first day of school, mom sings the blues

from the ridiculous hours, to the poor delivery of misinformation.... biorhythms and the first day of school. how do 1,200 little bodies function this early in the morning? a twisted schedule that does not match up - with anything that i can clearly see. awake at 6 am, disheveled and congregating en masse for instruction to begin at 7:50 (let's not even unpack "instruction" for now. overload). bumping and pecking their way through the chaos that is so many little bundles of diversely placed energy lining up, hands outstretched, minds focused on what they are carrying with them to this space, getting their information, being told what to do. and how to be. released from these boxes (another theme of mine, the predictable box layout for social control) at 2:25 in the afternoon... because that's the average time adults are available to successfully model the day-to-day life of this era? didn't our ancestors create the 9 to 5 work day for a reason? i jest, yes, but who thought thousands of little bodies should be released out into the streets at 2:25 in the afternoon? i am unable to supervise my child at that time of day. and i'm lucky that my child is amenable to hours of after-school activities until i am able to finally get close, interact, model, be a doting mommy. and then it's bed time. and i am uncomfortable. and disconcerted. i have no contractual beliefs that value this system. it seems antithetical to all things natural. it does not sit well within my body. even and especially the delivery of educational 'information.' it removes exploration and wonder. it devalues creativity and expression. and we know this, mostly, but we still cling to a broken system. i guess that's the distinction between revolution and reform. you can't really see the crack in the taco shell if you pile the shredded lettuce high enough. too bad our go local movement is only geared toward growing and knowing our food. if schools goed local (i like to mix my verbs up sometimes early in the morning) we could learn our landscapes, and ourselves. i wish school were about learning ourselves. that would be so extreme. if only middle school were more like kindergarten. but that's another day's thought. today i simply marvel at the decision-making of an administration, of multiple administrations, of what it means to be an administration and what it means to make decisions without actually considering the impact on human beings. isn't that the best way to run a society, though? if the impact on the individual body is of least concern, we can concentrate on so many other things... so i leave myself with this thought today: my child is in a gymnasium with 1,200 other children at 7:30 in the morning. i am grateful that i am at home with my silence.