2nd Grade Visit to OES December 1st

My son was born almost seven years ago when I was a teacher in Detroit.  Later that year, I accepted a job as an elementary principal in Montague and the hope of having my own children in the building where I worked began.  Stops at our middle school and a 3rd-5th grade building delayed this a few years, but the fun is about to start.  

Thanks to our wonderful 2nd grade teachers at DA, the dream gets a jump start tomorrow as Mr. Boyd's class visits OES to discuss the role schools play in society.  I'm not sure how to explain that to an adult sometimes let alone a group of 7 and 8 year olds.  Adding to this pressure is the fact that my son is in the first group of students listening to my presentation tomorrow.  How do you explain the purpose of school?

I plan to start with "why did you come to school today?"  I'm sure kids will answer to have fun and to learn, but to learn what.  The second question will be "why did your parents send you to school today?"  I am interested in hearing this answer.  The next question will be why do the people in our community who don't have kids help pay for you to go to school.  I'm sure the brilliant boy in the crowd will have something to say about this???  The next line of questions will repeat these three with the twist of pretend you were a student in central Africa answering these same questions.  I have a few pictures to share with them to get them thinking.  I can't wait to hear where the 7 year old minds go.

For me, the purpose of school is to provide my children with the best possible opportunity to succeed at whatever they choose to do.  There are both academic skills and social skills that are essential to opening that door.  

Why did you send your child to school today?