School energy

We set the alarm this morning, in order to drop Willow at school, a 40-minute drive away.

Not wanting to be late, we left earlier than needed and arrived at our destination shortly after 8am. This school starts at 8.40am so I was surprised to see so many children already there, including those from one of the school buses. These kids must leave their homes early to be here at this time.

Willow was insistent that we come with her. She wanted to show us her classroom. We were met at the entranceway by a young student swinging on the gates. ‘’See you later alligator,’’ he said. I fired back with, ‘’in a while crocodile,’’ but he didn’t respond as if he hadn’t heard that reply before. But gosh, that goes all the way back to my childhood. Some things haven’t changed.

Willow ran up the steep driveway, with us following in her wake. Up some steps and around a corner and we were in the cloakroom. She hung her bag up, pulled out an exercise folder and dropped it off in her adjacent classroom, pointing out the area where she sat.

Then it was off for a tour. I had driven past this school many times as it is situated on a main road, but I had no idea, just how big it was. There was a pool along with tiered seating, a hall, a flat playing field, an undercover and an outdoor playground and plenty of classrooms. I must ask Genevieve exactly how many students do attend this school and how many classrooms there are. I thought there were only two or three, but there did seem to be more.

But the thing that got me was the energy of this place, that unmistakable feel of a school. Whilst the kids were laughing and happy in their playing, the energy was just how I remember it from my own school days, yuk. This school is reputed to be one of the best ones around and I am sure it is, but that feeling took me right back to my own childhood and my children’s as well and all the rigidity that goes with a school. Like having to be there at a certain time, wear the uniform, obey the rules, always being told what to do, complete the homework. And holidays are governed by term times, dictating when the family can and can’t go away. A passage of school is generally 12 years, a long time to have those restrictions imposed on the family. But then again, I guess we are fortunate in that our children get free education in this country. The alternative would be worse.

I loved school holidays when my children were small and we could do as we pleased. And I loved my own school holidays when I was a child too. I loved being on the farm and at one with nature. I guess I never really did enjoy those primary school years where we endured a long bus ride to and from town each day. I would have far rather stayed back at the farm with the land and the animals. Perhaps that was what I was feeling as I walked around Willow’s school this morning, that loss of freedom that I felt during my own school years and the occasional loneliness I experienced such as when my best friend left the area. Or perhaps it was something more, perhaps it was the remnants of the energy of children just like me, the ones who for whatever reason, would rather not be there.