Gaonomics

The long awaited day for my children’s school start finally arrived yesterday 1st September 2009, and I am happy to report, it was a good start for both of them. We could hardly get them to sleep last night, so excited and happy they were.

My daughter had repeatedly told me how much she looked forward to starting school again, I suppose after her grandparents went home to Denmark a couple of weeks ago, the time seemed very long, and although she has to get up at 5.45am every morning, it is a minor issue compared to the excitement of going to school.

Seeing my children going to school every day with smiles on their faces, I wonder whether other parents are as lucky as we are to have children that love going to school, but I am inclined to think that it could be their new school Tenby International School that makes the difference, as this kind of excitement and happiness were hard to dig out in them when attending their old school.

And after seeing them this excited about school, I had to remind myself that regardless of my opinions on different matters, what’s important is what the children think and experience, and if they are happy with the way things are at school, I should lean back and enjoy it, and put my opinions in the back seat, as I am not the one in school all day long.

You may be curious about what I am referring to, and I must regrettably admit that I thought the parking on the first day was a problem, as I had to double park and the Auditorium couldn’t fit the many parents that wanted to meet with their children’s new class teacher and had to wait outside, which meant that we couldn’t hear what the Principal said. But thinking about it, it turned out quite well after all, for me at least, as I had left my mobile number in the wind screen of my car, and although slightly inconvenient, I ran back to the car as soon as the person called me to move my car, and I could park my car in his spot. And luckily I also managed to sneak in to the Auditorium to say hello to my daughter’s new teacher, right before they left the building to walk to their classrooms, so mission accomplished! And in the end of the day that’s what matters, as it would probably only be a few times a year anyway that there will be a parking problem, and if the problem persists I am sure the school would find a solution.

As for the Auditorium, when I wonder why Tenby doesn’t use the much bigger Gymnasium when gathering crowds, I am told, it’s because there are no air condition. Then I think to myself, but it has high ceilings and more doors, which in itself would be a cooling effect, and for the only 10-15 minutes required, I am sure students and parents alike would appreciate the less crammed space, which has another benefit as well, it’s safer, in case of a panic, as there are at least 5 exits, if not more.

On another note, I am grateful that we parents were allowed to stay around the school and even to peek through the windows of our children’s classrooms, although I am sure this is not encouraged throughout the day every day, as it is probably quite disturbing, but on the first day of school, this understanding on the part of the school gave me, as a parent, the reassurance that my children are in good hands and I think this is important to most parents. The reason why I see this as something special, is because parents were not allowed to do this in my children’s old school, always leaving the thought in the back of my mind, what is it that the school doesn’t want us to see and know about? So a small thing like this makes a huge difference in my perception of the school’s values and openness, which shows trust and transparency, which is good.

Also the bookshop deserves a special mentioning, as I had been used to spending hours at my children’s old school’s bookshop waiting in line to get the books and uniforms. I went to the bookshop last week, a week before school start, to get the books and uniforms for both my children, and all in all it took me less than 30 minutes to get it all done, which I think is very quick and proves the efficiency and professionalism of the bookshop staff. And yesterday I had to change a shirt and even though there was a queue, it wasn’t a long wait, before I was attended to and another mission accomplished!

Maybe I was one of the luckier ones, as everybody have different stories to tell, but my starting point is always, if something goes wrong, there is almost always a reasonable explanation, which we with a positive frame of mind, have the choice to accept to make it easier to solve issues with the best possible outcome. It’s like the more we oppose and object and refuse to accept attempts to solve issues, because it doesn’t match our initial expectations, the harder it is to reach consensus and an acceptable solution.

It would be good to approach situations and issues with the belief that the school is trying their best to help us, but they also have to consider many other factors and hundreds of other parents, so if an issue is not a matter of our children’s well-being to the extend where they may suffer from it, if overlooked, we can do much ourselves by thinking positively and avoid unnecessary conflicts by being understanding of how difficult it must be for the school to satisfy everybody’s wants and needs and have faith and trust in the school’s ability to do what’s best for our children. I think with this approach we can go a long way of helping the school to do the best they can for the benefit of our children.

As mentioned earlier it was a great start for both my children. My daughter is happy that most of her best friends are in the same class as her and her first impression of her new teacher is very good. She told me that he is very nice and a very good teacher, which to an adult may seem early to judge, but then again the first impression is very important and can go a long way, so I think she could be right. She excitedly told me that her teacher had asked the children to make up some of the class rules, a classic example of the principle that what we ourselves have been involved in crafting, we take ownership of, and thus the likelihood of the children adhering to the rules are greater. A sign of a professional approach to teaching and understanding of child psychology. I am indeed pleased about this, as it teaches my daughter to take responsibility for her own actions, as it would be hard to argue against rules they made themselves, as it would undermine their own doing, so I believe most children would take this seriously.

My son, although being less informative than my daughter, also had a good start, this term being his first, and judging from his excited behavior and happy twinkle in his eyes, I know that this first day of school couldn’t have been better.

So in the end of the day, I was happy, my children were happy, and a new school year had started on the best possible note.