When was the last time you took a ride on a swing?

   Growing up as a child fifty or sixty years ago was very different than growing up as a child today. For many there was a mom and dad. Dad went to work each day and  mom stayed home to do 'housework'. Dad would come home in the Chevy 2 door coupe (they were always black) and the family would sit down at the table together for dinner, talking about things that happened that day. Mom would have spent  many hours preparing  dinner. After eating, the children would ask to be excused from the table and begin their homework. Manners and respect were taught at home back then. No television or radio  until the homework was done. 

   Most kids didn't start school until age five or even later. Let's keep Ralph out for an extra year. He's a bit slow, you know, and besides, we need him to help around the farm.           
    Preschool or day care had not become popular yet (because parents took care of their own kids) so what was learned before heading off on the school bus was taught at home, whether it be reading or math, cooking or just  learning how to use a hammer.

   After the homework was done and if it was still light outside, there might be one last ride on the backyard swing  before bed. It was the closest you  could get to flying. With eyes closed, you could imagine rocketing through space, higher and higher, faster and faster, heading toward that distant planet. But with the call of “bed time”, the trip came to an end and the imaginary space suit was traded in for a pair of pajamas.

   Fast forward fifty years or so. Much has been gained in those fifty years, but much has been lost too. Now please don't get me wrong. I support the idea that children need to come to school ready to learn. What kindergarten teacher wouldn't like to have every child in class be able to read, know all of their numbers and letters and have perfect penmanship. Years ago many of these skills were taught by mom and dad at home. But today??

   Today, for those who can afford it,  many attend preschool or day care and as a result they enter school with skills and knowledge far beyond what kids knew years ago. There are new standards and expectations, new goals with ' no child left behind'. Left behind what or who? Or maybe the real question is "What are we leaving behind ?" How about "childhood!!"

   Kids are tested regularly to insure they are meeting the standards and if not, teachers are replaced, administrators are fired and pressures mount on both the parent and child. Who wants to have their child 'labeled' as a failure?

   My fear is that future generations will consist of over anxious, neurotic adults, who will look back upon school, not as a time of childhood and growing up, but when each was programmed and moved through a system at lightening speed to get to some point where he or she would become "productive citizens".

   I see us reaching a time when, soon after birth, children will enter 'educational clinics' where they will be tested to determine their learning styles and a plan mapped out for the next twenty years or so. These clinics will identify future doctors or lawyers, scientist or political leaders. (Sound familiar?)
   But on the way to the 'clinic,' kids will  look out the car windows at the empty swings on the local playground, moving back and forth, powered not by the imaginary ride to outer space and distant planets, but only by the wind.

   Yes, I do believe that early preparation for school and learning is important. But I also believe in the importance of family, play and just being a kid as  ways to prepare for school too.. How soon we have forgotten how to be a kid!

   So, regardless of your age, the next time you see an empty swing, hop on and take a ride. It might be the ride of your life.