Back to School

It was supposed to be fun. “You’ll love junior high,” everyone told me when I graduated from elementary school.

But they were wrong. 

Junior High started out well enough, but the more I went, the worse it got. There was homework, for one thing. Lots more than what I had in elementary school. The math was harder, the kids were bigger and meaner, and the teachers all seemed to be about one hundred years old. Sure, there were some good moments. At least, I think there were. But for right now all I can recall are the bad ones, and some of the worst have to do with the discovery that Always maxi pads do indeed leak at some point during the day, usually when you’re wearing pastel colored pants.

 

So when my son brought home a bright pink note from the PTA inviting me to spend the day going to all of his seventh grade classes, I hesitated. Would the memories come back? Would I be reduced to my former thirteen year-old self, unable to comprehend algebra, painfully unfashionable, with bad hair and a spotty complexion to boot? By the end of the day would I need to inhale a milk shake to recover from the pain of adolescence? Possibly.

But I wondered what junior high would look like from an adult’s perspective. And though I’ve observed classes as a student of educational studies, I have never spied on my own son. Sometimes it’s disturbing to think that I don’t really know what he does all day. In elementary, I didn’t worry so much. He had a teacher-mother who kept an eye on him, and only twenty-five other kids to be influenced by.

But that’s all changed. I see the kids who come out of junior high when I wait for my child every day. Some look like they’re escaped convicts, others look like they're on their way to becoming wanton hussies, and still others stumble along the sidewalk like drunken slugs. Surely, he’s not tangled up with these kids. Or is he? If I were to spend the day at junior high, I could find out, taking notes in an innocent-looking composition notebook. And if anything were amiss, I could do something about it. What, I don’t know. But knowledge is power, right? Or is ignorance bliss? I forget. 

Anyway, starting tomorrow I’m taking you on a little journey to junior high. I’m giving you permission to look over my shoulder at the copious notes I scribbled throughout the day. It’ll be fun. And you won’t even get in trouble for it.

Comments

[Dana]

Susan - I looked at your picture and I could almost see Calvin looking back at me - minus the curly hair. He truly looks like you. Lucky boy!

[Lisa]

I'm with Shelby....very cute picture and I love your writing!!! I can't wait to hear about your further jh adventures.

[shelby]

oh, and BTW...about that picture...you were ADORABLY CUTE in junior high!

[shelby]

OK, I need to know...do you just sit down at the computer and whip out your witty posts in a few minutes, or do you stew and ponder and read and reread what you wrote over and over and over again - they way I do? I LOVE your writing...surely you must have enjoyed 7th grade English!?! ☺

Hope you have a great day, the second time around.