Skip to main content

What I have Learned in School This Year

It's the last day of school. I realize that not everyone's lives are focused around an academic calendar. Mine always has. For someone who really hated school, I seem to have found a strange way of expressing it. All of my jobs have been in academic institutions. Maybe I am expressing it by attempting to exorcise the past. If I can make school a better place for other children, it somehow redeems the past.

I digress.

A traditional last day of school exercise is the "What I learned this year" essay. Wait--does anyone write essays in school anymore? Sadly, they probably don't. Alright, how about a list? Here's mine:

  • Seventh grade is better than sixth grade, especially as you make friends and find your niche.
  • Dress codes and their enforcement are an exercise in body shaming for girls.
  • Middle school teachers are frustrated by the academic toll NCLB has left on students--kids are unable to do what they used to be able to do in middle school. (Thinking skills, writing skills, problem-solving)

  • Multiple snow days have a negative effect on building rapport with special needs preschoolers.
  • It is still possible to get lost driving between sixteen different schools.
  • Fewer and fewer children recognize Barney's singing voice.

  • We have to fight for arts education in Howard County. (!)
  • Parent and teacher involvement in the process is no longer a given.
  • I'm finally energized enough to overcome my shyness and get involved with HCPSM and the PTA.

  • My husband still rocks.
  • Guitar ensembles are awesome.
  • Reaching the Other 80% is the next big thing in school music.

That's a whole lot of learning. It may take me several months to recover.

 

What have you learned this year?

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...
Post a Comment
Read more