Back to School

Photo by Jeffrey Hamilton on Unsplash

The air feels cooler. Days are shorter. School supplies have replaced pool supplies at the store.

It’s time to go back.

Not too long ago, I looked forward to going back to school. The start of a new school year always felt like it should be celebrated as the New Year holiday. New clothes, new notebooks, new possibilities.

These days, I’m not really feeling it.

21st Century School Days

As my daughter prepares for her last year of middle school, we have new rituals to follow:

• Buying tons of school supplies for her teachers so that the classrooms are stocked with all the things that use to be supplied before severe budget cuts. Many teachers are paying for these things out of their own pocket as their wages stagnate, so we’re always happy to help contribute.
• Updating our contact information so that the school district’s alert system can reach us in a crisis, such as an active shooter.
• Watching so-called Snowplow Parents bully school administrators so their kids to get into the classes of the best teachers. Meanwhile, we force our daughter to deal with the schedule she is given so she understands that adversity is one of the greatest lessons she can learn.
• Getting a new school policy regarding devices…