First Day of School

I asked Louise what I should write about tonight. I had an idea, but I am pretty careful not to write anything that will hurt my friends and family. I know that it shouldn’t bother people, but I also know that it most certainly will hurt. If anyone sees themselves in one of these blogs, it is just coincidence because I really don’t intend to hurt. So my idea was out and as I said I was completely blank. Louise suggested the first day of school. Now we know who to blame if the blog sucks tonight.

A friend of mine is a teacher and has been preparing for the past week or two. Teachers have a different view of the first day of school. They know what the curriculum is, but what they don’t know and can’t control is the mix of children that are put in their class. Sometimes they have a bunch of kids that are keen to be there and that makes the year a more or less pleasant experience. Sometimes, the kids are the spawn of Satan and no matter what you do; you just can’t get through to them. From what I understand, it is the parents that can really screw up the year. Some parents are blind when it comes to little Johnny or Suzy and blame the teacher when their child does poorly. They believe that spending money on the kid is better than spending time. Nothing can say this better than Harry Chapin’s 1974 song “Cat’s in the Cradle”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH46SmVv8SU

I always liked the first day of school, at least when I was younger. We would get new…ish clothes, pencils, notebooks, erasers textbooks and we got to see our friends that we hadn’t seen for two months. To tell the truth, I always found summer holidays were just about three weeks too long and by the end of the first month I was getting pretty bored. That was the time when you pulled out the monopoly game and played the long version. It could take weeks and there was never a satisfactory ending. Even the winner just wanted the damned game to be over.

Remember the smell of freshly sharpened pencils? How about the look of a super clean blackboard that wouldn’t be that clean again until next September. Recess was controlled insanity! Especially the first recess of the year when for the first time in two months you were forced to sit still and actually pay attention. When the bell went off, you couldn’t get out of the classroom fast enough, and would hit the pavement running. You’d run for the entire fifteen minutes. You would then go back to class and find out just how much you had forgotten during the summer. Some people didn’t seem to have forgotten anything and if anything knew more than they did last June.

I always hated writing the “What you did for your vacation” essay. I guess I could have written some pretty interesting things, but by the time I was back in school I had been in total boredom for a month and that is all that I remembered. I didn’t remember climbing up the hydro tower, losing my grip and nearly falling to my death. I didn’t remember getting pee’d on while I was climbing the big old maple tree at the cottage. I didn’t remember having spent four hours rowing the boat back from the island when motor died. I didn’t remember the fun I had at our family picnic with all of the uncles, aunts and cousins. I didn’t remember how wonderful it was to spend time with mom and dad on vacation. I didn’t remember riding on my uncle’s tractor and the time that he let me actually drive it.

I guess I am destined to remember these things now and share them with strangers on the internet. Well, at least my readers now don’t correct my spelling, grammar or make me read it out to the class.

Good luck to all of you students and teachers starting school tomorrow…have fun!