When I was a youngster, the last day of summer was always Labor Day. School always began on the Tuesday or Wednesday after Labor Day. Since I began teaching again in 2010 as an adjunct at the College of Lake County (CLC), everything has moved up a week. It is the same for North Park University where I have taught since 2012. Classes start the Monday before Labor Day. So, the Sunday before the Monday before Labor Day is essentially the last day of Summer.
If not used to school starting a week before Labor Day, I am certainly resolved to it after 15 years. Yet, I strongly believe all schools should start after Labor Day. It is such a logical marker. School starts after Labor Day. School starts in September… not August. This was my entire experience as a student. From Kindergarten through graduate school, this was the way it was and thus in my mind, the way it should be.
Chicago Public Schools and a few other K-12 districts around here started class two weeks before Labor Day. In other parts of the country, I read that school started even earlier in August. While I am used to starting a week before Labor Day, any earlier and… Well, let’s just say that I hope that never happens.
I am writing this on Sunday, August 24th, the day before classes begin. I am looking forward to starting bright and early tomorrow morning with an 8 am Operations and Supply Chain Management class. I am excited but, as a professor, I am missing some of the wonder and anticipation of what new classes and new subjects will bring. I am also missing joy of getting, organizing, and reveling in new school supplies. I will dutifully take a first day of school photo tomorrow and share it with my grandchildren.
How will I spend this ‘last’ day of summer?
The nice thing about being in Chicago and being Armenian is the St. James Street Fair in Evanston. They close Clark Street on the block that St. James Armenian Church sits and fill it with food and gift booths, picnic tables, space for a band and dancers. I love playing at the Street Fair and attending when I am not.
Beyond the Armenian food, the people, the Armenian music and dance there is something else that really makes the St. James Street Fair special. It is the weather. They always get beautiful late August weather. In the eighteen years that I have been attending, the weather has always been spectacular except for one year when torrential rains washed out the event. I used to attend and play at a similar picnic, at St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church, in White Plains, NY. The weather was always amazing at that picnic as well.
These kinds of Armenian gatherings are wonderful way to spend this Sunday before classes start. I leave you with a video of a medley of songs we played with guest singer Harry Kezelian back in 2016.
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