Journal #4 First Day Jitters

Well, its official now, both my kids are away at school, the oldest in first grade and the youngest in Pre-K. I can't lie and say its been an easy road to getting them through daycare, nursery school and both into a top tier public elementary school. But now that they're both there I feel my work as a parent has just begun.

We live in Cobble Hill in Brooklyn, a now upper class neighborhood next door to Brooklyn Heights and running along the water. We've lived in a three block radius for close to twenty years moving from a large pre-war to a garret with low ceilings, before finally settling in a beautiful two bedroom in a new building along the outskirts of the neighborhood. Our neighborhood has gone from largely Italian and Hispanic to mostly upper-middle class Manhattanites.

I struggled for years to give my two boys a pre-school education and activity level that was on par with other local kids. Despite the fact that living on one income severely limited our activity level I managed to find ways to give my kids the best available in our price point. My oldest went to a local parochial school for pre-school that was hidden away in Brooklyn Heights. Though it was a Greek Orthodox school the school was reasonably priced and had wonderful facilities. My youngest was lucky enough get a spot at a highly regarded city daycare across from the housing projects on nearby Hoyt street. The city daycare was beautiful, clean, had college educated teachers, freshly cooked meals, and rooftop playgrounds. Leaving it behind for public pre-K more than tripled my after school care costs for my youngest but placed him in the same school as his older brother and thus shortened my pick-up and drop off time.

Now that we're in a public school I feel my job has just begun. In a class of 26 first graders I fear my oldest will get lost in the cracks in such a large class. I also worry his boyish behaviour will make classroom management difficult for his young, inexperienced teacher and lead to discipline issues. My youngest will adjust fine, but he is entering a class where he knows no other kids. To go from going to school with kids from the projects with a highly diverse classroom to a class full of kids who've gone to private pre-schools and have nannies is a difference I hope he doesn't notice as much as I do. Indeed, I wonder if he even does notice the difference or if its just another group of friends.

Hopefully, things will go fine, new friends will be made, and they will adjust. For me its another question altogether; will they make friends? will they have a positive learning experience? will they enjoy being students? will their teachers connect with them?Most of these questions are things that we probably will not know the answers to until the end of the school year.