Long Days

School started for the boys on September 10th, but the first week was mostly chaotic, trying to figure out schedules and taking care of administrative and organizational tasks. For their final (unless something goes horribly wrong) two years, they will be preparing to take the International Baccalaureate (IB) at the end of next year. That means they have very different kinds of classes starting now, especially in the subjects they have chosen as “higher level”. After the first meeting with the teachers, Paddy was ecstatic about higher level math, so much so that I found myself devoutly hoping this math teacher has a good sense of humor and is not likely to tell him “not quite that high” too soon. Christopher is taking standard level math (Paddy coined the term “the stanleys” for the standard level math group), but higher level history, so he is equally thrilled about devoting his attention to a more in-depth study of Stalin and Lenin. The only glitch with their classes is that the school is apparently still trying to determine what their “first” language is and figure out which consequences that choice might have. I find this fairly frustrating. This is an international school, and the majority of the pupils at this school speak more than one language at home: How is it not possible to accommodate this fact in the curriculum? Paddy and Christopher are bilingual, in other words they speak two languages (not counting the languages they have learned at school and from friends), so why do they have to choose just one as their “first” language?

Since the boys were in France last week with their respective classes and only returned last Sunday, on Monday morning they jumped in at the deep end, so to speak. This has been a very, very long week.

With the IB classes all in very small groups and along with all the “core subjects” they are required to take for the Austrian graduation certificate, the boys have a staggering schedule. They leave home every day at about seven in the morning and don’t get back until about seven in the evening. During the day they have some longer breaks, when they can study on their own and with friends and classmates, but there is an incredible amount of information to be processed in any case.

With the boys gone every day all day, we figured out fairly quickly that we can’t really afford for all four of us to go out for lunch every day of the week, so we are trying to change some of our routines. This includes trying to remember to keep supplies of food that could work as a kind of mid-day snack to take along to school, the workshop and the office. Then we try to have a reasonable dinner together in the evening. Eating our main meal of the day in the evening feels odd, and I’m not sure it feels entirely healthy, but it is certainly enjoyable to take the time to sit down together in the evening and talk. The boys both have so much to say for themselves, and it is a great pleasure to be able to listen to them.

With such long days of work, though, we are already looking forward to the next holidays.