Homes are getting ready for school. We are shuffling and buying furniture to create a classroom feel in our warm townhouse. My GoodMan is hunting for desks online and in stores only to realize that most are out of stock. Buying is step one, assembling will be a whole new story. With home converted into school and office, the kitchen and dining is the only space left which will be referred to as home :)
School days are probably the best phase in life. School is the ideal place to gather knowledge, make memories and lifelong friends. No matter how much as students we would have hated the morning alarms, the homework dues and tedious tests and exams, we look back to our school days with a tinge of nostalgia.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest!" - Benjamin Franklin
No one likes school until we are done with it. Once we step out in the real world, we realize how perfect the world inside our school was. Every room and every corner is filled with our memories. How we used to hate the classroom but love the playground. How we loved the noisy cafeteria but hated the quiet library. How we disliked many of our teachers but loved all of our friends. How we loathed to be there and now cherish the timeless moments. Most of us talk about their schools with a little pride in it. My GoodMan often says, "St. Joseph's was the most prestigious school in my town. Along with a good campus and great teachers, the best kids went to my school."
We all feel that we belonged to the most prestigious school and would most likely relive it exactly the same way. Life is such. We sometimes realize the value of something after it's taken away from us. More than half of our childhood memories are surrounded around the time we spend at school, doing school assignments and talking about school with friends.
One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world – Malala Yousafzai
Truth be told, education goes so much beyond just getting a job and making your parents happy. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful tools out there. School becomes our other home where we learn and grow. We become attached without even being aware. The place feels safe and comfortable in a short span of time. All children eventually can navigate around it with their eyes shut. They own the place. They rule the place. It becomes their beloved kingdom.
“School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” – Lon Watters
A new school year is filled with so much excitement and joy. Usually by August end, the team and teacher assignments are the talk of the town. Getting a popular teacher is like winning a bingo. Multiple times in a day we would check the Facebook page "Who has who in…" to find friends that are going to be with us this year. Shopping for school supplies, backpacks, clothes and shoes. With the exposure on social media, clicking fancy pictures on the first day of school became a new found tradition.
Schools are unparalleled to any other source of education. As schools are set to begin this month, we all suddenly realize nothing is like it used to be. Students everywhere are struggling to accept that their second home is suddenly taken away from them. They won't see their friends or board buses filled with hustle. School starts this week for our town and we still don't feel it. Our children have had their lives turned upside down because everything is unlike it used to be. Right now, their future hangs in the balance.
Damn you Caronavirus!!
We are looking at the sorrow of the students but teachers are equally saddened. These are a few of the things teachers around the country say they miss most about their students:
Their excuses. Their creative, funny, ridiculous excuses — Michelle Winters
Hearing my name 20,000 times a day, getting interrupted 30,000 times. I miss their voices, their questions, and their silly stories! —Abby C.
The middle school sass and friendly banter! — Meg Mohl
All of my students literally, even the noisy, naughty ones! I also miss the jokes and conversations I had with them about social topics and their fights together it made me laugh which always made them laugh back in turn — Zeina
Irrespective of the plan that our school district has offered and that we have chosen, nothing will be like it used to be. Many parents have opinions about how and what the school district should incorporate. Some parents are dissatisfied and upset. They believe that schools haven't done enough to make the education system better.
I am not one to hold back so I wrote a letter to our school district. Hope you will read it and correct me if I am wrong…
September 2020
To,
Teachers and Administrators
United States
Respected Teachers and Staff,
I understand that you are burdened with the incredible task of keeping kids engaged and safe in the middle of a Global Pandemic. I may not be able to agree with you on all your decisions but I assure you that I will always support you because I have faith in you and your abilities. I am confident that you have done everything in your capacity to make the most practical decisions for schools to reopen and function.
I will not critique you because I know that many decisions are made by higher up authorities and you have little or no control over them. If we can't change the situation, we should at least change our attitude towards it. I am aware that you are putting many hours planning and preparing for school without any experience of the unique circumstances that we find ourselves in. You are probably a parent too and you will treat my children as your own. I trust you and know that my two precious peas will have a successful school year. This will make them resilient and teach an important life skill. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
There is no right answer to how and what will work. No one can guarantee that you won't have to revise and reset throughout this year. Hopefully one day, we will all be able to put this behind us and remember how we survived the most difficult time in recent human history and came out victorious.
I am looking forward to 2020-2021 being an awesome school year and going over and beyond our modest expectations. In the words of Michelle Obama, "You may not always be able to solve all of the world's problems but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."
On behalf of parents, both who are able and unable to see the truth, I want to thank you all. Thank you for doing what you do and for being who you are. Thank you for being our guide and helping our children. Thank you for listening and understanding. Thank you for always keeping the needs of our children your top priority. Thank you for trying and trying and trying and never giving up.
We have got your back,
Yours truly,
Mindful Mom
Let's step into the new school year with hopes and dreams and leave all negativity behind us. We have to believe in the good and have faith that it will all work out. We got this! ~ MG
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