Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Cult of Elementary

I don't want to write a "mom post" but I have to get this off my chest.

I have a kid who has worn a costume of some sort everyday for at least a year. Really.

And he changes costumes about 5 times a day. Just like Cher.



So I have a kid who constantly expresses himself as a new character, with new strengths and weaknesses and capes and lightsabers- the whole bit all the time. Whenever he needs it. And I love that.

It is like living at Comic Con.



But this week he started kindergarten. They don't let kids wear costumes in kindergarten because it's a distraction and a possible safety issue and I get that. But he's having such a hard time with it. It's so not like him. Not at all. 

He was the leader of the pack in preschool. And now he's barely talking to anyone. They stripped him of his powers. 

So today he wore a vest. He thinks he's pulling off a fast one "because they'll think I'm just in my handsome clothes but really, I'm Han Solo". 

And his confidence was renewed. He had spring in his step this morning and it kind of got me thinking all these hippie thoughts about the American school system and how they're conforming the kids to the majority. Man. 


I came across this questionnaire thing on tumblr asking people who visited the US what surprised them the most. 

 
This. 

The first day of kindergarten, of elementary school, they're all sitting there in rows and chanting out the Pledge of Allegiance, hands over their heart, just like I was in the back of the MPR (Multi-Purpose Room. A fancier word for "the gym") and it hit me how Pink Floyd's The Wall it all felt. Even through my nostalgic tears of how cute it all was. My internal tumblr-flooded mind went back and forth between this 

 
And this 


It's best to just not think about it too much. I ain't a hippie.