School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. School will be here in a few short weeks.
How could summer go by so quickly? I can just hear the moans and groans from all sides.
Parents and children must now get back into a daily routine, which can sorely cramp the style of
leisurely, laid back vacation days. And what a chore that can be; but, in the interest of minor
things such as increasing knowledge and securing future careers, classrooms will soon be filled
once again.
The first day is marked by different scenarios, depending upon which campus you might visit.
Crying kindergartners - and moms - may be seen at all elementary schools. Finding out who is in
your class and what the new teacher is like is important at any age. Checking out the new kids
who have moved in over the summer is a must. In the higher grades, schedule changes and getting
students to the right buildings can be administrative nightmares.
Notebooks, pencils, rulers and crayons are still on the supply list. So are costly calculators and
backpacks. Store aisles are filled with miniature shoppers pleading for a certain kind of lunch box.
Mothers at the mall with their older scholars are being given that unmistakable look that says "you
don't really expect me to wear THAT do you."
Older generations still love to talk about how things were when they were getting their educations.
Most of them declare they walked five miles in the snow just to get to the one room schoolhouse.
However, we have come to realize this was just one of those things said to convince us of how bad
they had it and how good we have it today. We see the same look on the faces of our own
children, though, when we tell them the girls couldn't wear slacks, much less, jeans to school "back
then." And, the fact that most of the cars in the parking lot belonged to the teachers, not the
students, is incomprehensible. Oh well, maybe they did walk five miles in the snow!
Many positive changes are being introduced in our schools. Block scheduling allows high
schoolers to spend more time in each class, which means more intensive instruction. Dr. Thomas
Armstrong has written a book called In Their Own Way, teaching the multiple intelligence theory.
Similar to magnet school programs, each child is encouraged to learn in ways that identify their
particular areas of interest and ability.
Good grades have always had a reward, but recently an area school has implemented a highly
desirable prize - a college education for those who work hard. What a deal - for the students and
the parents!
Unfortunately, there is a downside to schools these days. It is reported that too many parents don't
want to be bothered with their child's status in class, good or bad. One father of a first grader told
the teacher that his son didn't need to excel in school, after all, he was going to be a motorcycle
mechanic when he grew up!
Safety concerns are at an all time high. Police cars are hardly noticed as they are parked on
campus every day. Random drug testing in some schools is now mandatory.
A Boy Named Robert
How did we ever get to this place? This sad and scary place. There's a pretty unique eighth
grader who could give the formula for solving life's tough equations, whether at school or
otherwise. To Robert it is so simple because he has experienced it.
Recently, Robert became very ill. He has a long way to go, even now, to be up and around again,
but he is making progress every day. He attributes this to the fact that when he became so
desperately sick, his classmates prayed really hard for him. They prayed for the whole family.
After all, the kids didn't know you couldn't do that any more in the classroom. What's more, they
sent him Holy Scriptures and posters just to cheer him while he recuperated.
The parents and teachers who witnessed the ordeal decided not to tell Robert's friends to stop their
parade of compassion. They just couldn't bring themselves to do it. For if they had stopped, that
first week Robert may have died instead of lived. The second week, he may have stayed in that
coma instead of waking up. The next week, he could have continued to be hooked up to life
support. At the end of six weeks, Robert may have been silent instead of calling his teacher on the
phone and whispering, "Hello, in a few months I will be playing basketball."
So, you see why life's problems are simple to Robert. He and his friends at school have proven
the theory. You just take the questions to Someone who really knows the answers. Sometimes, it
is the students who do the teaching.
How could summer go by so quickly? I can just hear the moans and groans from all sides.
Parents and children must now get back into a daily routine, which can sorely cramp the style of
leisurely, laid back vacation days. And what a chore that can be; but, in the interest of minor
things such as increasing knowledge and securing future careers, classrooms will soon be filled
once again.
The first day is marked by different scenarios, depending upon which campus you might visit.
Crying kindergartners - and moms - may be seen at all elementary schools. Finding out who is in
your class and what the new teacher is like is important at any age. Checking out the new kids
who have moved in over the summer is a must. In the higher grades, schedule changes and getting
students to the right buildings can be administrative nightmares.
Notebooks, pencils, rulers and crayons are still on the supply list. So are costly calculators and
backpacks. Store aisles are filled with miniature shoppers pleading for a certain kind of lunch box.
Mothers at the mall with their older scholars are being given that unmistakable look that says "you
don't really expect me to wear THAT do you."
Older generations still love to talk about how things were when they were getting their educations.
Most of them declare they walked five miles in the snow just to get to the one room schoolhouse.
However, we have come to realize this was just one of those things said to convince us of how bad
they had it and how good we have it today. We see the same look on the faces of our own
children, though, when we tell them the girls couldn't wear slacks, much less, jeans to school "back
then." And, the fact that most of the cars in the parking lot belonged to the teachers, not the
students, is incomprehensible. Oh well, maybe they did walk five miles in the snow!
Many positive changes are being introduced in our schools. Block scheduling allows high
schoolers to spend more time in each class, which means more intensive instruction. Dr. Thomas
Armstrong has written a book called In Their Own Way, teaching the multiple intelligence theory.
Similar to magnet school programs, each child is encouraged to learn in ways that identify their
particular areas of interest and ability.
Good grades have always had a reward, but recently an area school has implemented a highly
desirable prize - a college education for those who work hard. What a deal - for the students and
the parents!
Unfortunately, there is a downside to schools these days. It is reported that too many parents don't
want to be bothered with their child's status in class, good or bad. One father of a first grader told
the teacher that his son didn't need to excel in school, after all, he was going to be a motorcycle
mechanic when he grew up!
Safety concerns are at an all time high. Police cars are hardly noticed as they are parked on
campus every day. Random drug testing in some schools is now mandatory.
A Boy Named Robert
How did we ever get to this place? This sad and scary place. There's a pretty unique eighth
grader who could give the formula for solving life's tough equations, whether at school or
otherwise. To Robert it is so simple because he has experienced it.
Recently, Robert became very ill. He has a long way to go, even now, to be up and around again,
but he is making progress every day. He attributes this to the fact that when he became so
desperately sick, his classmates prayed really hard for him. They prayed for the whole family.
After all, the kids didn't know you couldn't do that any more in the classroom. What's more, they
sent him Holy Scriptures and posters just to cheer him while he recuperated.
The parents and teachers who witnessed the ordeal decided not to tell Robert's friends to stop their
parade of compassion. They just couldn't bring themselves to do it. For if they had stopped, that
first week Robert may have died instead of lived. The second week, he may have stayed in that
coma instead of waking up. The next week, he could have continued to be hooked up to life
support. At the end of six weeks, Robert may have been silent instead of calling his teacher on the
phone and whispering, "Hello, in a few months I will be playing basketball."
So, you see why life's problems are simple to Robert. He and his friends at school have proven
the theory. You just take the questions to Someone who really knows the answers. Sometimes, it
is the students who do the teaching.
| School Days by Cynthia Price |
Cynthia and her husband, Bill, have four grown children and five grandchildren. She has been active for
many years in her church and in Bible Study Fellowship.
A writer and speaker, Cynthia has a heart for women and their special needs. She is available to speak to
your women's group and can be contacted at cbankprice@cablelynx.com.
many years in her church and in Bible Study Fellowship.
A writer and speaker, Cynthia has a heart for women and their special needs. She is available to speak to
your women's group and can be contacted at cbankprice@cablelynx.com.
Copyright © 20008 Cynthia Price. All rights reserved.
© Photographer: Steven Pepple
Agency: Dreamstime.com
Agency: Dreamstime.com