Redartz: "Back to School". Three innocuous words, but boy, did they have impact when I was a kid. By late July, when out shopping with my Mom, you'd start seeing the dreaded signs, "Back to School Sale". It was kind of like the judge handing out a sentence of impending execution. Ok, perhaps that's overstating things a bit. But "back to school" certainly meant the upcoming return to homework, early days at the bus stop, earlier bedtimes for "school nights", and most importantly, the loss of that Summer Vacation freedom.
Of course there was also some amount of anticipation for the return to school, as well. It was fun to get some new school supplies (especially if they included a Marvel Mead notebook). There were the new school clothes (sometimes more curse than blessing; I still cringe recalling the red plaid pants I got stuck with in fourth grade). And there was the opportunity to catch up with all those friends who you hadn't seen all summer.
Ok, your homework for today: share your 'back to school' memories....
8 comments:
I was born in the middle of August, so as a kid these ads were always a bummer: a reminder that there’s only two weeks of summer vacation left, that hated school would be starting up again too soon, which inevitably detracted from the rapturous joys of my birthday.
As an adult, I think I only have perhaps once worked in the past thirty birthdays. And when I see these ads today, I kinda rejoice inside a little that School semesters are well behind me.
Yoyo
I'm with you Yoyo. Good riddance!
I would get a little shiver whenever I walked back into a school for one of my kids.
This year I saw the first "Back To School" sign (outside my local supermarket) in late July, even though school doesn't begin again till early September!
Most British secondary schools (which you enter at age 11) had (and still have) a school uniform which is usually bought during the summer holidays. I began secondary school in 1977 so during that summer I had to acquire my new school's uniform - black jacket/blazer, black trousers, white shirt, and a tie consisting of red and grey stripes (which was easily available locally). The girls' uniform was the same except they wore dark-blue skirts (school is the only time in a British woman's life that she is required to wear a tie!). Any families that couldn't afford the uniform received money from the government to buy one (I assume that's still the case). When I was a schoolboy I resented having to wear a uniform but nowadays I think the uniform equalizes the students and prevents the wealthier ones from showing off by wearing more expensive clothes. The school uniform probably wasn't intended as an instrument of socialism but that's how it seems to me now!
But one thing really annoyed me - my very first day in secondary school was on Wednesday, August 31st 1977....come on, they couldn't have waited till the following Monday to begin school? We had to start on August 31st??? It was the one and only day I ever attended school in August!!
Ha! I really have no memories specific to "back to school" other than not wanting to go! Living among the woods, sand dunes, beaches of Lake Michigan, in Gary, Indiana, it was a like a paradise in many ways and NONE of us wanted to go back. Period! Not while the surf was up anyhow, LOL!
For many years, school didn't start until the Tuesday after Labor Day. If I remember correctly, again, didn't write anything down, my freshman year in high school, 1979-1980 was the first time that school started before the holiday. I think it was the Tuesday before the holiday. Now, for our school district here, the first day of class was August 15th. I know! Right?
What I didn't realize about my schooling until I was much older was how odd it was. My mother worked for the district so she could pick which school we went to. We didn't go to our neighborhood school and we didn't go to the school my mother worked at but we went to one on the way. I think it was one of the best schools in our district. And because my mother's work ethic called for her to be one of the first ones to work, we, my sister and I, were often dropped off at school before it was open. We were given strict instructions to stand by the front door until the janitor let us in.
Since we didn't go to our neighborhood school, my school friends were not my neighborhood friends. And I wasn't friends with the kids in my neighborhood. I had a few playmates that lived on my street but that was about it.
When I got to middle school, sixth grade, I went to my mother's elementary school, waited until the kids got off the bus and then got on. The bus driver would then go pick up the other kids and drop us off at school. Again, didn't know any of the kids because I didn't live in that neighborhood.
Everything evened out in Junior High since the two towns only had one Junior High. By then, the kids I went to school with were the kids I lived with.
