Just Joshin' #123 (Transitions)
1 Family Photo:
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In 2021, California added a new grade to elementary school: TK.
TK—Transitional Kindergarten—would be available to all four-year-olds in the state.
However, scaling up takes time. In 2022, California offered TK to 25% of four-year-old Californians. Each year, California has offered TK to an increasing percentage of four-year-olds. Next year, in 2025, TK will finally be available to every four-year-old in the state—these intervening years have been transitional TK years for the California Department of Education.
Due to the TK transition and his birth month, Calvin was never eligible for TK (though Lawrence will be next year, creating a fun natural experiment). So, on August 15th, Calvin transitioned overnight from unschooled to kindergarten-student.
This leaves a mere 13 years to transition to adulthood.
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Starting kindergarten is a transition for student and family alike. Gone are our get-up-whenever-you-feel-like-and-decide-what-to-do morning routines. They've been replaced by a more disciplined get-ready-and-out-the-door-on-time-at-all-costs routine.
Get up. Get Breakfast. Get lunch packed. Get clothes on. Get in car. Did we get everything? Check did we get everything before we drive off.
Chapstick. Did we get chapstick? Too late. Let's go.
Two weeks in, we've gotten Calvin to school on time every day. I doubt we maintain that streak over the full school year, but it's a good start. At least we can hold our heads high when addressing the other parents in Calvin's homeroom.
Our family has transitioned.
And Calvin's made the transition too. He's happy. He's happy when we drop him off in the morning. He's happy when we pick him up. He's learning what it means to be a kindergartener and he's leaning into his kindergarten-ness. He's made a friend.
Lawrence misses his brother during the day. And we all miss having Calvin and his ideas and his inventions surrounding us all the time.
That's a transition too.
1 Dad Joke:
Acting to Real-Life
Watch one-minute of banter between Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from The Office) and Bryan Cranston (Walter White from Breaking Bad) about the niche celebrity issue of only being known as your most popular fictional character.
Highlights:
Coming of Age
Coming of Age: The Importance of Male Rites of Passage by Brett & Kate McKay
During this phase an initiate is separated in some way from his former life. In the case of the Mandan tribe, the young man was isolated from the village in a hut for three days. In other tribes, boys’ heads were shaved and they were ritually bathed and/or tattooed. In a more modern example, when a man has just enlisted in the military, he is sent away to boot camp. His former possessions are put aside, his head is shaved, and he is given a uniform to wear. During the separation phase, part of the old self is extinguished as the initiate prepares to create a new identity.
During this phase, the initiate is between worlds-no longer part of his old life but not yet fully inducted into his new one. He is taught the knowledge needed to become a full-fledged member of that group. And he is called upon to pass tests that show he is ready for the leap. In tribal societies, the elders would impart to the initiate what it meant to be a man and how the boy was to conduct himself once he had become one. The initiate would then participate in ritual ceremonies which often involved pain and endurance. In the case of the new soldier, he is yelled at, prodded, exercised, and disciplined to prepare him to receive a rank and title.
In this phase, the initiate, having passed the tests necessary and proving himself worthy, is re-introduced into his community, which recognizes and honors his new status within the group. For tribal societies, this meant a village-wide feast and celebration. The boy would now be recognized by all tribe members as a man and allowed to participate in the activities and responsibilities that status conferred. For the soldier, his boot camp experience would come to an end and both his superiors and his family would join in a ceremony to recognize his new status as a full-fledged member of the military.
The New Generation of Online Culture Curators by Kyle Chayka
All New People by Anne Lamott
iamJoshKnox Highlight:
Luana made me feel a little sad this week when she pointed out Calvin going to school is a one-way door: our boys are growing up—they're never going to ungrow.
Bedtime Medley | iamJoshKnox
Calvin still asks me to pick him up and rock him back and forth some nights. He hardly fits in my arms anymore, but I'll do it as long as he wants and as long as I can.
Any Transitions In Your Life?
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Until next week,
iamJoshKnox
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Josh Knox
Hi! I am Josh Knox. Read more of me here: 👇
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