Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to go to school and spend the day with Ashanti. Her school is very big, so I took my scooter, knowing I wouldn't be able to walk as far as I needed to. She attends (and Leah works at) Leopold School in Madison.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. It brought me back to my grade school, Thomas A. Edison in either Morton Grove or Skokie - I can't remember. I guess all grade schools have that familiar smell, although what it is, I couldn't say. Rolling down the hall to Shanti's class was very exciting, as all their artwork was posted on the walls and I loved it. If I had gone to college, I would have liked to have been an art teacher - my favorite subject and past time. However, as it was, I hated school and barely graduated high school, so my work life was boring and mediocre and not at all fulfilling. I was a really foolish young person. My dad would have put me through the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the most prestigious schools in the country -- but I could't envision my life down the road, much less one day to the next.
We started in Shanti's main class - or homeroom, I would call it. It was very cute with signs, instructions and lessons pasted all over the walls. The kids sat two to four at miniature tables on miniature chairs - as well as I - and my behind was pretty sore by the end of the day. Shanti was so excited I was there, which made me feel very special. I loved being a small part of her day and was very proud as she introduced me to all her teachers and friends as her Grandma. Many of her friends in other classrooms kept asking her, "Is that your Grandma?" and she would cheerfully answer, "Yes!" I imagine they were a bit confused as to why she would have a "white" Grandma and she was "brown." You gotta love 'em.
Leah warned me in the car that the kids swear, kick, run and act crazy and that I shouldn't lose my temper or try to correct any of them while I was there. She knows me too well. I have a short fuse with naughty behavior. I was actually waiting for one of the kids in Shanti's class to explode, but it never happened. I think they were trying to figure out who I was and it diverted their behavior for the day. One little guy had to be escorted out of the room at one point, but came back a short time later. I was totally amazed how different the classes were than when I was in school. Most of the time, it seemed like kids were all over the place, walking, talking and doing what they wanted to do, regardless of what their teachers were instructing them to do. All we had to do was talk or laugh out loud and I had one teacher that would tape our mouths shut or slap our hand with a ruler. Of course that was a different era, but very few of the kids, if any, ever acted out like kids do today. We were immediately sent to the principal's office and suspended or expelled, depending on the "violation." I remember one teacher in junior high, that was particularly volatile. Somehow we found out that if you throw a coin up to the ceiling that it would stick, so when he was at the blackboard teaching with his back turned, we would throw our coins up to the ceiling, which of course, was hilarious to us. When he finally realized what we were doing, he threw a couple boys with their desks against the wall, in a rage. The teachers today seem to have a whole lot less control than when I was in school. I really give them a lot of credit - I would never be able to do what they do.
One thing I thought was so sweet is that the teacher in homeroom had the kids sit in a circle as she explained things and asked questions. At one point, each child shook the child's hand next to them, and said "Good morning, so and so," and the other child would answer back with the same, as they went all around the circle. I thought that was very cool. They're learning manners and politeness in this class and that really impressed me.
I had lunch in the lunchroom with Shanti and her friends and that was interesting. The lunchroom monitors were like little Nazis, screaming in the microphone to "Stop talking! Zero for noise!" etc., etc., and no one was really paying attention to them, including me. We were eating, for pete's sake. How do they expect little people to be quiet at their lunch tables? I asked the little girls, "Is she always that mean?" They all shook their head "yes." It was probably a good thing we only had 10 minutes to eat. I scarfed down my soup and it was time to get out of there and go out for recess. We had recess twice in the day which was fun getting out in the beautiful weather. They could run, scream, yell, jump and play to their heart's content for a little while, burning off some of the energy they had. One thing I did notice, which was no doubt the same when I was their age, was their inability to sit still. Every one of them, squirmed in their seat, got up, got down, got up, got down to do this and that. It was pretty funny. All that energy packed in a tiny body. Boy, I wish I had that energy today....
Although I was looking forward to the bell ringing at the end of the day, so I could go home and sit in a big-person's chair, I had a lot of fun. It made me feel great to see Shanti so happy that I was there. I wish I had the chance to do this when my children were small, but of course I always had to work. The only times I was at their school during the day, was to discipline them - never to enjoy seeing what they were doing, and because of that, they were never glad to see me either. If you're a parent or grandparent or even an aunt or uncle, you might want to try to do this sometime with your little person. The impression it makes is a lasting one, for them and for you.
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