School Daze

My exposure to school is limited these days. While I can't complain--I really love this time at home with my little cutie--each time I get close to it again, whether it be a visit from teacher friends at my house or a phone call or e-mail with someone from the inside, I feel that powerful pull back to that life again that's so hard to resist. It's conference season around here, so my kids were off school at the end of last week. While some viewed this as an important time with their kids' teachers, I welcomed the chance to get back into the building.

First things first,  I enjoyed my visits with teachers to talk about my sons. But really, as a teacher, I recognize their style as students between homework support and multiple conferences over the years. At this point of parenting, we just feel less needy for classroom feedback. What I really crave is time to talk about school news like curriculum changes, class sizes, and meeting vibes.

I went in for my eighth grader's conference times, run arena style, toward the end of the window, so the lines had already dwindled. I got to hear about the new professional development for the year, staff changes, and former students. One teacher I'm particularly fond of showed me his class lists because I knew most of his new caseload. We dished about their group dynamics, personal strengths, and the transformation they've made from sixth to eighth grade. Another teacher, newly appointed Instructional Lead Teacher, asked me to join a planning committee for block scheduling. She said that the idea has been met with some resistance, and she thinks I could help smooth things over. I can't help but feel flattered to know that someone's looking for me even when I'm away. "You could bring the baby," she pleaded, which isn't exactly true. I can't bring the baby.

This leads me to the question of the hour: Will I go back to work? This little son, this perfect bundle of love and sweetness that I longed for, we hoped and planned years and years and now he's here and ours. Most moments of my day, I can't imagine leaving him in the care of anyone else. And then there are the moments when I can't imagine leaving school either. For now, I enjoy, reflect, and seek some clarity.