backstory: The dentist’s daughter
Earlier this week, I went to the dentist. It was a big move for me since I’ve avoided anything that wasn’t really necessary since the pandemic began. But the teeth… I really need them to keep working.
Prior to the dentist cleaning my teeth, we talked about our kids and their learning environments. “My daughter is in second grade,” he said. “Is she really going to be a third grader in the fall? Will she know what she’s supposed to know?”
It made me think about the other kinds of lessons our young kids are receiving—some good, some not so good. They are learning about independence—their reaches and their limits. They are learning about loneliness and the preciousness of togetherness. They are learning to be respectful of others in ways they may not have had to before. Are there any ways in which they will be better off having had some of these experiences? I guess time will tell.