OPINION: SNAPSHOT OF OUR SCHOOLS OFFERS WORRISOME GLIMPSE OF CLASS OF 2027
My kids were well-served by New Jersey’s public education system, but can all parents say the same?
- Mark Weber
I’m an elementary music teacher, and we have a funny tradition that starts each year at my school.
All of the “specials” teachers and staff meet out in front and greet our students on the first day as they get off of their buses. While the homeroom teachers are busy preparing for the all-important first morning of classes, the rest of us say hello to our returning students, usually with added comments about how much they’ve grown in the little more than two months since we last saw them.
But that’s not the tradition. That starts as soon as the kindergarteners, barely bigger than their backpacks and clinging to the bus’s stair rail, step onto the school grounds for the first time as enrolled students. You might mistake them for Hollywood stars on the red carpet, considering how many times they’re being photographed.
You see, it’s not enough for some parents to just take pictures of their 5-year-olds as they get on the bus for the first time at the end of their driveways; these parents also want pictures as their children come off the bus. So, right after they send their little ones on their way, they jump into their cars, drive (not too fast) to the school, and photograph the historic moment.
I can’t blame these moms and dads: I wanted to capture every important moment with my two sons when they were young. All children grow up way too fast, and a family’s milestones -- especially the big ones, like the first day of school -- come and go quickly.
This year, however, watching our parents beam with pride at their kindergarteners was especially poignant for me. This is my last year as a K-12 parent; my youngest son will graduate this June. As a parent, this year will see my last back-to-school night, my last band concert, and my last high school sports event. This spring, my son leaves all those things behind him as he enters adulthood. But my wife and I leave these things behind as well -- and with more than a little tinge of sadness, no doubt.
A part of me envies these younger parents. I won’t pretend my sons’ school careers didn’t have their difficult moments -- what child’s school years are perfect? -- but my memories of their schooling are largely happy, and a part of me wishes I could relive them. I am very grateful for the time and talents of the many fine educators who served my children over the years; their example is largely the model I use for my own teaching.
But as I watched these parents and their young children embark on their new public school careers, I must admit I’m also worried. It’s been a decade and a half since my oldest son entered kindergarten, and public education has seen some dramatic Opinion: Snapshot of Our Schools Offers Worrisome Glimpse of Class of 2027 - NJ Spotlight: