Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Professional Parents


After an epic break in posting i am back,,truth to tell there has been so little time..between managing the various family dysfunctions..painting applying ,for High schools worrying about the economy...the list goes on. I have yet again been doing the rounds of visiting schools , trying to enthuse my teenager to study for tests and filling in application forms. One thing I have noticed ..America loves red tape ..it is even more beaurocratic than India. Alot of the forms I dont understand. For independent Schools here one has to fill in a manual of maybe 30 pages..then send a manual to her current school where they have to fill in forms asking about your releyability as a parent and if you have contributed communally to the school..did you bake enough cookies for the school fundraising commitee meeting?.In England I would occassionally come across what I would call a "professional Parent" these people would have their child enrolled for every club from cooking to learning Cantonese. They would hot house their kids 3 years prior to applying to other schools..they would always be 1st to volenteer to be on the cake baking committee at school , on first name terms with the head mistress.. What I found miraculous is that they found time to do this..were they spending all night making the costumes for the school panto? Unsurprisingly most of these professional parents were American.
Although in England I would admit to scoffing at the enthusiasm of these parents I now admire their willingness to take an active part in the community. The British way is that we do not like to appear "too Keen". It is uncool and also why not let someone else take care of it . So I have joined the ranks here in America of providing Snacks for the School play rehearsal , doing playground duty and clearing up after fundraisers because here in America everyone mucks in.