I recently read a story about how to
prepare your child for going back to school. It was full of all sorts
of interesting and helpful suggestions, tips and advice for helping
your child make the transition from the care-free days of summer to
the regimented routine of a public school system.
When I was a child, the only thing we
did to prepare for going back to school was go shopping for books,
paper, pencils, erasers, (wine for mom and dad to celebrate our
return to school) and even some new clothes – which, of course, you
could not wear on the first day because it was not considered 'cool'
to look your best.
Instead, you wore the same ratty jeans
you had on at the last day of school from the previous year. Like a
fine wine (the kind parents use to celebrate back to school) you had
to let the new clothes sit and 'age' for a while.
At least a week, then you could wear a
new shirt. A few days later you would venture out in your new jeans
and then your new shoes. Eventually you would head out with all of
the new clothing on at the same time, but by now school had been in
session for at least a couple weeks so you were not branded a geek
for wearing new clothes on the first day.
And if memory serves, there was a whole
bunch of other reasons you were branded a geek. Or so I have been
told anyway.
Anyway, the article recommended all
sorts of things to help the youngsters get back into the school
groove before school even starts.
They suggest you start preparing your
children two weeks before the big day by doing things like
establishing a routine, explain expectations, hold those expectations
to a realistic level, talk to your child about school etc.
All good advice indeed. When I was a
kid heading back to the seventh level of hell, er, I mean school, the
only prep we had was seeing those horrid back-to-school commercials
on TV.
They would start a couple weeks before
the nine months of torture would resume and had the never-failing
result of ruining the last vestiges of summer you had yet to enjoy.
Who could enjoy late August when you
knew your care-free days were numbered? Not I.
As for my parent's role in preparing me
for school, if I recall it went something like this: School starts
next week.
The end.
That was about it. A quick reminder I
was about to lose my freedom to the dungeon masters of the public
education system for another year.
There was no advice on how to get used
to going back to school, there were no pep talks, no cushioning the
blow – just one day you are enjoying summer, the next you are
chained to a desk learning that most evil form of math - algebra.
The first day of school we would find
our name on a list taped to the side of the school that let us know
what kind of a school year we were in for.
The list told us what our homeroom was
and what courses we were taking and when. Groaning and gnashing of
teeth was heard throughout the day as people saw their short-term
future printed before them in black and white.
You would then run around to all your
friends to see if you shared any classes with them which either led
to rejoicing or more of that gnashing I was telling you about.
But it only took a few days to get back
into the routine and in the back of my mind was always the
reassurance that summer vacation was less than 300 days away.
Copyright 2016, Darren Handschuh
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