Education

Well, I'm feeling lazy today. It's the first day of school and as a retired teacher I feel lucky. I have time to attend to family and house jobs without the stress of schoolwork crowding my thoughts. My day started off well. Jian Gomeshi's opening  essay on CBC radio Q was called Unbottling our water. Amen Jian! 
Because I am in a lazy mood I will cheat and post a piece that I wrote a while back. This one appeared in the Ottawa Citizen  on September 6, 2011. They called it Education is a long road. This time around I'd like to dedicate it to my darling grandson who just went to daycare for the very first time. The journey commences!

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It’s the first month of school and for the first time in twenty seven years, we do not have a child in school. In 1984 we put our first born on a school bus.  Up until this past spring, we have had kids in school ever since. Two years after him, his sister followed him to St Mary’s School in Brampton. Their little brother  joined his siblings at Elmdale Public School, in 1989, after our move to Ottawa.

When you enrol your little one in kindergarten, you don’t envision the long road ahead for them and you. You concentrate on this year’s teacher and classmates. When you attend that first parent /teacher meeting, you don’t realize that this is the first, of possibly 14 such meetings, 18 if you go again in the second semesters of high school.  That’s just the night you meet the teachers. We’re not even talking about parent /teacher interview nights – probably about 84 for us. It’s probably a good idea not to think about the big numbers – just take it a year at a time.

We don’t regret spending any of that time and energy going to those meetings, helping with homework, going on class trips, or volunteering in the classroom. Is there any better way to be involved in your child’s life than to become a partner in their education? We were always eager to meet the people with whom our children were spending their days. Although the news was not always positive, we appreciated the frank feedback that we received on interview nights.

There have been bumps and detours over the years, but the “kids” have emerged from the process as a teacher/small business owner, a social worker and a translator.  We know that we are very fortunate that our children were blessed with the ability to succeed in school and that they were motivated to work diligently to achieve their goals - lucky us!

It has often been said that it takes a village to raise a child; we had such a village. Our extended families have provided care, interest and enthusiasm from the very start. Our neighbours have been patient with ball hockey and other games that spilled onto their properties. These neighbours were friendly customers when our children were delivering newspapers or selling Girl Guide cookies. They served in countless volunteer roles:  making ice at the local rink, serving on school committees and acting as Cub leaders, Brownie leaders, or Sunday School teachers. Every adult that a child meets has an impact on a youngster, whether it is the compassionate doctors who have served our needs or the instructors who guided them through tennis, swim, music and other lessons.

But it was at school where they spent the bulk of their time away from home. Kids are affected by everyone on staff, whether it is a welcoming secretary in the office, a friendly caretaker or a compassionate guidance counsellor.   

Of course their teachers played a major role in their formation. To all those who  taught  our children- at St. Mary’s,  Elmdale, Connaught, or Fisher Park elementary schools, Nepean or Canterbury High Schools, the University of Guelph, SUNY at Potsdam, Queen’s, Carleton or Ottawa U  – a sincere thank you. We are very grateful for your diligence and encouragement. Thank you for your patience with us. Like all parents, we have made our fair share of mistakes over the years.

School has changed tremendously since that fall of 1984. Laptops, Smart Boards and the internet were not a part of classrooms then. However, in spite of all the technological advances, today’s students mostly require caring adults in their lives; they need actively involved parents, attentive and informed teachers, and an encouraging community.

When our children were babies, I naively thought that parenting was about a twenty year job. Of course I now realize that it’s a lifelong vocation; we will be parents for the rest of our lives. However, this school portion of our journey is over.  Many thanks to our supportive community. Good luck to those just starting out.