A Small World After All

It's that time of year. Back to School Nights populate September like holiday parties populate December. They are everywhere, and they aren't always welcomed.

I attended Towson High School's event last night. Back to School Night is an interesting microcosm. You have a small world, a classroom, of adults. As always, I was observing rather than mingling. 

You have the popular parents, the ones who know each other, the extroverts who find someone to chat with the moment they enter any room. They talk about their kids, their jobs, the weather. They seem pleasant, but you don't know them so you don't say anything.

You have the (pardon the expression) suck-ups, the ones who are there to attempt to grease the wheels for their kids. "Hi, Mr. Davis, we are Anne and Albert Smith, Kelly's parents. It is so great to finally meet you! Kelly is loving your class!" How Kelly can express such sentiment after 3 days of school remains unanswered. As if Mr. Davis even knows who Kelly is. You jump to the conclusion that they are phony, so you don't say anything.

You have the parents who attempt with each head nod to impress upon the teacher that 1) their middle-aged memories fully recall the subject being taught (really? pre-calculus?) and 2) they agree with every word the teacher utters. You are embarrassed about their visible enthusiasm, as if they were your own parents embarrassing you, so you don't say anything.

Then you have the parents like me. They seem unfriendly (maybe they are unfriendly; I can be). They seem grumpy (I'm just trying to be objective). They don't speak (I'm there to listen and apparently judge others). They are impatient for the teacher to start, and are ready to leave as soon as the "dismissal bell" sounds (there is a schedule and it must be followed absent Jesus walking through the door).

It occurred to me after this event that herein lies society--the extroverts, the politicians, the enthusiasts, and the curmudgeons. God bless them all. What would we do without those among us who get others talking and meeting others? We also need those who lobby for position, even for power, in certain situations. They create movement; there were some great politicians in the Bible. Remember Peter in Acts 2 and Paul all over the place?

And the enthusiasts--I have the great pleasure to work with a few enthusiasts, and they sure keep me smiling when I'd rather not be. The world would be a sour place without them. 

We even need the curmudgeons. The ones who are interested in the facts as we know them and how to accomplish the daily task of surviving life with some efficacy.

I left Back to School Night irritated, which is not a completely foreign emotion to me. And yet, reflecting on the night, I realize we need all these personalities, and more close to home, I need to appreciate all of them and somehow interact with all of them, for my own good. Maybe I don't need to interact with them on Back to School Night (please, God, don't ask that of me), but these same folks are at Starbucks, at my church, and in the grocery store. 

It is the diversity of personality that has helped us survive under God's direction. I would do well to remember that the next time I feel my eyes involuntarily rolling at Back to School Night.