just beginning

Well, we made it. Kindergarten is officially over. Tomorrow my little man will stand on a stage and graduate from his first year of "real" school. Frankly, I am relieved. This has been a hard year for our child. Kindergarten is not like when we were kids. Kindergarten used to be fun, joyous. Now, it's a mixture of pre-k and first grade.Confusing. Oh, there's still play, but now there are lessons and homework mixed in with the Legos and recess. Reading and writing and arithmetic all before first grade. Expectations have been set so high kids can't just be kids anymore. Even childhood has to be faster, better, more efficient. We raise our boys like girls. We expect them to sit still, be quiet, behave. My child doesn't sit still unless he's tired or sick. Oh, and don't even think of packing anything for lunch with nuts because someone else's kid who's allergic might eat something they're not supposed to. I swear we spend so much time looking out for everyone else's child we forget our own charges. I must admit, I had an "old school" view of kindergarten. I was not prepared for all the homework, sight words, math, book reports. It took my husband and I some serious readjusting of our own life to become used to this new regime. Not having a child until almost 40, we didn't realize how much school had changed. I'm already shaking in my shoes at this supposed "new" math. What does that even mean? What was wrong with the old way of learning math? Why do we think we have to "fix" everything when it all worked just fine for us. I know how to add, subtract, etc. All these people changing a system that isn't broke. They all know how to read. They all know how to multiply and divide yet it's not good enough anymore for their overly entitled kids. I'm so confused. I want school to be a positive experience for my child. Behavior charts and phone calls from the teacher. Puhleez! So much pressure for someone so young. Kids fuck up, that's what they do. That's why we as the parents are there to show them right from wrong. Take responsibility for your actions. Own it. When Sully was acting up, we had the conference, we talked to the teacher, we changed our ways and it worked. Together we had him coming out from under his desk and finishing assignments. He stopped disrupting group. He started listening better(well to everyone else but us). All these new expectations placed upon teachers and children to supposedly fix a system that was just fine in order to make more money. Cut more corners. Test kids to death to show how inefficient teachers are. Place blame everywhere, but at the core of the problem. All of this makes my blood boil. Because of this new way our kids are becoming spoiled, narcissistic, and require instant gratification at all times. We blame teachers for our shortcomings. If there is anyone to blame, it is us, the parents. We are the center of our child's universe so it only stands to reason if they're screwing up, start with the home. My husband and I take full responsibility for our child's actions. We give him a long leash yet work with him everyday to be a better person. Do unto others...I like to think we are doing a good job. We try to be the best parents we can and still we are learning. Parenting is not easy and I don't think it gets easier, unfortunately. Every age has different problems. It's how we the parents address these problems that can make the difference. We had a long road this year and all too often it was easy to blame the teacher, but the teacher was merely doing her job. Working together we helped Sully acclimate better to his new routine. Passing the buck doesn't help anyone least of all our children. I don't have warm and fuzzy feelings about this past year and as I stated I am extremely relieved it's over yet I do have a new respect for this woman who was in charge of my independent and immature wild child while he was in her care. So tomorrow  is graduation and we bid adieu to this learning curve of a year. Tomorrow I will cry like a baby over my baby moving onward because this has been a long year for a little man and we are only just beginning. Good afternoon world.