The first of September is, to some extent, truly the end of the world. The end of the world we are used to and the life we love. I mean summer. Because for those who have children, the main thing in summer is that you don’t need to take the same children to school. And it is a much smaller issue that they have to deal with on their own.
Firstly, many people can now work remotely, secondly, you can plan the holidays of the whole family accordingly, thirdly, you can send and send books, movies, consoles, exhibitions, parks, fourthly, grandparents, fifthly, to the children’s camp. And such. In general, there are options in the summer.
From the first day of September these “threes” and “five” are no longer there. There is only the “first”, the only one. You need to go to school. Everyday. At eight in the morning. whole life. Well, maybe not all your life, but next summer in September seems completely out of reach. And for the consciousness of children, and potentially not even available.
First of all, parent chats are coming to life on WhatsApp, they say they need to buy a notebook urgently! Why it could not be bought earlier, why not everyone can buy notebooks on their own, and also what will happen if notebooks are bought two days later is not reported. A message comes from the classroom teacher – for labor lessons – now called “Technology” – all boys need lab coats and hats. This, of course, is reported on the afternoon of August 31st. The first labor lesson, of course, is already on September 1. Because it is necessary. Because you can’t relax. If parent chats have come out of summer hibernation, there’s no rest. It will then take two weeks to decide when to schedule the parent meeting. Why is it necessary, if conversations have already become the main tool for parents to neuroticize, they are not talking.
There is such an American family sitcom “It’s Getting Worse” about a family that generally lives well, but not without problems – in relationships, finances, social interaction. The principal calls the father to the school there. Dad says: “Listen, from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon, son, it’s your problem. If he eats a napkin at dinner, I’m not calling you for advice, I’m not asking for help.” This is, of course, a bit of an exaggeration in a hard, convex way, as it is necessary for artistic and comic effect. But generally true.
New message: “Parents need to clear the classroom before the school year starts.” Listen, I’ve got four jobs and I have absolutely no time to clean the classroom or the place, I glue the window joints with paper tape smeared with kefir to warm the room before winter. Those who read in the 80s and 90s remember this practice. I was almost going to write “sexy” but then I thought there was something really BDSM in it. So I can’t pay a cleaner from a cleaning company that will do everything quickly and professionally?
I am even ready to bear these costs on my own. Three thousand rubles isn’t that big of a price to leave me alone. But what are you! The administration categorically does not allow foreigners to be in the school! But is there a cleaner at the school? There is. He also gets a salary. He gets a part of this salary directly from the money we pay to the school. And we pay for the school. And I’m not talking about taxes. Some receipts come from school every month. Why can’t the normal cleaning lady clean the classrooms? Why should parents do this? I remember though, when I was a schoolboy, we used to wash the classrooms ourselves. But I have observed this practice in German gyms in Germany, where only high school students clear the area. As usual, subbotnik.
And so on forever. And the decade is exactly what they seem.
However, the prospects are uncertain and the future is foggy. Two years ago, it was believed that all schools were about educating children to successfully pass the unified state examination. When the Unified State Examination was introduced 13 years ago, they made the following claims: the test is impersonal and therefore excludes the corruption component. Some time after the start of the Unified State Examination, applicants began to appear, who could barely study Russian at Moscow universities, but at the same time scored 99 points in the Unified State Examination. In addition, people began to realize that for about five years, the children at school were just taking some tests instead of reading books and broadening their horizons. Because there was nothing more important than successfully passing the exam. Many parents invested in private tutors, spent money.
Now they say that the Unified State Examination will definitely be canceled, since the Bologna system has already been canceled. Does this mean that children will read more books, have productive and direct contact with the teacher, the school will become a place of socialization and interest, outweighing the mechanics in life?
On the other hand – what to dramatize? Whenever I get discouraged about education in general and the fact that soon it will be necessary to lead children to this school in the dark and cold, I think I have not met people in my life who could not be a master at school. I’ve heard of them, but very rarely. Everyone copes in some way, experiences it in some way. And of course, universal secondary education is immeasurably better than its absence. And all good things must not only be promoted, but preserved. Both will be difficult.
Forecasters promise that September will be warm. We don’t want more because everything else is inevitable. After school, you can still go for a walk.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.