A puzzle

At the Montessori school, the children stay at school through lunch. The way this works is that during lunchtime a certain number of parents have to be there to watch the kids while the teachers take a break. So every family is obliged to volunteer to show up at lunchtime a certain number of days per year (this year it is 6).

There are also a group of parents who volunteer to show up on regular days and supervise the other parents -- every Monday, say. It appears that next year there will not be enough of these.

I have not volunteered, because it involves a certain number of meetings and so on, and the reality is that a large group of people all speaking Dutch at the same time is difficult for me to follow, a fact I find embarassing. So I avoid all activities involving meetings, which means almost all activities here in the Lowlands, land of discussion and consensus.*

However, I was talking to one of the supervising moms today and she mentioned that there would not be enough people next year. I said if I didn't have to go to the meetings I shouldn't mind it really.

She asked me if I had ever been assigned to the Older Kids. In a Significant Tone. I said no, the woman who "has" Mondays always leaves me with the little kids (the under-8 or 9 year olds, say third graders) because I don't speak the language properly.

She said I should go watch the Older Kids before I volunteered. In the same Significant Tone.

I have heard this tone before in relation to the Older Kids -- evidently no one wants to watch the Older Kids. I am the subject of some jealousy because I never have to watch the Older Kids. I have no clue what the issue is, I am an innocent in this matter. What on earth can they be doing that invokes the Significant Tone?

In general I rather like kids. Usually, I have to admit, I like them better than I like their parents. This has been true for a long time, long before I actually had kids.

I asked her. She said rather vaguely, "Oh, you know, they can be a little mouthy".

Well, Dutch kids are in general quite mouthy from my perspective -- not really offensively so, at least not so far. But then, Dutch parents are mouthier than are American ones (also not offensively so, at least not in general) so I haven't been all that surprised. When directness is a cultural value, you gotta figure at some point or another somebody is likely to say something that rubs you the wrong way. I mostly just tell them it rubs me the wrong way and leave it at that. I have heard a lot about this from various of the English Club, but it hasn't been a huge issue for me. Possibly I just enjoy rudene-- er, directness. Possibly I relish the chance to be rude back (it's a Catholic thing I am sure).

But now I am curious. (George was curious, too, it got him popped into a bag and carried off to the Zoo as you will recall). So I guess on my next stint as a volunteer I shall request to watch the Older Kids and find out what all the fuss is about. I wonder, do they count coup or post heads on a pike? What?

* I admire this actually even though I complain about it a lot and find it difficult to get used to. Nobody ever decides anything; we all have to agree about it or at least be hammered into accepting it as the best of a number of bad options.