Real Life

The end of the school year is quickly approaching, and the kids are busy with end of the year activities and trips. It has been fun seeing the differences in the way the schools work. Sometimes school is let out early because it is the end of the year (no advance notice - the kids just show up at home :-)), sometimes it is let out a little bit later because a trip runs a little longer. Bailey's class has freedom to go in groups of 4 on the train to the zoo, while Camden's class meets at the town center to go to a show and Mia's class takes the city bus for a "science day." Camden's class went to a "solar farm" and got to stand under a windmill  - he told us that the wind was so strong, that everyone's hair was sticking straight out. Anyway... another aspect to the end of the year is that they are bringing home things that they have worked on all year, which brings me to my real point... Throughout the year, Mia has mentioned little things that her teacher has taught her that I am surprised she knew about. The topics were more to the point of "real life" information for example; where to go in a lightning storm (if you are in the forest, go to the lowest point, but not under a tree), what to bring when you go swimming,  how to be safe when ice skating, how to properly clean up, how often to trim your fingernails and change your underwear, what you need for a day in the sun, where to place a candle in the window (not too close to either side, but in the middle), how to cross the city street, how to walk on a bike path (on the right hand side), what you can use to put out a fire (water, sand, or your foot), but also how to call the German equivilent to 911. etc. Mia came home with a notebook completely full of sheets of these "real life" things to know. Some of the information were things that Bailey and Camden were taught in school (ex. how to call 911, you need to brush your teeth etc.), but the details of many of the other things were so surprising to me... What kind of tread shoes you should wear when it is snowing, the color clothing you should wear when it is dark and you are playing outside, how to put sand on the sidewalk in front of your house so no one will slip. What amazed me was that since living here, these are all things that I see everyone doing. EVERYONE dresses appropriately when it is raining, EVERYONE puts sand in front of their house when it is icy, EVERYONE waits at a light to cross the street when a child is present, EVERYONE seems to know how to work with fire. It is truly a culture, and when you learn these life lessons in school - I think it makes the society a better place. Sure, you can argue that these are the things that kids should learn at home, but the reality is that many kids don't, and these "real life lessons" are to me invaluable. You can see how when the entire culture is educated how it seems to work quite well.