Editorial: School simpler 35 years ago

Summer is over, school’s back in session, and lots of parents are thrilled to death. But sadly, I’m not one of them.

Some may relish the hustle and bustle of the school year with all its rules, regulations, dates, and deadlines. But as the father of a six-year-old boy, I prefer watching my child enjoy summertime fun and the carefree days of playing outside, climbing trees, riding bikes, and building sand castles.

Don’t get me wrong. School is important, and my family has always placed a premium on getting a good education. Unfortunately, I remain a product of the 1970s, when a Big Chief tablet, two fat pencils, eight fat Crayolas, a bottle of Elmer’s paste, some rounded-off scissors, and a card board pencil box were all you needed for Mrs. Little’s first grade class.

Monday my son trudged off to the first day of school lugging a backpack that weighed as much as a healthy newborn baby and filled with stuff that I still don’t understand the purpose of sending. Why does he need a whole box of Ziplock bags? And why should he take dry erase markers at all? Didn’t we raise taxes to pay for things like that? And then of course I’m still puzzled over the buck fifty he needed for an Accelerated Reader folder that costs 50 cents or less.

My first grade year – all the way up through third grade, in fact – was days that started at 8 a.m. and were over by 2:30 p.m. and in between we got the foundation of a good education… all without snack time or PE class. By comparison, my son loses an extra hour of his young life every day of the academic calendar to stretch it out to 3:30.

I don’t blame the teachers for any of this. We have always been blessed with outstanding teachers, and my son’s teachers have been no different. But I do think the system itself is broken… too involved with guidelines, testing, quantitative data, the lure of federal money, and new age “discipline” methods that don’t produce the same results a good old whippin’ did.

I miss simpler times when schools weren’t gated, cafeteria food didn’t have to meet the approval of the First Lady, and you could drink out of the water fountain instead of packing a water bottle every day.

Sure some things are better now, and I have no doubt that Ben will turn out just find. But the old ways were fine too, and they sure seemed a lot less stressful. Although maybe I was just shorter and younger then.

By Roger Estlack, Editor