhere (in a
supervised capacity of course) so I get a break and they actually do something
of worth that doesn't involve driving me nuts, playing Minecraft or obtaining swimmer's ear?? Yes, of course, we teach them stuff in a structured environment - preferably in large building with an even larger gate - and do it for as many hours as
possible!! Eureka!
Can’t you just see the first
conversation about determining the length of the actual school day: “Let’s
create a place where children can go and learn and play for a couple of hours each
day….Actually why not make it a half day….To hell with that, there is so much to learn,
let’s make it ¾ of the day and throw in some after school activities to make
the parents happy! Don’t get me wrong, I love the summer holidays and the King
had a riotous time doing this that and the other, but by summers end, every
parent has that look about him or her.
You know that, ‘if someone doesn’t take my kid for me I’m going to implode’
kind of look. Let’s be honest, there is only so many ‘why’ questions I can answer
per week until my brain starts to feel like it's going to melt. By September, it’s up to a teacher to navigate the curious rapid-fire assault
of wonder that is my son’s brain.
Not to mention, the holidays
are also awash in consumption, frivolity and NO discernible schedule in sight (as it should be really). Hence by
summer’s end, if you see one more ice cream van you slip into some sort of PTSD episode and start clutching your wallet as you run the other direction screaming, I swear, I don't have any change!! The other pro
and con of summer days is their sheer length. I love cherish summer activities with the King, but when he starts going to bed at 9/10 o’clock every night
come summertime, I start looking for a more powerful night cream and a pillow to rest on.
Luckily, at the moment, he is
a kid that adores school (oh school, I love you so much) and at the first
sighting of his male posse, he ran and joined them in tightly knit huddle –
this is what I love about 5 year olds, they are so not about cool and all about
showing their emotions however they see fit. And then you see the shift in
parents all around the neighborhood. That
summer look is quickly replaced by the
other look of ‘YES’ my kids are back in school and I can actually use my
brain look and get stuff done…followed by the ‘oh sh*t look, my kids are back
in school and I forgot how nuts it gets….you see, you can never win.
Alas, the King is officially
in year one and hopefully they will have him reading War and Peace by month’s
end (I kid, I kid). Then again, if he is counting grains of sand, I’m fine with
that too as long as they keep him until 3 o’clock and teach him something aside
from the schedule of the ice cream vans around our neighborhood.