Growing Up Californian

Also published as "The New Iowan," The Chronicle, 1-28-2010


Working in the schools (or perhaps even having your own children) gives a second look at childhood for those who can take the time to notice it. Perhaps I am more likely to notice because I see little differences from my own upbringing in Orange County, California. Regardless, there is something interesting about having an adult perspective while spending time in a child’s world.

The first time I toured Iowan schools, the differences that really struck me were indoor lunchrooms and tall rows of lockers that went on forever. When I attended school, we ate outdoors at the lunch tables. My high school had individual hexagonal buildings sprawled across acres of land, which we crossed outdoors during five minute passing periods – barely enough time to make it from science to art. Elementary schools never had lockers, while middle school and high school lockers were often half-sized for books and backpacks only. “Did you get a top locker or a bottom locker this year?” probably isn’t a question heard in Iowa.

Even more striking than the existence of roomy lockers in the elementary schools is their use. The first time I saw a long hallway lined by open locker doors with dozens of snow pants and coats draped from them I wished I were holding a camera. The bright, mismatched colors against the drab metal lockers and linoleum floors are forever captured in my memory. I smile and furrow my brow like a foreigner watching an unfamiliar cultural ritual when the kids spend several educational minutes each day layering and un-layering their outerwear four times. Boots, socks, tennis shoes, mittens, hats, and scarves strewn about are just not part of my childhood memories. The first time a student asked me to wait while he put his gloves on the dryer was just that – a first!

There are differences in the content of instruction as well, but maybe not so much in the curriculum as in the extras. In California I recall having a yearly school assembly about conservation of water, as I grew up in an endless, severe drought. We learned to turn off the faucet while brushing our teeth, save bath water for watering flowers, and water the lawn in the evening to avoid evaporation. Then there were the earthquake drills, which started as “duck and cover” and evolved over the years to be more comprehensive. Maybe the educational minutes spent putting on outerwear in Iowan schools are equivalent to the time I spent under my desk in preparation for “the big one” for all those years. And until last week a tornado watch was unheard of in Southern Californian schools!

No matter the location, kids will be kids and learn what they are shown. Unlike adults, their free time isn’t spent worrying about forest fires and mudslides or ice storms and power outages. Recess is time for planning a bike ride to the beach or sliding down an icy snow mound. Did I just hear the bell ring?


Copyright Rachel Burns 2010