A New Sensation: Relaxation

It was Sunday afternoon, and a feeling came over me I couldn't immediately identify. I was feeling it physically as well as emotionally, and it was truly so strange to me that I had to take a deep breath and examine what was going on. Then, it came to me: I was feeling relaxed. Calm. At peace. What the -- ? On a Sunday afternoon?

Oh yeah, it's summer vacation! I hadn't properly taken into account just what a toll school takes on me, and I'm not even a student! But my usual Sunday afternoon routine of running around, getting things ready for lunches, collecting homework for the backpacks, running an errand or two, and bracing myself for the onslaught of the week ahead can now be dropped for the next 10 weeks, and I can once again enjoy the entire weekend.

I've been the PTA President at my kids' elementary school for 3 years now (2 years in a row and one year off before this one), and a really active parent besides, which means I've basically been running a non-profit agency that serves 700 kids and their families, with a small staff -- and all of us working at least 40 hours a week, for free. (Oh, and I also have a part-time real job, 2 kids and, as you can tell, I blog.)

But it's the school that's been wearing on me, clearly, because I still have a job, 3 blogs and 2 kids, even in the summer, and yet this particular Sunday found me looking forward to the week, not hyper-ventilating.

So what's so bad about it all? Plenty of other people moms run PTAs and I bet many don't hate it as much as I came to. (Well, maybe some do. Do you?) In our case, we have some obstacles in our way that seem more like Mt. Everest than a molehill most of the time. And please don't mention attitude to me: I started this gig with the highest of hopes and have been summarily beaten down at every turn.

My mom cronies of the PTA and I have been labeled the Parents From Hell (a name we've embraced and come to love -- who wouldn't?) by some (emphasis on SOME) of the teachers -- why? Because we dare to expect excellence from them, and we don't often get it. Our elementary school serves low-income students for whom English is a second language on the whole, and on the whole, these students are not succeeding. And in many cases, the teachers at our school spend their time blaming other factors for this terrible truth instead of doing everything in their power to make sure it doesn't remain the truth.

And just so you understand I am not a Teacher-Hater, I have an equally large frustration level for many of the parents in our school as well. I met a mom this year whose son has been in school with mine for 5 years now -- and I only JUST MET her. At a little league game. Those she shows up for, her kids' school, not so much.

Oh, and you may have heard about some budget cuts here in California? And in LAUSD in particular? Yeah, we're going to change from 20 students per class in grades K - 3 to 24 in the fall, and it's going up to 36 for 4th and 5th. Oy. And summer school? Buh-Bye. It cost $34 Million, apparently, and we don't have it. So the leg up that might have provided to some kids in need just won't happen.

All this has been happening, by the way, in a year when our PTA fund-raising was met with even less generosity than usual, and I guess we blame the recession, but who cares what we blame? The point is, we can't make up the shortfall and hire back the 6 teachers we're losing to budget cuts. Even in wealthier areas of town, parents are hard-pressed to make up the difference between what the state and school districts can provide and what is truly needed.

It's enough to make a mom want to run for the hills. Which of course is not an option for me. So until September 9th, when I'll be back in the fray, I'm going to enjoy my summer break, thank you very much. 

This is an original post for the LA Moms Blog. When she's not completely stressing out over school, Sarah relaxes at Mar Vista Mom.