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Mar 31, 2003 Just to clear things up before you get the wrong idea, yes I love my son very much and yes I cherish the time we have together. But, how many days off from school do they need? I swear each year the days off dramatically increases, no, I am not the dramatic one, and they spend more time at home. Just what do the schools think they are accomplishing here? Not only does my son get tons of time off but he always has half-days about once a month. I dont get it. I write full time. In my home. Enough said. Do I get writing done when he is home? Uh-huh. Between the television, loud games, hollering, and tons of distractions every twenty minutes, my mind just cannot stay focused. Knowing that summer is looming close, I already am busily trying to figure out how I am going to balance work and quality time for two and a half months. Like most people who work, I take my weekends off, unless I have something brewing that is keeping me from sleep. Otherwise, it is family time and I dont want anything to interfere. During the week I stay productive and keep my fingers busy typing away. Except of course the days that there isnt school. I understand Christmas break and spring break, no problem. Holidays and special occasions are also appreciated and welcomed. But it is all the days off in between! It is maddening. There is no way he can have learned a years worth of education in the amount of time he was present at school. He hasnt missed school for being sick or appointments, it has all been up to the school. This year there were two snow days and again, as frustrating as it is, I was happy to know he wasnt on a bus when the roads were bad. I dont bark at spontaneity, but a snow day is pretty short notice. My son does a pretty decent job keeping busy and once again, just so you dont get the wrong idea about me, I do make sure to spend time with him. I love him dearly and he means the world to me. I am no stranger to sacrificing what I like to do for the betterment of others. There isnt a day where I would be so rude as to shut the door and ignore someone for the whole day. Nothing, even writing, means more to me than the time spent with my loved ones. But I feel I compromise much more than the teachers do. Almost every time he has been off from school they dont even supply them with a little homework. I am not talking hours, just maybe one hour, to make up for the eight they arent in school. Do they? Noooooo. I know I am not the only one who feels this way as all of us mothers at the bus stop shake our heads as the impending day off approaches. I remember when I worked and how stressed out I would be to worry about who would be looking after my son that day. So I do feel sympathy with working parents who have to arrange their schedules and lives around the constantly growing number of days kids arent in class learning. What worries me even more is hearing the government discuss shortening the school year somehow. I already feel that I obtained a better education when I was young than he is getting now. The quality has gone down somewhere and not all the teachers are quite as dedicated. I fully appreciated an individual who has the patience to teach and I do feel they should be paid adequately, but there are constant strikes happening and the ones who suffer the most are the kids. Which brings me back to my first point about the school scheduling too many days off. I am not the only one suffering here. Oops, did I write that? My apologies, suffering may be too harsh of a word. Let me try this again. I am not the only one who is slightly peeved and put off and frustrated with the schools, the children are losing out on more time to learn before heading off to the next grade level. I have yet to go to a school and see improvements that these so called school improvement days are suggesting. If the teachers are indeed benefiting, wonderful, but let us strike a compromise. But today I will sit on the couch with him, watch a movie, play a game, make lunch, and once in a while look at the computer, missing the tapping sounds on the keyboard, resisting the urge to start another story. Instead I will smile, laugh, and enjoy the time we have. Oh and silent curse the school. About the author: Nancy Jackson is a full time author and poet with works in Literati, Twilight Times, Anotherealm, Sonny World, and various anthologies. Her pasttimes include spending time with her loved ones, drinking wine, and lots of writing! Email Nancy Jackson: coryann93@yahoo.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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