Every day I wait in the hall for school to end. Then, the school bell rings and the craziness begins. The bell rings and kids come filing into the hall, filling it from wall to wall, and many times running and knocking other kids over. The closer they get to the door to outside, the faster the speed. It's like fresh air and the outside are magnetic forces pulling them outside. I have learned to stay parked in my wheelchair until the masses pass. Sometimes, my chair still gets run into even though it is sitting still against the wall. I'm never brave enough to try to part the masses and "swim upstream."
My kids seem to love school enough that they are in no hurry to leave and I sometimes (OK frequently) have to head to their classroom to collect them after the masses have left the building. If I happen to be waiting near the 4th and 5th grade classrooms, I get to witness masses of cell phones being whipped out of pockets and attached to ears as they leave the building. I understand why my daughter has been asking/begging for a phone, but I'm even more convinced she does not need one. There is little to no interaction between students on their way out the door. I don't want our children's only interaction with others to be through an electronic device. Although sometimes giggling and being loud with friends kind of makes my ears ring, I would still prefer that for hours than no human interaction. Today, I witnessed a kid dragging his friend down the hall by his ankles. Not my choice for interaction, but they were laughing and being kids. I can't wait until it is warm enough after school, for the kids to get to play outside and laugh and run around and burn their energy. If only they could send some of their energy this way.
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