Am I old enough for this?

So last night was yet ANOTHER parent-teacher meeting over at Little Prince's preschool. It's a bilingual school that was inaugurated this year. Right now it's just pre-K, but they're expanding it through fifth grade, and eventually want to take it up through high school.

They had the opportunity to buy out a private elementary school a couple months ago and they leapt on the chance - but it means that they're combining the two schools in the middle of the school year (which is March through December here). Now they've thrown themselves into this huge construction project to build a school big enough for everyone.

Good business choice. Bad administration choice.

So at the end of July (which was winter vacation here) they announced that when school re-commenced in August, it would be at another building. Pandemonium ensued. Moms and Dads insisted that this eNORmous change would RUIN their child's health and confidence in the world, destroying self-concept and perhaps their entire faith in the education system.

Swearing. Lots of swearing. One mom just up and left. I had to suppress giggles.

I mean really, people. You think changing SCHOOLS is less drastic than changing LOCATION? It's still the same teachers, classmates, school materials, schedule .... so they're at a different building for the next couple months during construction. Big whoop-dee-doo. We get a brand new, chic-y school at the end of it, right?

I should mention that out of the eleven students, all are only children except for mine and one other. And that mom didn't have a problem with it, either. Coincidence? I ask you.

So last night we had a meeting about the construction plans, how the 'adaptation' is going, blah blah blah. They complained about, in a word, everything. The sand. The floors. The location of the bathrooms. That the other kids are lower class. (You think I'm kidding.) One of the moms is a psychologist and she went on and on about how we are obliterating our children's subconscious trust.

Okay, I didn't succeed on suppressing THAT giggle.

Mostly, I think these parents take themselves way too seriously. The day they moved to the new building, I asked LP how it was.

"Huh? New school? I dunno ...."

Yeah. His subconscious is REALLY hurting ....

The only thing that truly bugged last night was the Highly Professional Robot Lady who talked at us. Not TO us. AT us. The woman was a machine. Every critique and complaint was quickly bantered and re-phrased to a less-acidic 'suggestion.' I think the woman clasps her hands and nods concernedly no matter what the subject matter. Her smile was absolutely pasted on. She's very good at her job, no doubt. But I wanted to put my arm around her and say, "Look, sister. Cut the human resources crap. Just TALK to me, huh? Ya got a husband? Kids? PMS? Let the professional wall GO, man. Just go with the flow."

I bet if she did, she'd laugh her head off at those people.