Ready for School?

As I work in education the month of August is very, very busy for us. In fact, if I had known that I couldn't take vacation days in August (because of how busy it is) I probably wouldn't have gotten married in August. As it is, I'll be celebrating my anniversary in October, but I digress.

The institution I work at has open enrollment which means that we don't have admissions standards that students need to meet (other than completing high school/GED and paying the admissions fee). We also don't have deadlines for admissions or registration - although we always recommend doing it before classes start. Classes are starting on August 31st this year and it always seems that as soon as August hits, everyone who thought about going to school, but hasn't done anything yet, suddenly panics and starts the process of getting admitted and registered.This translates into a very busy advising office with lots of students asking what classes they need to take and why they aren't able to.

This is strange to me because it was not the kind of  student that I was. My roommates and I would log on to the computer at midnight with our classes all chosen and would be registered in less than two minutes. I always bought a copy of the schedule (this is when they printed it like a huge magazine), and would eagerly look through the classes with a pen, circling the ones I wanted and comparing days and times. Then I would sit back until the start of classes and not have to worry about it.

I know (because I am constantly reminded of it every August) that this is not always possible for some students. We always have a large number of returning LDS missionaries or current/former military service personnel that are anxious to get into classes, but may not be available until August. We have first generation students that don't know how early they can apply and register. While it can be draining to work with any student who is anxiously trying to get into a class, it is easier to be patient and helpful to these students.

The students that really get to me (although I do everything I can to keep from showing it) are the ones that are returning and know how registration works and just didn't do anything until August. Many times they will also come in to our office, often aware that we work on an appointment only basis, and ask to meet with an advisor to "sort out their schedule." We had a student in last Friday, 10 minutes before we closed, desperate to meet with someone. He confessed that he had slacked on his classes and hadn't checked his E-mail about his waitlist classes until it was past the opportunity. I was glad I wasn't at the front desk because I would have found it difficult to keep my impatience with him out of my voice. With that said, I feel that I'm generally pretty good and not letting my impatience or dislike impact my interactions. It is something that I actively try to prevent.

With all that said, with as busy as life gets, and with the hectic nature of my work at this time of year, I really enjoy the start of school. I've always enjoyed school and the excitement that comes from starting a new year with new subjects and new teachers. My kids are excited to start (2nd grade and kindergarten). At back-to-school night my son's teacher asked him what he was excited to learn about in kindergarten. He said, "Science! Like volcanoes and space!" She gave a small grimace and said, "Well, we don't actually study science in kindergarten, but I bet you could teach me about volcanoes." Which prompted him to start sharing what he knew about volcanoes. It made me proud.

So, all in all, when people ask me if I'm ready for school to start, Yes. Yes I am.

To my daughter's future dates/boyfriends

I saw this "application to date my daughter" on Facebook and it got me thinking. I've had a variety of ideas on what I'm going to do / how I'm going to act to my daughter's dates. My sister-in-law's friend's father required all of his daughter's dates to write their name on a shotgun shell and kept them in a basket in his room. For a wedding gift he gave them to her husband. Angel says I can do that if I want and I am sorely tempted. I've also thought that if one of her dates picks her up by honking the horn from the driveway I would simply walk out and ask him to try again. I had a Young Men's leader who would introduce his daughter's dates to "Jaws," a cast iron nutcracker with inch long teeth. You can bet what he threatened if anything untoward happened.

The idea of the protective father and "little princess" has been around for a while. The more I think about it, I would be happy to play that role and I'm sure I would enjoy it. However, rather than threaten my daughter's dates with a shotgun I would rather that my daughter know how to handle herself and inspired her dates to treat her well. I don't want her dates to be afraid to treat her wrong. I want them to want to treat her right. This will mostly be her responsibility.

She will need to the sort of person that brings out the best in others. That means kind, gentle, fun, witty, and intelligent. She'll need to have an interest in others and be able to convey it. I want her to be someone that is good company, someone that is "good people." She will be a force unto herself, but a force for good.

She should also be astute enough to seek out like minded people to date. If my daughter is going on a date with someone I object to, I'm going to wonder what was her part in the decision. Why is she with someone I (or she) has an issue with? I want her to have a fine sense of other people and make good decisions about friends.

This doesn't mean that if something goes wrong that it's her fault. It is more than possible that she, her mother, or I make a bad call on one of her dates and he tries to take advantage of her. While I would want the guy to know that if anything happens should he do anything to hurt my daughter, I again would rather that she can take care of herself. My daughter will be armed on her dates. Like my father before me, I believe everyone should care a basic pocket knife and the one I get for my daughter will be sufficient to deter any one with an intent to harm. I'd just as soon she never have to use it, but I want her to have the option. There may even be a time when she may have a conceal carry weapon. In short, any violence that I threaten her dates with will be nothing compared to what I want my daughter to be able to inflect if the need arises. If I really wanted to mess with someone, I would have them write their name on a bullet and then hand it to Kanga who should then load it into a gun she is taking on the date. That is how you encourage good behavior on a date.

In short, as much as I want to protect my daughter, and as much as I will do everything in my power to protect her, the best protection I can provide is by teaching her how to protect herself and then be there to back her up.