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???How was school, Ben???? I
asked my Grandson after he began kindergarten this year.
???The work is too long??¦and
there??™s not enough time to play,??? he replied with a deep sigh.
There are some things that
never change, I thought to myself as I remembered my own first day of
school. I vividly recalled sitting with my cousin, Suzanne, on her back
steps at the end of the first day of school. We had been so excited about
going to school. We sat there with our elbows on our knees and our chins
propped up on our hands as we lamented, like Ben did, ???the work is too long??¦
and there??™s not enough time to play.???
I couldn??™t help but remember
Ben??™s own mother, my daughter, and her reaction to the first day of school.
Julie was also disappointed with the first day of school and so was her
little sister. ???I want to go ???sool??? and you not let me!??? my three-year-old
daughter announced resentfully after her big sister boarded the big yellow
school bus.
When Julie returned home that
afternoon I asked her the same question that I had asked Ben, ???How was
school, Julie????
Julie also replied with a
long, sad face but her answer was a little different from Ben??™s as she
announced, ???I didn??™t learn to read today.??? What a disappointment for a
little girl who thought she would magically know how to read her little
books after the first day of school. I had to explain to her that she would
eventually learn to read but it didn??™t happen quite that fast.
This year as the school bus
went by my house, my mind went back to those school days again. I could
almost smell the chalk dust in the air. I suppose few, if any, schools
still use chalk and blackboards. They have probably been replaced with
newer equipment and large computer screens. One thing that I don??™t missed
is the irritating sound of the chalk as some ornery student caused it to
screech across the board.
I also wonder what new
occupation the children these days manage to get elected to do in order to
get out of school for a few moments since there are no erasers to clean. It
was fun to be ???chosen??? for eraser cleaning duty. This was a task
accomplished by going outside and beating erasers together while sneezing
and coughing. No wonder so many baby boomers now have allergies, it??™s
simply because we all have chalk dust in our lungs!
I remember the excitement of
the first day of school when my friends and I would go peek through the
windows of the school house to try to see what improvements had been made to
the classrooms. It was during the summer months that the gym would be
varnished and rooms that needed it would be repainted. We probably added to
the janitor's work with all the little finger and nose prints of curious
children smeared all over the windows.
On the first day of school,
the anticipation was so great that I would be up early in the morning and
ready long before it was time to leave for school. We walked about 6 blocks
to school in new shoes that felt stiff and restrictive after going barefoot
so much during the summer months.
We didn??™t use back packs when
I was in school but there wasn??™t very much to carry. We had some notebook
paper, a pencil or two, crayons, a pair of scissors, and paste. The paste
smelled so good that it was sometimes a challenge for the teachers to keep
some of the smaller children from eating the paste.
We didn??™t miss having back
packs because who needs them when we had cigar boxes! We carried our small
supplies inside of a cigar box from one of the local stores. The stores in
town must have saved cigar boxes all year just to give to us children
because all we had to do was ask and the store owner would give us one. We
saved them and used them from year to year until they fell apart. A notebook
full of paper, the cigar box with it??™s contents, and we were off down the
road headed for the schoolhouse.
The first day of school was
exciting. It was a new beginning. The doors of knowledge had been opened
and we anticipated great learning adventures. The school had lots of books
and no wonder that a little girl might be disappointed that she ???didn??™t
learn to read today???.
The first day of school is a
milestone or a significant event in our lives that most of us remember.
It??™s a big step for a small child toward leaving babyhood behind and so
???there isn??™t enough time to play???.
We might simply remember that
first day of school because of a new tablet of paper, a pair of new shoes,
or our picture being taken by our parents to commemorate the day.
All too soon small children
grow up and get to go ???to sool???, and although there might be disappointment
on that first day because ???I didn??™t learn to read today???, they do eventually
learn to read.
It does seem that Ben is
right about one thing though??¦no matter how old we get, nor how much we
learn, it still seems like ???The work is too long??¦and there??™s not enough time
to play.???
By
Pamela Perry Blaine
?©
October 2005
About Pamela: I enjoy
writing, music, and country living. I write "Pam's Corner" for the local
newspaper and many writings have been published on the internet as well as
in several books. I have loved music and writing ever since I can remember.
I play piano at church and I'm an avid reader. One of my goals is to be able
to write for my children and grandchildren so special memories will not be
forgotten. We have a CD entitled "I'll Walk You Home" the title song is one
that I wrote and dedicated to my best friend who died from cancer. If you
would like one, they are available by freewill donation. More information
as well as a clip from the CD is on the website at:
http://blaines.us/PamyPlace.htm
e-mail:
pamyblaine@blaines.us
"NO
ONE IS USELESS IN THIS WORLD
WHO LIGHTENS THE BURDEN OF
ANYONE ELSE"
http://www.greatcom.org/laws/englishkgp/default.htm |
