I have always been keenly aware of the significance of Labor Day. We were taught well in school and the media does a good job in the promotion of Labor Day.
However, for most of my life Labor Day had another influence which sticks in my head. Most often school started the day after Labor Day. As a country student the beginning of school meant that we were back with our friends again. I wrote a previous blog describing my education in a one room country school. In the summer we saw each other at Sunday school and odd other times. Our summers were somewhat isolated . Summers meant a large amount of farm labor even though you were a little kid. We weeded gardens and helped put up hay. All the other daily chores throughout the year remained. So it was really exciting to go back to school were you could play with friends again.
As a teacher who taught 37 years , Labor Day was quite often spent putting the finishing touches on all the organization necessary to get your classroom and classes ready for the year. By Labor Day you had the class lists and were busily going over who was who. The more familiar you were with the students the easier it was to learn names. Learning names was important in so many ways. The first day of school is one with many duties which have to be completed to get the year off to a good start.
So my experience as a student and teacher has given me a little different slant on Labor Day.
