Today is the first day of school. Along with my wife, we took our kids to their elementary school this morning. What chaos! Given the size of the school, it is indeed tough to keep all of the various classes organized for the first day. Despite this, my kids were pretty relaxed and ready to go. They were certainly a lot more relaxed and happy to be there for the first day than I ever was when I was their age. I think that, overall, they were quite happy and excited for school to be back in session.
Contrary to my children, I am feeling quite sad for some reason. I just don't know why though. Am I feeling sad because my kids are clearly growing up and progressing? Am I stressed over the fact that all of their myriad activities are also starting this week and it is going to be a major time management challenge for the next ten months? Am I sad because they seem to be so relaxed and happy about school starting and, when I look back at my own experience, I was always anxious and fairly unhappy on the first day of school? Perhaps it is all of these things.
I am hoping that my kids have a great school year in 2019/20. I guess that I worry about this. One of my kids is in a grade in which I had an absolutely terrible time. But, I need to remind myself that my kids aren't me - it isn't 1981 and the world and school system has changed a lot over the past 38 years.
Part of me is also agitated by the state of the public education system and the lack of support that it gets in terms of funding. The last few years have seen lots of budget cuts due to the state of the provincial economy and the government's finances. Yet, I am happy to be here in Canada where the public education system is still relatively good - I think that it is well-balanced and we haven't succumbed to the seductions of standardized testing and the stripping out of exercise and play that lately characterizes public education systems in some other countries.
As I was driving home from the school this morning, the CBC radio program "The Current" had a segment on the importance of play in schools and how this actually has positive impacts on learning. It's more or less the same argument that can be made for wellness programs in workplaces that encourage employees to take breaks, get exercise, etc. This actually increases health, productivity, and creativity. I definitely hope that the Canadian public education system does not move away from things like recess, gym classes, etc.
The segment on education starts at approximately 21:12.
CBC's The Current for Sept. 3, 2019
Comments
Post a Comment