“SCHOOL’S IN”

Evening Star, Issue 23180, 1 February 1939, Page 13

“SCHOOL’S IN”

NEW YEAR STARTED TO-DAY SOME REGRETS, BUT MAINLY DELIGHT Appropriately enough, with the starting of a new month a new school year began this morning. The occasion was doubtless one for a diversity of feelings: gladness on tho part of the mothers that their offspring will now bo out of the way for the greater part of each day; distress on the part of children starting school for the first time; eagerness on the part of older children about to make reunion with old friends ; regret on the part of teachers and juveniles alike that the holiday season has ended. • Between 8.30 and D this morning all roads seemed to lead to different schools. Last night school bags, slates, and text books were unearthed from the cupboards into which they wore joyously flung six weeks ago, but possibly there -was none of that joy attached to the unearthing. Suits and frocks wore cleaned and pressed; shoes brilliantly shined. Playgrounds, idle for so long, to-day again re-echoed to the sounds of shrill laughter and happy calling of hundreds of youngsters. Holiday incidents were “ swapped ” ; Christmas recalled. “ Wo went to such-and-such a place, and had a marvellous time.” “My auntie stayed with us over the holidays, and she took me everywhere.” “ What did you get for Christmas?”—“ I got a bicycle, and a stamp album, and . . • ” And so on.

In isolated instances old feuds wore brought up again: “ There’s Bill Jones. I promised to knock his block off before the holidays. Watch mo do it now!” “ Gosh, look, there’s Tom back here again this year. I thought we had got rid of him before Christmas.” Oh, yes, children have their little vendettas.

Fortunately, however, they are few and far between. Mainly, one suspects, there .is pleasure in being back at school. So much to talk about; old friendships to be renewed;- strange new boys and girls to be “ piped off ” ; the thrill of going into a higher standard; cricket, football, kites, marbles all over again. It’s a great life, when all is said and done, and six weeks’ holiday means a long time to be away from the rest of the fellows.

Of course, the youngster going to school for the first time is more dubious about tho whole business. There is that dreadful spectre, the head master, to be encountered, and all sorts of other things just about as had. Strangely, though, the head master turns out to be quite a “ pally ” sort of a man, and one’s fears disseminate. Head masters are only human, when all is said and done: they were “ new ” themselves once. They understand childish fears, often foolishly magnified for no real reason. Possibly these new pupils were in the mind of Shakespeare when he wrote of the schoolboy “ creeping like snail unwillingly to school,” because they are the only ones who show any decided traces of unwillingness.

Perhaps the boy who has been transferred from one school to another has leaden feet. He is going somewhere entirely new to him, a stranger in a completely strange world. These youngsters are perhaps the worst off in the early days of a new term. They have to prove themselves before being accepted into the various “ gangs ” that exist in every class in every school.

But these are trifles: school has started again, and if all possible points could be summed up it would surely be found that there is a general happiness. All play and no work would make for dull lives.