The Unknown Unknowns

"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know." - Donald Rumsfeld, Former US Secretary of Defense      This quote, or some version of it, has been running through my head the last few days.  Owen started fifth grade a few weeks ago which means he's moved to the Upper School.  We've been told that things are different up there - less parent involvement, more student responsibility and an emphasis on being organized. It seems that organization is the key to survival in this brave new middle school world.  If you look to the photo on the right, you will see that "we" faced some challenges in the organization department during the first few days of school.   My ten year old was handed a large box of school supplies and sent to his locker and told to put them away - and this is exactly how a ten year old puts a box of stuff in his locker.  Very age appropriate but a little on the messy side. After a trip to Staples, Owen conceded to let me come upstairs with him after school so that I could help him get his locker in order. I had been forbidden from going upstairs with him before school started because he wanted to handle everything all on his own.  Whether my son believes it or not, I am quite adept at organizing things and I was more than happy to offer him some help.  Of course, I also gleaned information from some trusted sixth grade parents who were more than happy to get us started off on the right foot.  His locker (the last time I saw it) looked like this.  Greatly improved.  He was happy with it too, which is a complete bonus as far as I'm concerned.     As far as Owen's adjustment to Middle School life (and mine, lest we kid ourselves that he is the only one making adjustements), I would have to say it's a work in progress.  After being spoiled with having little to no homework in 3rd and 4th grades, he's coming home with mounds of homework.  It's going to take some getting used to for all of us.  He's also having to learn the personalities and quirks of seven different teachers (yes, he has a different teacher for each subject he takes).  It's like high school in some ways.  The positive side of all of this is that he's going to perfect his organizational skills and learn to move from class to class with ease long before he leaves SBA for high school.  The negative, he's ten and the lack of structure is making it difficult at times to stay on top of things.  I think fifth grade is going to be an adjustment for all of us. I have the distinct feeling that we've got a lot of "Unknown Unknowns" out there just waiting to trip us up - which is intimidating to say the least.  It may be a bumpy year but we've got our fingers crossed that things will go well enough for him.      On a side note, some of the fifth grade parents have been having some hilarious therapy sessions on facebook at night.  There's something about feeling like you're all in the trenches of math homework together that lowers the stress level of these later than usual homework nights.  And yes, I do realize that this is just fifth grade and that I need to get a grip and take a step or two back from the process and just let things happen - but that's hard to do sometimes.  Yet another thing that is a work in progress.     Lastly, there is Sarah, our second grade child who is oh so helpful with all of this fifth grade stress (ha!).  She bounces around the house announcing how easy her homework is and how much fun she's having in second grade.  Love that in-house sibling support.

A New School Year

First Day of Fifth & Second Grades
August 11th, 2011

Paulette Elementary
First Day of school ever on August 8th, 2011

My children returned to school last week. They were excited to be going back to familiar surroundings - friends, teachers, classrooms.  Several hundred miles away, Paulette Elementary held it's first day of classes in Union County, Tennesse. Paulette Elementary was built on the piece of property where my grandparents house and store once stood.  It's also the first elementary school to be built in Union County since 1970, fourty-one years ago.  I tried to find a picture of the completed school building, but so far I've been unsuccessful.  I did find a photo of the almost finished building though.  

     At the risk of throwing too many important milestone dates in at once, I feel the need to mention that last week (August 10th) was also the third anniversary of my grandmother's death.  My grandmother, Cleo Hurst, died peacefully in her sleep in the house she had called home for over 60 years in the same room where my grandfather, LJ Hurst, died peacefully in his sleep in the summer of 1982.  I haven't driven out to see the new school.  I could blame it on logistics - it's a long drive from Nashville to Union County - but the truth is that I just haven't had the strength to do it.  I know that all of the places that I love are gone - the house and barn and the store building where I spent so much of my childhood with my mother and grandparents.  I can't imagine driving around the bend in the highway and not seeing the roof of my grandparent's house and the circle drive and the walnut trees and the green stretches of open fields.  It's good that the county has a new school - they desperately needed one - and I hope nothing but the best for all the new Paulette Panthers who are excitedly walking the halls of their brand new school building this week. I am sad for what I have lost in the process though. 

The Hurst Place
May 2008