Beech Tree News Network

The summer vacation has flown by! Our local children recently returned to school. Although I knew it was coming, I wasn’t ready for school to begin. But it’s that time again.

Many have commented on school and education. Some of those quotes are below:
•    I'm in vacation mode…going back to school will be the death of me. –Unknown (http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Funny_Going_Back_To_School/#ixzz4p1v05ZM).
•    So awkward going back to school and saying hi to everyone you avoided for 3 months…. –Unknown (http://www.searchquotes.com/search/Funny_Going_Back_To_School/#ixzz4p1v05ZM).
•    Schoolteachers are not fully appreciated by parents, until it rains all day Saturday. –E.C. Mckenzie (https://www.surfnetkids.com/backtoschool/283/back-to-school-quotes/).
•    Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. –Albert Einstein (https://www.surfnetkids.com/backtoschool/283/back-to-school-quotes/).
•    You can get all A's and still flunk life. –Walker Percy (http://www.quotegarden.com/back-to-school.html).

I also asked friends and family their thoughts about “back to school”: “When you hear back-to-school information, what do you think about (example: memories, things to do, etc.)?” Their replies were:
•    New shoes, clothes, meeting the teacher, and hoping my friends were in my class.
•    Both memories and things to do.
•    Buying school supplies.
•    As a child, I used to be excited and nervous when starting a new school year. I loved getting new clothes, shoes and backpack. But it also made me nervous. Now as a parent, I dread back-to-school because it means homework, packing lunches, and increased responsibilities. But I love to see my son learning and excited about projects at school.
•    I think about going back to school shopping for planners, folders, pens, sharpies, etc. It’s my favorite part of going back to school.
•    Clean truck and nice shoes.
•    School clothes shopping.
•    Paperwork, seeing friends, school supply shopping, new clothes, and learning.
•    Friends, paperwork, memories, work, recess, and seeing teachers.
•    I always think of brand new crayons, sharp pencils, and crisp blank pages. Every year is a fresh start; a blank slate! It gives me an anxious, excited feeling, almost as if I’m a kid again!
•    I always think about my first grade classroom in 1957. I vividly remember looking out the window to the left of the side door that was always open when weather permitted. I imagined many things looking out that window. I remember how the room smelled – like a wood floor daily mopped with an oil mop. I remember sitting around a rectangular wooden table, reading aloud as the teacher used flash cards. When I realized I couldn’t see the board, I got to move closer. In second grade, I got glasses. I always think of this each year. My future is the only thing I did not see. Strange, but true!
•    To be honest, I am appalled at the volumes of "stuff" kids have to have in school. My 5th grade daughter has a large backpack filled with 4 spiral binders, various folders, specific pencils, pens, etc.  It is so heavy she has to lean backward to carry it.  I do understand, being a former teacher, that finances in schools are tight, and the kids do need all the supplies, but there are parents struggling to feed and clothe their kids, much less spend at least $50 for school supplies.  Somehow, legislators have to re-adjust state budgets so teachers and kids don't have to assume such expenses.
•    I think my days of summer babysitting are ending. No fighting in line for cheap notebooks, no trying to get school clothes ready, no arranging sitters after school. Just a financial donation to help my children do all of the above, cause … I’m the grandma.
•    I start trying to get motivated for the year ahead and thinking about what the year holds for my child. I try to have a positive attitude about my job in the school system and to help get my child prepared mentally to be ready to have a great year.
•    I think about going shopping for clothes and school supplies! It’s one of my favorite times of the year. I bought 65 composition notebooks today!

The local school calendar generally begins in August and ends in May. Even though I wasn’t ready for the summer vacation to end, it’s time for school to begin. So, learn well, students!