Back to School Blues

[amykhar]

Back to school time is typically perceived as a happy time for parents. Conventional wisdom has it that sending the little tykes off to school means increased freedom and peace of mind for Mom and Dad. However, I have found the opposite to be true.

I dread sending my two oldest back to school each year. After three months of not having to nag them about homework or having to sign countless test papers, assignment planners, and permission slips, I dread September. Because I am a working mother, I see the children the same amount of time each day, whether or not they are in school. School simply means more work for me.

As a working mother, I have a few humble requests for teachers and school systems.

1. Please stop asking me to sign every paper that Junior touches. If you need me to verify that Junior has indeed done his homework, set up a web site for me. List each day’s assignments, and allow me to check them off as they are completed. This will enable me to catch Junior when he tells me that you didn’t assign any homework.

2. Don’t assign projects that are going to have me spending hours trying to track down and procure necessary supplies. Telling a young boy that he must dress as Mozart in order to give his book requirement is cruel and unusual punishment for parents who don’t happen to have powdered wigs on hand and who really don’t have the time to improvise.

3. Set up an email address for teachers. It is often impossible to communicate with teachers because I am at work during the school day.

4. Don’t assign homework just for the sake of assigning homework, and keep assignments reasonable. We don’t get to spend a lot of time with our kids in the evenings as it is. Having to spend what little time we do have nagging about homework means that I always have to be the bad guy.

5. Finally, stop asking my children to sell candy and other items to raise money for the school. My coworkers hate to see me coming with boxes of candy, I don’t know my neighbors because I am at work all day, and it’s not safe to send the children door to door. If you need money, I will happily contribute instead.

Times have changed. Most parents are no longer at home with their kids all day. Schools need to adapt to help parents participate in their children’s education without making the school year a stressful and miserable nine months.