MOM IS THE BEST ?

Brianna’s mom’s the best – so she thinks. Well, maybe in her circle of friends she has earned and truly deserves being placed in such a category.

Sitting there in the nail salon, with her feet immersed in the swirl of warm water in the “Spa Pedicure” chair, Brianna’s mom proudly announced to all who were within hearing distance that she had spent a total of two grand on getting Brianna ready for kindergarten – her big first year in school.

You name it, she’d bought it: hair decorations, shoes (12 pair) to match the dresses, shorts, leggings, sweaters, t-shirts, jackets, coats, neck scarves and she was still going when I did The Bad.

“Wow, and who’s her kindergarten teacher? I asked.

Other ladies in the salon with shiny gel polish being applied to their carefully shaped fingernails in colors of blue, purple or whatever color would be best for their week’s upcoming wardrobe picks, looked somewhat troubled by my intrusion into what seemed to have been the annual back-to-school shopping chatter.

I didn’t dare inquire as to what Mom expected her child to possibly learn during this kindergarten experience.

Nor was I foolish enough to ask my question twice, because instead of an answer on the first go-round, I had gotten a cold stare, and the manicurist doing the spa pedicure was now removing one of Brianna’s Mom’s feet from the swirling water and was being told in a very demanding tone, “Be careful with my pinky.”

Back-to-School Shopping isn’t what it ought to be: Buying shoes to match every outfit has nothing to do with making sure children are educated; Bragging about spending two grand on clothes for the school year has nothing to do with knowing what the classroom education goals and expectations are.

Back to School Shopping ought to be focused on what the school is required to deliver and how the parent is going to make sure the deliverables are real and that their child is receiving quality education.

The nail salon is a special place for conversation and it could be one that focused on what’s expected from the schools and the importance of parents seeing to it that schools measure up AND how best parents can monitor and make sure their kids are getting a good education, whether just going to kindergarten or ready to graduate from high school.

I’m asking for too much, aren’t I?

Unfortunately, there are too many parents who don’t understand the relationship between them and their children’s academic success.

And unfortunately, there are too many mothers who think the care of their “pinky” is a top priority.