Now, back to here.
I had a very tough time in coming with a blog post for today. I'd first started off last week writing about my dream world, but I hit a traditional four tine fork in the road. Then, I started writing about radio silence, but it soon took a turn for the nasty, so we put that on the back burner as well. That left me with the prospect of not having a post for everyone and in fact, I came this close to performing a post repeater from early July when I was on vaca.
But, I couldn't do that to everyone yet again.
What to do, what to do, what to do....then, out of the tiny corner of my brain, inspiration struck @ 5a this morning (seriously).
Let's write about skool!
For those of you who may not be parents or part of the decrepit US educational system, feel free to move on to the next blathering drive-by post. But, if you feel like that you must hang around to get in your fair share of "HA! BETTER YOU THAN ME!", go for it. On this blog, smugness is a virture.
Just like the retail Christmas season, which pretty much starts in October, so goes the retail skool season, which usually starts the 2nd week after skool has ended for everyone. My answer to that is pretty much my boilerplate answer to everything else that starts earlier than God: W. T. F. IS GOING ON HERE?
Summer is short enough as it is, why ruin it for millions of kids and millions of parents by shoving down everyone's collective throats skool related crapola!
Let the children enjoy the three month summer break. They need it as much as the adults do, because quite frankly, it's way too early to turn them into mini-me's. For example, I'm already dealing the stress of my daughter having a boyfriend. I'm also dealing with the stress of my daughter going from this:
To this:
And becoming an overachieving sophomore in high skool this coming year. Please don't make it worse by pounding the "back-to-skool" crap down my throat for three solid months. And please let me enjoy my morning & evening commute to work/from work for as long as humanly possible.
My summer commute is ridiculously easy. When skool is out of session, my commute is about 15 minutes tops (no highway, all suburban) each way. When skool is in session, my commute turns into a horror show almost doubled in time, each way.
To whit: I have to play dodge ball with stupid parents who clog up the main roads dropping off/picking up their children at skool (city skools are pretty much universally despised for this); I have to play dodge ball with busses on the selected routes (usually takes me about three weeks to figure which bus goes where and what time I have to leave home in order not to get stuck behind one); I have to play dodge ball with parents who make sure they get their childrens off on the proper track of disobeying the rules by not waiting for the crosswalk signal. Etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum.
Is it any wonder that I'm pretty much null and void at the beginning and the end of my work day?
I'm a rare parent who doesn't like the fact that skool starting up soon and my daughter, who is a super achiever extraordinaire (bottom photo was taken at the end of the dinner given to those students who made high honors for at least two quarters), will soon start her routine of suffering some form burnout roughly four times a month.
Skool. Where reality is not in the eyes of the simpletons who run them, but the almighty dollar is.
(c) 2016 BOOKS BY G.B. MILLER. All Rights Reserved.
I know I always got a lot out of my summer vacations. Still do
ReplyDeleteMy dad use to get maximum enjoyment out of his by teaching in Jamaica every summer.
DeleteDid you tell her boyfriend you have a shotgun?
ReplyDeleteI might not have kids, but I know what you mean about the school buses. I also time my commute to miss as many as possible. Which is why I go to work so dang early.
So many schools are year round now. While I understand why that's better, still sucks for those kids. They'll never enjoy three months of letting the brain go to mush.
No need, as I'm the secret weapon. He hasn't met me yet, so things are good.
DeleteI'm telling you, if I'm forced to deviate from my normal morning commute/even commute during the skool year, I am doomed. Both my routes have so many skools (elementary, middle and magnet) that if I want a quick drive, I hop on the highway and deal with morning rush hour.
I definitely enjoyed letting my brain go to mush every summer. Best thing that ever happened to me.
Good radio is tough to find these days! I have a small one I walk with , I want the old days of WRKO back...
ReplyDeleteThat's cool, but I was talking about the concept of radio silence, in which a person goes quiet in order to sneak up on another for example. I definitely do appreciate radio of ye olden days, where each station had its own unique personality.
DeleteI have to agree that here in the UK the roads are a dream during the school holidays. And yes the arrival of the new school uniforms in the shops before the kids even break up for summer is irritating. Mind you, you wait, I'm in full flow getting my daughters ready for Uni and College. The amount of stuff they need is unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is growing up fast!!
I'm pretty sure that this year will be relatively light on the wallet, since about 1/3 of the stuff we bought last year didn't get completely used.
DeleteYes she is, both physically, emotionally and mentally.
My children have relocated and easily found the right private school for my granddaughter but my daughter has had a terrible time finding a job as a Para Professional. All of a sudden, one week before school is to start, she has been inundated with offers. Guess the public schools just got their budgets for the new year. I am so happy to be out of having to worry about my school age children. Your daughter is BEAUTIFUL! You best keep an eye out dad.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to your daughter for now having a plentiful bounty of job offers. I actually like our local school system, in spite of the hysteria being perpetrated by the BOE, so I'm confident that mine is being properly challenged.
DeleteYes she is, which is why now I've started slipping into Al Bundy mode.
I loved the lighter traffic during the commute for the five minutes school was out.
ReplyDeleteA woman came in the printing company the other day with a rather hyperactive child - the woman looked at me and said, "One more day..." and smiled. The daughter was due to go back to school the next day. :)
I'm still not quite used to some states having skool start in mid August. Mine starts just before Labor day. I enjoy the light morning traffic right now, as I can get away to leaving about quarter of or so and still get to work on time.
DeleteOne good thing about school here: summer break is 3 months. I know someone who grew up overseas and only got a few weeks for breaks during the year.
ReplyDeleteAt the most, ours was almost 2 1/2 months and when I was but a lad, skool started after Labor day. Today, it blows me away that in some states, skool starts in mid-August.
DeleteI was at a mall today, and the fall clothing collections are front and centre. It feels wrong to be walking in from full-on summer heat to view fur-lined hats and insulated boots. I agree with you: let us enjoy the season a little longer! What's wrong with living in the moment?
ReplyDeleteI agree, that is very wrong. Saw the same thing while shopping at my fav discount store yesterday. They had a rack of fall windbreakers on display right at the front door. Which was very bad since we're smack dab in a heatwave right now.
DeleteI don't have kids, but every year I hear that summer break gets shorter and shorter. Pretty soon kids will just get off 3 days in the summer before going right back to their 80 hour weeks (I assume, with current trends).
ReplyDeleteAt least your daughter won't have to grow up through that!
Oh I don't know about that. This summer she did about 7-10 hours a week for ice skating. During the skool year, in addition to the action packed 7 1/2 day, she'll also do time with the high skool marching band, ice skating, dance, symphonic band, the clerical work behind the music dept (so to speak), etc. etc. etc. About four times a month, she'll suffer burnout from all the stuff she does and will spend a Saturday or Sunday simply crashing/recovering.
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