Here in Canada the Tue after Labour Day weekend is our first day back to school. I walked with my son for his first day back. He is starting Grade 4. He had the feeling of excitement and apprehension all wrapped into one. New teacher, some new friends, and lots of new stuff to study. The older my son gets, the more I can recall clearly what it was like being his age.
When I was 9, my family moved from the relatively soft life in Montreal Canada to Calcutta India. I started grade 4 there. I took a regular city bus to school, trying to find a spot on the overloaded bus with hundreds of commuters in 35 degree heat and 100% humidity. I went to school by myself. My parents just let me go. I had to learn how to write a new language (Hindi, which is not my mother tongue, but the national language) and adapt to a new school system. Funny thing is that I just took it in stride, like a big adventure. A few times, I spent my bus money on snacks at our break, so I had to walk the 7K back to our home. My parents thought it was a good lesson in money management, giving no thought to the “danger” of a 9 year old kid walking by himself for 7K in a city of 6 million people.
As I reflect back on my grade 4 experience to that of my son, I chuckle at how much more lattitude we got as kids, compared to kids these days. My son is a good kid, but for the life of me, I’d never trust him to take a city bus even in a benign suburb of Ottawa by himself. I am sure he would do it just fine, it is just that we don’t do that stuff anymore.
In any case, it is cool watching kids grow up. The first day back at school is special. On my son’s last day in grade 3, I had a head on collision (bike vs. van). I am just glad that I was alive yesterday to experience the first day of grade 4.
I’m an elementary school principal in Northern New Jersey, USA. We welcomed back 625 children to our school today. We were blessed with beautiful weather.
There is no greater and no more sacred task than the education of the young. For all the conversation and talk about schools and schooling that I have to endure, I attempt to do my job with a single focus: to do the best that I can, working with the resources at my disposal, to give these children the school they deserve.
Also, my own children began their schooling today - two first graders and a pre-k student. They were up at six this morning, dressed and ready to go. The flame is bright in them now. May it stay for a long time.
Thanks for your devotion to the “next generation”. I do my little bit coaching soccer and running an XC ski club for 90 kids ages 5-12. As you can likely imagine from my posts, I’m not easy on the kids, but my job is not to be their friend. Yes having fun is important, but if I can impart life skills that they carry outside of sport, I have really done my job!
We don’t have any kids, but it was the first day back to school for my wife - as a teacher. It was a pretty big day for her as it is her first real teaching job (real job of any sort for that matter), first first day of school, and the first time she’s had a classroom all to herself. Personally I can’t imagine spending my day with 25 Grade 1/Grade 2 kids - teachers seriously amaze me.
Congrats to your wife on her new job. We have been blessed with excellent caring teachers from grade 1 to grade 3. Teachers should be paid more, given their value to society…
My kids started back today (Wed.). They are going into grade 5 and 1. The first grader went to bed early last night (her idea) because she was so excited about getting up for school today. It’s so nice to see such excitement in her still. My 5th grader isn’t as excited. She complains a bit about school work and homework, but I think she also enjoys the challenge that school gives her. She comes home from school, plops down in the kitchen and starts her homework without a word from me. I can’t ask for much more than that.
I agree with you, Dev. I would never let my older daughter ride a bus by herself, but I remember how much more freedom I had when I was her age. The hard thing is finding the balance of letting them grow up and have more responsibility while also keeping them safe and helping them find their way in the world.
I just had to comment on that as well. My niece is an absolutely amazing 6th grade teacher. She devotes her whole life to giving her kids a great education. She’s in her 3rd year of teaching and has already decided that she can’t teach the rest of her life. She’s not making enough to live any kind of decent life. She’s living with her parents still (she’s in her early 20’s) and knows that if she moves out that most of her income will be gone with housing. It breaks my heart that someone who loves teaching and is so good at it will give it up because she can’t make a decent living. I think the teachers here in Ontario make much better money than many in the US, but it’s still not great.
My kids started school over a week ago. I think our district has decided we are so far behind other countries we need to start earlier to have any chance of catching up. Next year we start in mid August. Do you have any idea how many science and engineering grads China and India are pumping out vs USA? It is scary to think about our kids future sometimes. I guess we will always be good at making weapons though…
Mine just started as well which means my bike commute to work gets more complicated as I ride with the kids to school first (no way I would ever let them bike there without me). To celebrate the big first day, I put aside my beater and broke out the Tri Bike, racing outfit, Disk and all - kids thought it was hilareous. Not quite up to par with all the Escalades and Hummers in the lot but did notice of few of the soccer moms checking out my legs :o)
Jeff…I pushed my bike beside me as I walked with my son. Then I get on the bike and both cranks are pointing to the ground. I am not sure if the soccer moms were checking out the powercranks or the shaved down legs, but I had a good laugh indeed.
