Back to school time is also nostalgia time for all of us, for we all have had first days of school. My mother recorded mine on film for posterity. There I am in the early 1980s at Fort Bragg, standing on the sidewalk holding a metal lunchbox, my bookbag over my shoulder, knee socks pulled up and hair in two neat braids. My older sister is in the photo, too, as well as the neighbor kids. There's no school bus in the background, though.
I was a walker, from kindergarten through high school graduation, no matter where we lived. In Springfield, Va., I walked to the primary school in the neighborhood. At Fort Bragg, I walked to the elementary school on post. In Augusta, Ga., I walked to the elementary school in the neighborhood. Back in Springfield, I walked to the elementary school in the neighborhood and then the secondary school that was about a mile away, but just close enough that there was no bus. It was all part of my parents' plan to build character. Which I suppose it did. I even walked uphill in the snow (but not both ways).
Who knows what I thought about on those walks. With other kids, I'm sure we chatted about things children chat about. Or maybe we were alone with our thoughts, which is something that seems to be less and less a priority lately. Children's days are rigorously scheduled, and when they're not on the clock, their brains are engaged with the latest technology rather than their own imagination. Just plain imagination, not imagination fostered by toys or games. Why not just let a kid stare at a tree? Or study the lines on a sidewalk? Structured learning and unstructured learning are both vital.
My own son is 14 months old now and I love to watch him learn. Sure, he likes the light-up, noisy toys, but he loves his ball just as much, if not more. And he loves the natural world, especially rocks. He just holds them until he finds a more interesting one, then puts that down and picks up the new one.
Graduations are times of celebrations and relief, but looking back, maybe we should fuss a little more about leaving. Once you're not in school, you no longer have that structured learning environment. You're on your own to make discoveries, learn new things and try something different. Depending on our personality types, sometimes we only want to learn more about what we already know, or think we know.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has met 18-year-olds who think they know everything. But as they spend the next four years at Duke, UNC or NCCU, they'll come to understand that there is much knowledge to acquire, and never enough time to learn it all. I hope they build some character, too, and have learning experiences unrelated to academia. Same goes for students at every level.
I'm a little jealous of students in class this week, and hope they appreciate the opportunities before them. I hope they live each day to the fullest. I hope they seek knowledge like a prize. I hope they use what they learn to make the world a better place.
Come to think of it, you don't have to be a student to do those things.
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan may be reached at dvaughan@heraldsun.com or 419-6563.
