Now that school is back in session, consider this …

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“What are you so tired for?” the parent asks with an edge of incredulity in their voice. “You just spent the day at school, it’s not like you had to go to work all day!”

Really?

Let’s examine that claim:

  • Parents have to get up early to get to a job. Kids have to get up early to get to school.
  • While parents are listening to the radio station of their choice, or talking to their friends on their hands-free Bluetooth in traffic, the kids are stuffed like sardines on a packed bus that doesn’t have a radio or seat belts.

  • While parents spend their day working in their cubicle (decked out with personal decorations) albeit dealing with unruly clients, the kids rotate each hour to another teacher who has them studying, testing, and often quizzing them publicly in front of their peers.
  • Parents have already been educated and trained to do what they spend their days doing at work. Kids are learning, while learning how to learn.
  • But the parents are judged at work each day by their performance. So are the kids, at school.
  • Parents run out to their favorite fast food joint for a quick lunch. Kids choke down what’s served up in the cafeteria.
  • Parents have to deal with demanding bosses. The kids? Have you ever met a maniacal math teacher? A testosterone-driven Phys Ed teacher? A science teacher bent on downloading every ounce of knowledge he has? A bully twice your size?
  • Parents often communicate with their boss by email. The kids have to raise their hand, seeking permission to speak.
  • Parents sometimes have to work overtime. The kids usually have homework every night.
  • Parents get paid for all the work they do during the day. Kids often have to do additional work for a small allowance.

And the kicker? The kids have to ask permission just to go to the restroom during the day.

Parents, before you unload on your kids during the evening with the thought they had it easier than you all day, think again. There’s a lot of work that goes into being a full-time student. Not to mention all the mess of the emotional world of children and teens who have to spend their days with hundreds of other children and teens just as confused as they are.

Scotty