First Day of School

I feel their pain, the teachers on the first day of school. I was one of them. The summer had come to an end two days earlier, and now the little curtain climbers are back through the door.

It is funny how retirement and getting away suddenly gives one perspective. I always hated that first day because that day set the tone for the rest of the year. In a small school like PBL, we had meetings with the entire classes to let them know that this was their school and they created the atmosphere. The students are the life blood of the school, and their attitudes often determine whether the place was heaven or hell. Oh, teachers and administrators are important, but not as key as how the students perceive the flavor of the school. If they feel empowered, and important and wanted, then it will go well. If teachers and administrators emanate a feeling of not caring about the students as people, but rather numbers, then the year will be long and hard.

New clothes are abundant. Some of them not appropriate for school. Thongs and underwear stick out, boobs show, and educators cringe. Guys have to prove their manhood, girls have to argue about boys. It never ends. It used to be that teachers had to worry about belts and tucked in shirts. Now they fight with lowcut blouses, pants that are kept around the knees by a belt, and if Charlie is texting messages instead of paying attention. Fashion changes, but good taste should not. Students have to treat the school like a job and they should dress like they are going to work.

The cafeteria line was always important. Students act like the cafeteria will run out of food before they get to eat. There is more pushing and shoving for this serving than there is trying to get on a line in Disneyland. Once they do get their food, and they eat, they leave their tables looking like a dump and expect the "hired help" to clean up after them. It makes one wonder what their home kitchens look like.

Schools have developed an "Us versus Them" mentality. Students and teachers do not collaborate, they deal with each other for the time they are together. It used be that the mutual respect between the two allowed for an exchange of ideas, for free thinking. But now, teachers and administrators must pay close attention to the bottom line both financially and educationally. This leads to little interaction and students learning drops, so test scores do too.

Parents seemt to think that they know more about education than the schools. I mean, after all, they did go to school and little Johnny is a perfect angel at home. Parents no longer stand behind the schools, but rather see them as an extension of the government that is easily accessible and so they can be more vocal with them. Gone are the days of "What you get at school, you get twice as bad at home". Parents now run to school to defend and point fingers at teachers, instead of backing the teacher and telling Johnny to learn to read, to get his or her butt in gear. Parents would never think of barging into a doctor's office and telling them how treat their child, or tell the judge how to do something in his courtroom, why would they do it in a classroom? If they wanted to be teachers, they should have gotten a degree and done it. Let the professionals do their jobs, I say.

Ahhhhhhh, the first day of school, how I don't miss it.

Doughnut