Sam Looks Back
~ by James Banzer

   The time finally has come when all three of our children have graduated from the public school system.

   That time seemed far away such a short time ago. How did the time rush by so quickly? Most parents probably ask themselves that question.

   Good times are always too short, especially for someone who starts raising a family a little later in life than the norm. The occasion of the last of the brood graduating from high school seems a good time to think back.

   The oldest ended her public schooling four years ago.

   In all, it was about 17 years from when she entered kindergarten until the youngest got his high school diploma this year.

   The vast majority of that time was good. However, there were some minor bumps along the road.

   The most frightening memory is of the oldest daughter not coming home from kindergarten one day. She stayed on the school bus, and the driver apparently didn't notice when she got off at a much later stop with her new little friend. Now those are the kinds of stories you see on the local late night news.

   By sheer luck, she was rather quickly located. The new friend had given her home phone number to our daughter a few days earlier, and my wife found it. A frantic phone call located our six-year-old. At the friend's home, we found her having a good time, oblivious to the fears mom and dad shared.

   The second-born on a few occasions had requested that I give her a ride home from school, but was not ready and waiting when I arrived. It was a big school. She had a habit of keeping her cell phone turned off at those times when it was most needed. She was always either inside the school, or with a friend at the nearby fast-food restaurant. When she was located, she always received a few choice words from me. Then all was okay, 'till it happened again. To this day, she probably has no inkling of how much worry she caused.

   The third-born had a negative middle school experience. As he was leaving a computer classroom, he saw a stack of floppy disks. He picked up a few and innocently put them in his pocket, thinking they were free for the taking. This boy had never stolen anything. My wife and I were called to the school to discuss things with the counselor. He agreed that the taking of those penny floppies was a simple naive act, but said that my son would have to attend some counseling sessions.

   We went home, the problem having been settled. Or, so we thought. A call came from the assistant principal, who said mom and dad must immediately get back down to the school. Once back there, she explained that the school had a zero-tolerance policy, and my son would have to be placed on three days suspension. She was trying to prove that she was doing her job in overriding the counselor. We learned a lot about school system logic that day. Our son certainly didn't mind three days off from school. The system was showing a little bit of mindless muscle.

   The best example of political correctness happened at the same school. There was a yearly breakfast for sons and dads. When my son reached that school, the Sons and Dads Breakfast was changed to the Sons and Sams Breakfast. That's no joke. Sam stood for Significant Adult Male.

   I was no longer just dad. I was now Sam. Boy, did that make me feel good. Unfortunately, actions like this only serve to make fathers a bit less significant.

   That ranks as one of the most stupid things that happened in the public schools when my kids were attending them.

Generally speaking though, the years of public education taught our children well. All three made it to advanced classes.

   The years taught mom and dad a few things also. We learned that there are a few shortcomings in the public school system.

After a long career in broadcast news, James Banzer is now writing on his observations about the world around us. He currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky. You may send him e-mail at jamesbanzer@yahoo.com.

071205

Archives