So, my oldest son started Kindergarten last Thursday. When Thursday morning came, my oldest son rose out of bed, walked into my room and said "Mommy, I'm in Kindergarten!"
He was so excited. Mind you he has been asking if "tomorrow is his first day of Kindergarten" for about a year now. He has so much excitement about school and learning. I hope this excitement lasts forever. Since we live so close to his new elementary school, we walked there. Walking the four blocks to his new school allowed us to meet all the other neighborhood children who would be Kindergarteners too. All of us parents and guardians walking together with our happy, soon to be first time school aged children.
My son's campus is a closed campus so all of us Kindergarten parents stood behind the fence and watched their five year olds enter their teachers classrooms.
We took photos, waved, and said our goodbyes.
I cried.
Not just because my son is getting older and starting Kindergarten is a representation of him getting older and the first phase of parental release into the wild that is growing up, but more so a representation of my greatest fear: how effective is my child's teacher?
Children come into the world hungry for knowledge. They are on fire for learning. Will my son's Kindergarten teacher extinguish or fan that flame for knowledge? I don't know.
I thought how scary is this situation? My son's Kindergarten teacher, a woman, albeit quite nice, a person I have never spent much time with is responsible for my son's first experience with school. She will set the tone for whether or not he finds school enjoyable. If school means you'll be heard, taught with care, and treated with kindness and respect. She is basically a second mother to him. Mom who speaks Education as her love.
While I am afraid of what the future holds in terms of my son always loving Education, I can finally say I am on the other side of the desk now. My sentences to parents speak from empathy now and not just experience.
Feels weird.
But it makes me push for excellence for my students in our high poverty school even more.