If this tri stuff is worth nothing else, at least my son things it is cool that I race and I am more ripped than the average beer drinking pizza eating 40 year old (not like there is anything wrong with that either…)
I love the start of school; everything is so fresh and exciting. I even made up a little song that I sing to my kids about it – drives 'em crazy!!
When I was in 4th grade, we lived in Tokyo, Japan. My sisters and I (I’m the oldest) used to walk the 20-25 minute walk to school. Sometimes we’d take a cab home or the subway or even a public bus. As safe as Japan is, I’m not sure I’d give my kids as much freedom today.
First day for my son in grade 3 went well. I walked with him to school as I have done every “first day”. It’s great to see him getting older and growing. He really has grown in many ways this summer.
we started two weeks ago… the school year seems to get longer and longer. OTOH, the longest vacation I ever had in school was 6 weeks for the summer break around Christmas (S. hemisphere), so the 10-12 weeks the US takes appears very peculiar. My brother and I walked the mile or so to school and back again, from 2nd grade until high school. My kids don’t have that opportunity, which seems sad.
I’d inadvertently organized a 3-day canoe camping trip, taking Monday off, for the first full week of school… oops. We went anyway, I figured my boy has many days in school, but not so many on the river, so river days are more important, hah!
Teachers, like nurses, tend to be overworked and underpaid. I admire them greatly - tried it for a year, but I wasn’t tough enough for the job.
“life involves maintaining oneself between contradictions that can’t be solved by analysis.”
William Empson
First day back for my teenage daughter too. Yikes!
She had her hair done yesterday just so she can be perfect for the first day back. She’s a total doll so I’m in big trouble this year.
She did her first triathlon this summer so she’s going to be the bad ass girl jock at school this year. I love It!
As far as being a parent with shaved legs,tanned skin and a tri dudes physique, my daughter told me last summer that she’s proud of me.
She’s gotten used to her old man’s obsession which seems to be setting a good example for her and her other friends who I consider my kids too since they practically live at our place all week.
I got asked to help coach the girls/boys Varsity swim team this winter.Haven’t made my decision yet,but it should be fun.
I watched them compete last year and there’s some talent there.
With the exception of one Junior, I think I can still take most of them in a 50/100m FS chainsaw battle.
With all that said, my kid also told me that she wouldn’t think of me any less if I decided to turn into a regular dad, pizza/beer belly and all, or as Dev likes to put it…" a Doughboy"…!
I guess we raised her well.She already told me that she is going to destroy all my Ironman/HIM PR’s one day.
Hey man…very cool. You should definitely coach the team. You daughter will think you are even cooler…(plus you can keep an eye on those testosterone charged boys…)
Well for me it was back to work. I’ve never gotten a chance to take my kids to school on their first day since it’s always my first day too. My wife gets this opportunity and my daughters started grades 5 and 8 yesterday. I was at school for a staff meeting at 7:00 and then got greet my classes. One thing that’s awesome about being a teacher is that you get to experience the excitement of the first day of school and the last day before summer holidays that you have as a kid every year until retirement For me the only negative aspect from yesterday is that my last period of the day has 36 grade 9 math students in it … I’m short 3 desks in my classroom and had to pull in chairs from other rooms for them to sit on (plus it will take me extra time to remember all those names!).
My two will both be in preschool for the first time. My son was there last year. I’m excited for them and scared at the same time. My daughter is such a ‘mommy’s girl’. My son is so sweet, but he needs to learn to defend himself and needs to learn that there are some aggressive people in this world. It will all be fine, but I wish I could be there to protect them and comfort them. All part of growing up I guess… for them and for me.
Yesterday was back to work for me as well. Another group of Grade 5s, this one maybe more promising than the past several. Budget cuts remain ominous, however, as somehow the money from the Feds never seems to make it intact to the Rez. We plod on, though, working hard to instill in the kids the idea that education is valuable - even though for many of their family members, for a long ways back, it became a dead-end endeavor relatively early in their school “careers”.
As with Allan, I never saw my kids off to school, and that’s a regret to be sure. My daughter is now beginning fourth-year university, my son second-year university, so there’s no turning back for me! Waxing nostalgic, though, when my daughter was 3 1/2 and my son 6 months, I began a year in which I didn’t work and was the stay-at-home with them; that was the best year of my life. I drove my daughter to and from Montessori school every day with my son in tow, and then after school we would hit the Ottawa playgrounds. A great time was had by all - especially me!
Four years out from retirement, my big hope is that I will make it to that point feeling no regrets for all those years in a classroom. I’m now in my 18th year on the Rez, and the positive strokes are few and far between, but one learns to look between the lines and focus on the small victories. That where the rewards are, nuggets in the vast outwash plain. (Oh, please!)
