Tomorrow is the first day of school! Am I excited? I’m still deciding.
Honestly, I don’t want to look at the screen for five hours.
Last year at this time, my mother and I were covering my books and I was begging her to buy me a fancy compass box or pouch.
My school is from 8 am to 3 pm. On an average day, when I get to school, I first go to my assigned seat and put my bag on the hook. I call it “the bag hook” – I know, I really need to work on that name. I then chat with my four best friends before the bell rings and ruins everything.
We have to stand up during the daily prayer, which is quite long, and my legs hurt. After that, we go to our seats and wait for the teacher to come. Not everybody does that. Many kids that don’t sit – they loiter around.
The teacher often asks us to complete whatever has been left incomplete – some kids even do their homework and the teacher doesn’t always know. I’ve done this as well. Then comes the first period and then snack time.
On Fridays, we have something called junk food day. You must know about the barter system, so I always get Maggi and popcorn. When someone asks me for it, I ask for what she has to give in return. And if she has Oreos, she gives me one and I give her\him some of my goodies. Even if they have already eaten their snacks, I still give them some of mine. What can I say? I’m a giver!
Then, we have the second period and the third period, the fourth period and at last, my favourite period, lunch break.
Don’t judge! We go up to the cafeteria and my friends love my tiffin box, my grandma prepares it and she is a really good cook. Sometimes I get chapati bhaji, sometimes idli, and many other things. On Friday, I get chocolate and Dark Fantasy biscuits, and one of my friends always wants some but I don’t mind! By this time, I’m hungry and I love eating.
Anyway, after that, we have four more periods. And then school is over!
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Usually the first day of school is a half day – it’s only until noon instead of being full day. We sit in a circle and introduce ourselves and decorate the classroom. This is really fun! Then the bell rings to tell us to go home and the next day is a full day of classes.
This year, the first day of school will be in an online classroom. I really miss going to school. I miss meeting my friends. When we are on Zoom, we start chatting. The teacher mutes us all. We go to the chat box on Zoom and soon enough, the teacher disables the chat option. I miss the noise and the chatter. I even miss my mother waking me up at 7 am repeatedly saying, “Aradhana, wake up. You will be late for school.” If I am late, which I often am, my teacher says, “You are late again. Give me your handbook.”
What can I say, I even miss remarks about my tardiness.
So here we are. The classroom, not in a light airy building but in a laptop. Students, not across rows but in windows on a screen. I do not quite like the idea of an online class. But at least I get to see my friends, even if only virtually. Now, it doesn’t seem that bad! It’s actually quite fun! There’s still a lot of din even if I only hear it on my headphones. I know that the teachers in my school are working really hard and if other teachers are reading this, I know you are too! A round of applause and a big thank you.
This is a little strange, but this experience has made me aware of how much I love school. I hope we get to go back as soon as possible. When school starts, I might not want to go. But, you know what, when I see my friends and teachers, I will.
I definitely will.
Aradhana Phadke Sardesai is a grade 5 student at The Somaiya School, Mumbai.