I have such fond memories of summers as a young kid. I always read lots of books over the summer. I went to what we used to call “run, swim, jump” camps where that’s what I did most of the day. For a few weeks, my parents would send my sister and me to visit a myriad of relatives in big cities and small rural towns. It seemed like summer lasted forever and when August finally rolled around, I always felt I had had significant time catching lightning bugs, playing in the sprinkler, eating ice cream and just indulging in summer’s delights.
It’s now time to return back to school. For some, that means school shopping and new outfits and backpacks, new friends, maybe, even a new school. I lived too close to my school so I never took the “cheese bus” and was always so envious of those who did. I remember my mother wrapping our textbooks in brown paper (Catholic school requirement) and buying black and white saddle shoes and getting fitted for my new uniform – a pink blouse, grey jumper, and maroon sweater. I don’t know what memories you have about the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, but hopefully they are filled with the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and choosing just the right folder for all of your needs.
Kids these days don’t necessarily have sharpened pencils. They are more likely to have tablets and laptops. Saddle shoes are by and large a thing of the past and finding the perfect pen seems like a bygone luxury. The reality is, far too many school children have anxiety about going to school due to lack of resources at home or at their own school. I think these past few months have shown many people that we must be deliberate in our actions to make this city and our various communities function properly. We cannot wait for Washington, D.C. to invest in us, we must rely on a collective spirit to ensure that this school year is productive for our young people. We must do what we can to decrease the levels of stress and anxiety that so many of our young scholars are experiencing. They are not immune to the uncertainty and chaos surrounding us. They hear our conversations and feel the levels of worry permeating so many communities around lack of jobs and housing insecurities and rising prices of..everything.
It is my hope we will contribute what we can, whether it’s buying school supplies for a student or contributing to a back-to-school drive that so many churches and community organizations are putting together. We are the ones who will make our students (and our communities) great.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.