Earlier this past week, we had one of “those” mornings at our house, where everything seemed to go in slow motion, and we were thus forced to make that obligatory dash for the bus. Although my son’s stop is just a few houses down the street, it has proven more effective to jump in the car for that happy chase. This time, though, we had cut it so close that I nearly had to run the bus off the road to get him to notice us and not drive away. Although I certainly could have driven him the 20 extra blocks or so in to school, I think that my competitive drive seems to kick in during this mini race.

Anyway, I digress; so, I sent him on his way, and took just a minute to let my heart rate slow down a bit before jumping on the highway to head in to work, and it gave me a moment to think. I remembered being a kid up in the mountains, and waiting (hoping) for the bus to get stuck on the switchbacks during one of our big snowy mornings. Although many memories that I have of the bus are less than pleasant (the terrible smell for weeks after a kid gets sick on the bus, or getting “moved” to the front of the bus by the older kids), the many hours I spent on the bus as a kid really did teach me some pretty powerful lessons about playing nice with others, reading people, and when to know to not push authority (i.e. the bus driver) too far.

Where I’m really driving this train (or bus) is towards a bigger question about being a kid and gathering many of the big childhood learning neccessities (i.e. knowledge, skills AND attitudes). Although I am (of course) a huge proponent of the online delivery of learning and information, I always try to keep it in the back of my head that kids also need to have very real experiences to learn and grow; and, although many of life’s experiences can be recreated in synchronous and asynchronous online events, experiences like riding the bus 5 days a week for 10 long years of one’s life can be difficult to recreate, so there is clearly a need for a good balance. I suppose the real point is that I feel it’s my responsibility to keep that idea in the back of my mind at all times when I’m creating these fun and/or academic events for children.

Although I’m not sure if we’ll ever catch the bus, I sure am enjoying chase!