School's over? Really?

It amazes me at how slow dismissal is at our school. I'm not saying it is the fault of the teachers. The kids seem to move at such a slow pace that you wonder if they want to go home at all.

At our yeshiva, we have different dismissal times for the middle-school kids. Officially it is 445p for 6th grade, but they don't start to call their names until 450p. When they do, the boys (girls exit from the other side of the building) gradually come out one by one...literally, one by one. Are they so tired that they forgot they were going home?

Last night, my son gave 'slow' a whole new meaning...

I arrived at my kids' school at 450p anticipating another slow dismissal. Although I arrived later, I managed to park near the door so that I could see my son exit the building. The line of cars snaked through the parking lot, so I was happy to get that spot. Once again, the boys didn't disappoint. One by one they came outside as if they needed instruction on what to do next. As I waited in the car, with my engine off (gas is getting pricier by the day), I noticed in my rear-view mirror that the long line was shrinking and still no sign of my son.

Now it is 505p and still no sign of him even though his name was called first (remember, I had the spot near the door). I gave it one more minute before I headed into the building. Lo and behold, he was walking through  the  hall slowly working his way to the stairs. I asked if he noticed that his classroom was virtually empty. He looked at me and replied, "Yeah, I was organizing my looseleaf when I noticed that the kids were gone." When I asked him  why he didn't come down when his name was called, he explained that he was busy organizing his papers from the day and didn't hear his name called so he assumed that I wasn't there yet. The problem with that: he does this everyday.

By the time we got downstairs there wasn't a car left in the lot (except mine, of course).

When we arrived home, I explained to him that I'm tired of waiting for him every night while the rest of the school empties out. He knows that I'm waiting for him unless he's otherwise notified by the school secretary. He needs to get it together or he will be in training for next year's marathon by walking the 2 miles home. 

I think he got the message, because his looseleaf was in perfect order this a.m.

Just in case, I think I'll wait at the end of the line today.