August 15th!?! I still can't believe it...
(It's your life and I'm not gonna live it
The change is coming and it's overdue
I'm gonna take you over the limit
You know I'm only looking out for you
I get lucky
I get lucky
And I'll see
You get lucky too
I'll be there when you get into a rut
That's the beauty of living my life
Hold on baby I'm taking you back to school
When logic fails don't lose your head
You just turn to me instead
Hold on baby now here we go back to school
I wanna wear a big school letter
I wanna write poetry
Why don't you take off that big school sweater
Come on and we'll make history
I get lucky
I get lucky
And I'll see
You get lucky too
I'll be there when you get into a rut
That's the beauty of living my life
Hold on baby I'm taking you back to school
When logic fails don't lose your head
You just turn to me instead
Hold on baby now here we go back to school
We could spend the night
In some ivory tower
And watch the world go right
Cuz every dream we have
Is all within our power
Let's make our move tonight
Look out!
Lucky
I get lucky
And I'll see
You get lucky too
I'll be there when you get into a rut
That's the beauty of living my life
Hold on baby I'm taking you back to school
When logic fails don't lose your head
You just turn to me instead
Hold on baby now here we go back to school
I'll be there when you get into a rut
That's the beauty of living my life
Hold on baby I'm taking you back to school
When logic fails don't lose your head
You just turn to me instead
Hold on baby now here we go back to school
I'll be there when you get into a rut
That's the beauty of living my life
Hold on baby I'm taking you back to school).
For me, those final days of summer were bittersweet. Yes, I was a bit sad about the loss of free time and so forth, but I actually recall looking forward to school starting. In grade school at least, that was because I would see most of my friends again - I lived in a pretty rural area, and except for one pal a year younger than me who lived about a quarter-mile down the road, all of my best buddies lived pretty far away (closest one was about 3 miles away). We were pretty dependent on the good will of our parents to drive us to each other's houses, because most of us weren't allowed to ride our bikes that far until we were about 12-13 years old.
Also, there was also something exciting about the start of each new school year - which tended to wear off by the end of September, so that I could hardly wait for Christmas vacation.
Yep, I think I fall more into your camp here, edo.
Generally loved the summers and the freedom we (mostly) had. Especially the summers after (roughly) 3rd through 8th or 9th grades.
But I generally liked school a lot as well. I was a good student. . . probably a bit of a teacher's pet at times. I had a good number of school chums. There were still 3 recesses a day back then, which we always made the most of. We got home early enough that my closer-by friends and I had no trouble doing things between school and suppertime (our rule of thumb was that anything over an hour was enough time to hang out--). And since our district was so small, it was always a great reunion (in the earlier years) to see the pals & gals you'd missed over the summer.
And, really, I loved high school. We were in a brand new state-of-the-(local)-art building starting in 10th grade. And I threw myself into just about every activity I could manage during 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. It was a time of Escapist Over-Achievement, it was!
Hmmm-- and no small amount of that enthusiasm was certainly fueled by how hopelessly girl-crazy I was as a young teen. "School? That's where the GIRLS are, partner! (And just as soon as I have a growth spurt and develop some adult musculature and grow some rudimentary biceps, these muscle-shirts I insist on wearing are gonna make me the GROOVIEST!!)"--
HB
Thanks for commenting, gang; 'A's' all around!
Colin J- yes, it seems odd for 'back to school' to take place in August. Like you, our school never started until September. It's been strange seeing my kids and grandkids starting school so early. And thanks for your comments about uniforms; I never had to wear one but uniforms have become a more common feature of schools in the states. For the very reasons you mentioned.
Edo- you nailed it! There was a bit of excitement upon returning to the halls of learning, but it did indeed wear off fairly quickly.
HB- Very cool how enjoyable High school was for you! It was a chance to get exposure to many fields and experiences that you might otherwise never have encountered. Oh,those Spanish Club parties...
Post a Comment