Back to school shopping...

   It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that school will be starting up within a few short weeks for most of the school aged children across the country. The kids are complaining about how fast the summer passed. Parents, on the other hand,  are complaining about how long the summer was this year, with seemingly more rainy days than usual and maybe fewer activities for the kids.

   The television air waves, the local newspapers and even my mailbox are filled with back to school advertising. And is the average cost to outfit a kid for 'back to school' actually $300+ this year? I mean really.... how much do a couple of notebooks, a pencil or two and a couple of erasers really cost. But then, back to school shopping has probably changed over the years.

   A small store on Main Street has decorated its front window with a back to school display. The display includes a new pair of jeans, a T shirt with some type of logo on the front, a bright blue fleece jacket, a notebook or two, a laundry basket, some laundry detergent and a couple of boxes of cookies and snacks. A laundry basket! Are kids doing their laundry at school now?

   As a former school administrator one of my favorite days of the year was the first day of school. The kids would arrive at the school yard very early, eager to see their friends and show off their new clothes, new sneakers.and brightly colored backpacks and exuding an excitement and enthusiasm that you wanted to “capture in a bottle” and save for later in the year, like February.

   It was easy to identify the parents of kindergarten students. In many cases the kids would jump out of the car or off the bus and race to the swings while the mothers and some fathers would stand in the middle of the driveway, tears streaming down their faces, hands waving goodbye as if for the last time ever, and the school custodian passing around boxes of tissues.

   All of a sudden, what they had come to realize was that their life and their child's life was going to change dramatically for at least the next twelve or thirteen years. For the first time, their son or daughter's future was now, not only in their hand, but was going to be 'shared' with the teachers and personnel at the school. ( And maybe the most important person, the one each child got to know first in school, the school secretary, of course!!)

   Although it has been many years since I was in school, out of a habit and maybe with a little bit of nostalgia I often will go 'back to school' shopping too. I usually only buy a new pair of sneakers to replace the ones I wore cutting the grass all summer, replacing those now a light shade of green from the grass and caked in mud.

   But 'perspective” and age has given me a somewhat different view of items to be included on a back to school list,  ones you won't find in any Target or WalMart circular. Maybe it's more of a 'commitment list' to insure that a son or daughter, a grandson or granddaughter, or the children in your community  receive the best education possible for the next twelve or thirteen years.

   First on my list is to show support, encouragement and interest each and every day. Like mom or dad going to work each day, your job, as  student, is to go to school and learn as much as you can. And if you don't get it all the first day, that's OK. You go back tomorrow and the day after and the day after.

    As a parent it is important to know that teachers are well trained, that learning is the primary goal for each student, regardless of their individual abilities and that each and every student is treated with respect, regardless of who they are or where they come from.

   As a parent (or grandparent), being involved in school activities, visiting or volunteering at school on a regular basis and talking each night about what happened that day tells your son or daughter that you care about what they are doing. After all, you  only have  the next twelve or so years for thos talks. After that, they  really are on their own.

   Take five minutes away from the television and the news to help solve the math problem. No calculators allowed with this one! So..... this is the new math!

   Find out who the bullies are. We all know schools have them. In fact, bullies are part of every day life, even at the office.Don't they learn that bullying skill in school? (That's a topic for another day.)

   Provide a place, a special place, that becomes their own, to study and do homework. Decorate it with pictures and items that become part of the positive school experience. No cell phones other electronic distractions here.

   And if there is no homework to be done? Fifteen minutes of reading may be a good substitute.

   No question...Back to school shopping can be fun, It is always nice to get new things and show off to our friends. Isn't that why we buy new cars? But the beginning of a new school year is more just about buying things and showing off. Here is a interesting idea and I would challenge any major chain or department store to accept the challenge......

   After mom or dad purchase some back to school clothing and/or supplies at the beginning of the school year, keep the sales receipt.Tack it to the refrigerator.  At the end of the ranking period, go back to the store manager, sales receipt in hand,  with a report card or a good report from the teacher or school, maybe an honor roll certificate. In turn, the store manager gives the student a $20 gift card toward the purchase of additional school supplies for the student and maybe one for the school too. School budgets are tight these days!

   It's easy to sit back now and pontificate about what should be done and not be done. Did I do everything right when my kids were in school? For sure ..NO! But  despite some things I might do a different way if I were to do it over again, each of our daughters has grown up to become very successful in their individual way and my wife and I are very proud of them. By taking an interest in your child's school experience, it  might produce the same results for you. 
   Perhaps the "back to school sales" could  serve as a reminder that while new backpacks and sneakers may be important, so is taking an interest in what goes on in the classroom each and every day.

   Now....... about those new sneakers. I like the red ones!!!!!!