MAGAZINE
Back to school: the big return of the joys… and the little obligations
After several weeks of vacation, the return to school inevitably comes around. It marks the end of sleeping in, days without schedules and improvised meals… but it also brings its share of reunions, plans and good resolutions. In short, going back to school is a bit like a new year beginning in September: we start out with good intentions, before slipping back into our old habits fairly quickly.
For pupils: reuniting with friends and waking up to the alarm
The first delight is, of course, seeing friends again. After weeks in which everyone spent the holidays their own way, they can catch up on the world in just a few minutes: “What did you do over the holidays?”, “Who did you meet?”, “Did you watch that series?” And naturally, everyone has an extraordinary anecdote to tell.
There is also the pleasure of discovering the new class and timetable and, above all, finding out who you’ll spend the year with. Going back to school can sometimes feel like being given a new life: new teachers, new subjects, new projects, new goals. Even the most jaded pupils can feel that little thrill of a fresh start.
But there is one detail that takes a little shine off the celebration: the alarm clock.
After weeks of going to bed late and waking up leisurely toward the end of the morning, suddenly you have to be up very early. That’s when your body seems to realize it never signed up for this.
Then come the homework, tests, presentations, commutes, packing the schoolbag, remembering all the supplies… and that universal line that reappears in the very first few days: “I don’t have any homework.”
A line that, mysteriously, can be followed two hours later by: “Oh, actually, I do.”
For parents: the joy of getting organized again… and the delights of logistics
For parents, going back to school is often greeted with a much more nuanced mix of feelings.
First, there is immense pleasure in getting back into a routine. Schedules become more regular again, the children return to school, and the days regain a certain structure. For some parents, it’s almost a rebirth.
But this restored order comes at a price.
You have to buy school supplies, check administrative documents, fill in forms, find forgotten login details, sign the children up for activities, arrange transportation… and sometimes discover, to your astonishment, that a document you thought you had already submitted is being requested again.
You also have to manage timetables, sports and cultural activities, appointments, meals, travel and sometimes several different schools. With multiple children, the family calendar can quickly start to look like that of a small business.
And let’s not forget back-to-school expenses: supplies, clothes, shoes, sports or computer equipment… Going back to school is often when the wallet, too, seriously heads back to school.
And then there are the good resolutions
Going back to school is also the realm of good intentions.
For pupils: “This year, I’m going to study regularly.”
For parents: “This year, I’m going to get better organized.”
Everyone sincerely believes it.
We buy beautiful notebooks, tidy the desk, carefully prepare the first few weeks and already imagine a perfectly organized year.
Then the first few weeks arrive.
A test announced for the next day, a forgotten schoolbag, homework started late in the evening, a changed timetable, a missing sports outfit and a parent asking for the third time: “Did you check properly?”
Real life takes over again.
But maybe, in the end, that’s what going back to school is
Going back to school is not just the end of vacation. It is also a return to shared life, routines, plans and new encounters.
Audrey, for Terondo magazine
Photo credits: article thumbnail: Personal Creations, CC BY 2.0. Playground: Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0. Alarm clock: Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0. Desk and pencils: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0. Child with notebook: Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0. All via Wikimedia Commons.