THE NARROW-MINDED

‘I don’t want to be in a group with him’, I heard the words coming from the boy standing in front of me. A look of disdain came across his face. I was checking the purple paper with the members of the group assigned to me and informed him of all the members of the group.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ I did not disclose that the person he was referring to was my son.

‘I just don’t know him’, was his weak reply.

‘Well, this is a great time to get to meet new people’, I offered. But he didn’t seem to like that reply and walked off in a huff.

This was now the second time in a week that my son was being excluded from a group he was assigned to. Seeing how this was supposed to be a fun and very long day for everyone, I did not want there to be any awkwardness and further exclusions as all members of each group needed to stay together on all rides and everywhere else throughout the park. I then walked over to one of the three band directors.

‘We have an issue’, I declared. And then explained the situation and how initially my son wanted to be in a group with his friend that he has known since elementary school. However, that group already had the maximum eight members.

‘I’ll see what we can do’, she replied. She then explained she had to speak with the other members of the large group.

In the meantime, I climbed aboard the bus to point out to my son his assigned seat. It happened to be directly in front of my seat and across from his elementary school friend. Before I sat down, I walked to the back of the bus where ‘entitled’ boy sat with his friends.

‘Mr. Walker’, I began, ‘just so you know, the boy you didn’t want in your group is my son. And what you said was rude’, I ended. And then I walked away to sit in my seat. I was annoyed with the increased entitlement and rudeness of today’s youth. The narrow-minded behaviour getting in the way of new thoughts and ideas, as well as an exposure to different people outside of one’s social circle.

I realise that I should follow the advice to ‘let it roll off you’ and to shift my energies onto something more productive, but sometimes that is easier said than done. It’s a work in progress, as are many things in life.

After a few minutes, the band director informed me that she was able to move my son to the group he wanted in the first place. The largest out of the 20 groups on the trip.

Once all of the groups were seated on the three charter busses, we were on our way to Schlitterbahn. The hour and a half drive having been filled with excited students ready to spend an entire day playing in water.

‘The Ukraine slide!’, exclaimed my son as we walked into the main entrance. Then went on to clarify he meant the colours of the Ukraine flag.

As soon as everyone was checked in and group photographs were taken, the kids went off to their fun-filled adventures. Meanwhile, the adults stayed cool in the shaded are nearby and exchanged stories and thoughts.

A few parents explained that, seemingly, children are taken over as if by aliens for a year and then returned to us as they were before. They become these humans who are unrecognizable as they navigate a new stage in their lives. After listening to parents of eighth graders explain the impact of seventh grade on their children, I realised things will eventually get better. As they always seem to do.