once upon a time the end

I'm a fervent proponent of expanded learning time, by which I mean LONGER school days and YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL.  We are no longer the same kind of agrarian culture we were when summer vacation may have made sense, and parents--both of them!--now work year round, making the long summer break a headache of coordination for affluent families and a positive risk for poor families who depend on public school for meals and childcare (never mind that nearly ALL of the Achievement Gap can be attributed to summer learning loss).  More time in school also carries the promise of reduced pressure to COVERTHECURRICULUM, a more relaxed and natural opportunity for balance in the school day as well as the school year.

That said, I am the child of a bygone era and the Last Day of School still throbs with the old glory of relief and release.  And we are now at the moment when every one of the last exactly 180 days is just about past.  The future I imagined in September is HERE.  And Bobbi Katz has the perfect poem to capture my state of mind.

When the Future Arrives | Bobbi Katz

When the future arrives,
      breathless, 
             immense,
it completely 
takes over
the present tense.

from The Poetry Friday Anthology, 2012
eds. Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong


The Poetry Friday round-up is hosted today by Karen Edmisten.  Dash on over and cross the finish line with lungs full of poetry!