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The teacher passed out the papers- all face down. This was the only time of the week you could hear a pin drop in the classroom as students kept quiet and looked up trying to run over their facts one more time. After the papers had been passed and the teacher made her slow way up to the front of the room, she pressed the button on the timer and a flutter of paper and pencils would begin as we all tried to dump the facts we remembered onto the paper in front of us. Though the multiplication questions were in random order we had practiced seeking out our favorites first. As hard as I tried, I could never get all the answers filled in. I would often only get the paper half filled before I stare
I can hear it now. I hear and see it with almost every playdate, dinner date, and family gathering I attend. I hear it when I talk to other parents at nursery pick up and drop off. I hear it from the mouths of parents of older kids and younger kids when I see them walking home from dropping their kids off at the bus. It’s the comparison moment. My kid isn’t walking, talking, tying their shoes, acing algebra, reading chapter books, reading for fun, and the list goes on. And it goes one step further: “Your kid isn’t walking? My kid was walking at nine months. Try clipping a clothespin on a string to their shirt. It’ll hold them up.” “Your kid isn’t doing coding after school? You should try it.
