Anew school year is underway. All over the country, kids, lamenting summer’s end, are descending on K-12 campuses. Two of those kids are mine. My oldest started eighth-grade last week at his beloved Northern California middle school. Yes, I said beloved.
Personally, you couldn’t pay me to be back in middle school — braces, puberty, mean girls — no thanks. And I don’t think I’m alone in that conviction. But my kid loves it. And what’s even weirder to this Gen X mom is that that seems to be the consensus for most of his peers.
When my son started at his school last year, I knew it had a great reputation. Located in California’s capital, it enjoyed strong alumni support, featured committed faculty, and boasted robust extra-curriculars. There was only one thing that bothered me.