by Lisa A. Beach
You can easily tell when the first day of school arrives because on that beautiful, sunny morning filled with chirping birds, Panera Bread needs a bouncer to manage the crowd of enthusiastic moms on coffee dates. I’m one of those moms. Now that summer is nearly over, I am excited that I won’t have to listen to my two teenagers arguing all day or wake them from their screen-induced stupor to enjoy some sunshine.
However, as happy as I am that school is back in full swing, it does come with its own set of annoyances that can drive me up the wall.
Supply Lists
I agree we should all chip in for classroom supplies, and I don’t mind contributing for essentials like tissues and hand sanitizer to help prevent my kids from bringing home some terrible virus and spreading it throughout the family. But the detail in these lengthy supply lists can be a bit much. One teacher even required an unusually large notebook that I couldn’t find at Office Max. I could have tracked down a first edition of Beowulf faster than I located this 10” x 12” spiral-bound, college-ruled, acid-free notebook… for middle school geography.
Fundraisers, Football Games, and Food Service Accounts, Oh My!
From additional lab fees to uniforms, from art supplies to testing fees, from field trips to coaches’ gifts, school expenses accumulate faster than a two-year cell phone plan. And if schools are going to have fundraisers on top of these extra costs, why don’t they sell things that parents might actually want, like a Wine of the Month Club?
Pictures
What genius came up with the pricing for these portrait packages and created an order form that only Sherlock Holmes could interpret? The most affordable package comes with 24 tiny photo stickers that I’ll never use and a photo magnet, costing a whopping $28.
Drop-off/Pick-up Lanes
From the overzealous parents who park in the carpool line two hours before dismissal to those who double-park and block all traffic while they dash into the office “for just a sec,” this chaotic drop-off and pick-up situation is a mess. While I’m still working on a quicker drop-off strategy that could save me 15 minutes in the morning, I finally smartened up about the after-school pick-up plan by arriving 10 minutes after classes end at the back of the school.
Backpacks
In sixth grade, when my son weighed around 80 pounds, his backpack weighed 22 pounds—about the size of a small child. The brilliant planners of his new middle school decided not to install lockers, so students have to lug around a quarter of their body weight all day. Add a jacket, an umbrella, and a lunchbox, and the kids can barely stand upright in a gentle breeze.
Dress Codes
I support kids expressing themselves, but I believe a little common sense is necessary, especially as students show up to school in low-rise jeans that reveal too much and sheer crop tops. Students and their parents need to exercise good judgment so that schools don’t find it necessary to draft lengthy dress code manifestos that ban bizarrely inappropriate items like “slippers, pajamas, bathing suits, bike shorts, and dog collars.”
So, while I appreciate having seven hours of peace and quiet for writing five days a week, these school-related struggles almost make me long for summer break. Almost.
Editor’s Note: Lisa Beach is a freelance journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, Eating Well, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, Parents, and, of course, Good Life Family.
