Morning VS Afternoon Session

We’re on the third week of school and my kids are both in the afternoon session. Classes start at 12:30 pm. For my eldest, classes end at 5:00 pm while for the second, it ends at 3:00 pm. When I learned of this schedule, I thought it’s better because I’ll have the time to at least check on their homeworks and tutor them a bit before I go to work. There won’t be any rush hours in the morning. Three school years ago, my eldest daughter and I suffered too much stress because I enrolled her in the city where I work and the trip takes about an hour by bus. Her classes start at 10:00 and I have to be at work at 9:00am. She was 4 years old then and since we had to leave at 8:00 am I had to wake her up at 6:00 or 7:00. Poor girl, she had regular bouts of respiratory illnesses because of that. The following year, I transferred her to our town’s Montessori school. It was far modest by the city’s standard but more child-friendly and caring than them. Most all, my daughter wouldn’t have to wake up at 6:00 am.

AM versus PM Session

Personally, if it weren’t for the school’s and my own limitations, I prefer that my kids take the morning classes. When I was in grades 1 and 2, I always go to school at 6:00 am. At first, my kuya and I take the school bus but apparently, budget limitations made us ride tricycles later on. My aunt who was teaching Home Economics in the same school would ask her older students to get tricycles for us during class dismissals. She would instruct them to get the vehicle’s plate number and description. Some of her more brilliant students would even get the names and addresses of the drivers.

There are several reasons why I prefer going to school in the morning. One, discipline is instilled in the kids to start the day early. I used to have a colleague who lived in Fairview but studied in Miriam College and imagine how early she had to wake up to avoid traffic and be in school on time. She said that made her wake up early even now that she’s all grown up. The funny thing is, she also developed this talent for appearing to be working but is in fact napping. She said she did it even in her classes before. She sat in front of a table in our office, head bowed, hair covering her face and her hand with her pen poised as if writing in her forms. She doesn’t nod like the rest of us do when asleep. She just keeps still. Talented talaga.

Another reason for my bias for am sessions, is that the pupils have a dose of nationalist activities by singing the National Anthem and reciting the Panatang Makabayan. My eldest was in the afternoon session last year and I realized that I haven’t heard her sing the Lupang Hinirang. Granted that the ability to sing Lupang Hinirang is not tantamount to being a nationalist but I still prefer that they learn these at a young age.

In the Catholic school where I went during my elementary and high school years, we do not only know the national anthem and the Panunumpa sa Watawat. We know a lot of prayers too. We pray the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and St. John (Pray for Us!) before singing Lupang Hinirang Mondays- Fridays. During the month of October, we pray the Holy Rosary daily and during first Wednesdays, we attend the Holy Mass. In my kids’ school, they have a morning devotion where teachers read passages from the bible.

Another morning ritual are the exercises. When I was in grade 1, we bend our bodies, rotate our hips and do stretches to the beat of a battered drum. Grades later, when aerobics was introduced, we bend, shake and stretch to the tune of Flashdance and Let’s Get Physical.

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Maybe, it doesn’t really matter what time of the day students study. Some learn more easily in the morning while some pick up faster in the afternoon. Some schools hold whole days classes even for grade 1 and two. In my case, I have no choice with my kids school because of it’s limited staff and classrooms. I guess, what’s more important are the lessons and values that my kids learn from them, morning or afternoon.