Kim's Blog

Back to School: Change Is in the Air

Last week, as I was finishing my nightly reading— some parenting magazines, industry journals and research, as well as a few business publications—I could see that this time of year brings one topic to the forefront: the beginning of the school year. I, too, was absorbed in this as my three children and my husband all embarked on their educational journeys.  My “summer family” morphs into a structured, motivated group, ready to be better students or a more authentic assessor, and, in my 3-year-old’s case, well, just try to not have any accidents while in his new classroom.

It was interesting to see what each person was excited or anxious about. My eldest started fifth grade; new kids, a harder teacher—this year means business! My middle child entered kindergarten. She was so scared she wasn’t “smart enough.” Nonsense! I implored. We spent the last few weeks working on her summer packet and exclaiming how easy it really was. My little guy was most impressed with the two brand new Macs in his preschool classroom. He reported that sometimes “you can’t play the ‘puter.” Sometimes you have to do other things. He looked around at the other teary children, who did not fully understand their surroundings. He immediately absorbed the structure of Circle Time and left me smiling as he tried to sing some new song about “upside down T’s”.

Speaking of change, the other top story right now is the election and how it will affect, well, everything. I am paying particular attention to the education debate. I am waiting with bated breath, knowing that NCLB and many other programs will be revamped one way or another. What will happen? What will this mean for students? For teachers?  For education publishers?

One way or another change is coming. Along with the new school year are new programs and new initiatives. Even though I will not be in the classroom this year, I still feel like I can make a difference. I can make a difference as a parent, as the head of my companies, and as a proud spouse of an educator. This is my resolution this fall.  And I’m sticking to it!

Feedback? Comments? Please share them with me….