Goodbye holidays, hello school

It’s back to the routine for children and parents as most schools reopen after a two-month break today. While some children are excited to return to school, others are sad that the holidays have ended. Parents too are going through their spells of anxiety.

They confess that it will take a month for them and their wards to settle down to the new rhythm.

The school managements say while they face the challenge of getting the children oriented into the culture and discipline of the school, meeting the parents’ expectations is a Herculean task.

Even the Bangalore traffic police is gearing up to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. Metrolife speaks to a few parents, school principals and the traffic police to find out what measures they would have to take to meet the challenges that come with the reopening of schools.

From taking time off to teach the kids to attending social meets at schools and taking them to tuitions... the year ahead looks tough, say most parents. Parents, whose children are studying in primary school, have a different sets of problems as compared to parents who have children in bigger classes. Vishitha Rao, an IT professional’s son is in class four. “I have had to make adjustments to my work schedule and carry some work home to be able to spend some time to teach my son,” she says. 

Another parent, Bhagyalakshmi Amarnath, a college lecturer, says her daughter Madhumitha will be going to class nine. “My daughter loves school and in fact she is waiting to get back. So that brings my anxiety down to almost half. I am willing to take all the trouble to settle into the new academic year,” says Bhagyalakshmi.

Kavitha Singh, another parent whose daughter is in high school, says that she made sure she signed her daughter up for German classes and enrolled her for maths tuitions to make sure she doesn’t lose touch with her academic routine. “Waking up early is going to be tough but since she has stayed in touch with academics, it shouldn’t be much of a problem,” she adds.

The management of schools have chalked out elaborate measures to cater to the requirements of the new academic year.

 Dr Jerry George Mathew, principal, Clarence High School, says, “Our biggest challenge will be to meet the expectations of the parents and getting back to the grind of balancing academics with extra-curricular activities. We will also have to review our past mistakes to not repeat the same,” he reasons.

Dr Sabitha Ramamurthy, principal of CMR National Public School says, “More than academics, we are worried about ensuring the social and psychological well-being of the child. Ensuring that the children react positively to discipline is a huge challenge.”

The Bangalore Traffic Police have already deputed 120 lollipop policemen at most school junctions to ensure smooth flow of traffic in and around schools. Additional commissioner of police (traffic) B Dayananda says, “The additional policemen around school will make sure that there are no random parking of school vans near schools and traffic is regulated to help children move around schools without the fear of being hit by a moving vehicle.”