S was out of the country for work again this past week, so I was single-dadding it for a few days. It was not a great week for that, as I had (and still have) a lot going on at work, and it was the kids' last week of school before summer break, so schedules were different and chaotic. Actually, it was just Lil' S1 who had me running around, and it wasn't really his fault. His teachers kept telling him things about the schedule, but there was nothing official announced, so I didn't know what I was actually supposed to do. Like, on Thursday (the last official day) he was insistent that fifth-graders didn't have to go to school and that his teacher told him not to come. But there was nothing announced to the parents, and I had to work and didn't need him bothering me about screen time all day, so I was like forget that, you're going. So, I took him, and he told me later he was one of only three fifth-graders there, and they had to sit in with the fourth-graders. I assured him there are worse things in life.
I'm pretty sure what happened is that the fifth-grade teachers set their own schedules for the week and didn't see any point to the kids coming in after their Promotion Ceremony on Wednesday afternoon, but they can't officially announce this, because DC law requires a minimum number of school days, so they just informally told the students. Something similar happened on Wednesday when I tried to take Lil' S1 to school at the normal time (about 8:30), and he was in tears telling me that he wasn't allowed to go until 10:30 because his teachers had to set up for the ceremony. Again, no announcement to the parents, because, again, I don't think you can legally delay school like this. This time, however, I relented, and took him late, because the two hours didn't seem worth the fight. Although, it did mean I had to go back and forth between school and home five times: once to drop off Lil' S1; once to drop off Lil' S2; once to attended Lil' S1's promotion; once to pick up Lil' S1 after his promotion;* once to pick up Lil' S2. We only live about three-fourths of a mile from the school, but still that's a lot of trips, when you all you want to do is figure out why that damn algorithm you wrote keeps failing.
*If you are wondering why I didn't just take him back with me when I left the promotion, it's because there was still two hours left in the school day, and I didn't know they were allowed to leave early. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't announced. They also called me and gave me grief about him walking home, even though we designated him as a "walker" at the beginning of the year, and he walked home most days. I could have sent them an email to grant permission, but it was kinda raining anyway, so I just picked him up.
I like Lil' S1's teachers, and I'm mostly pro teacher, but all this did kinda cause me to give them the figurative side-eye. Honestly, I've become a little less prone to give teachers the benefit of the doubt over the past few years. It's the COVID shutdowns that did it. I was quite rankled by how reluctant teachers were to come back to teach in-person, even with mandatory masking and other safety precautions in place. They got to go to the front of the line for vaccines in early 2021, but still repeatedly dragged their feet, so that schools didn't open full-time until, like, ninth months later and only after immense pressure from the city. (And, by the way, DC teachers are among the highest paid in the country; the average annual salary is around $92K.) I know that it's the job of unions to advocate for their members, and individual teachers might not even agree with leadership, but still, it's going to take a little while until I totally trust DC teachers again. Maybe that's not fair, but it's how I feel.
But the ceremony was super cute. It's too bad S couldn't go because it's right up her alley -- all the little kids dressed up, singing songs, saying rehearsed monotone lines. I recorded some of it on my phone, but it's not the same. (In fact, is there a bigger downgrade in experience going from live to recorded than a little kid event?) I only took a short video of him walking in because I hate being that parent who holds their phone up the entire time. It's kinda obnoxious, and it's not enjoyable for me to watch it through a lens. I mean, the whole purpose of going to a live event is to watch it live, no? A short video or a few quick pics as mementos, sure, but that's the extent of it.
So, it's on to middle school next year for our oldest. But first we have another milestone: sleep-away camp. We're driving him out to Camp Who Knows Where, Virginia tomorrow, and he's going to stay there for a week. S is really nervous about it; I'm not. I get anxious about a lot of things, but this, weirdly, isn't one of them. I'm just assuming he will be fine. I guess we will know for sure next weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Until next time...
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