Budget crisis? I'll worry about that after cupcake day.

by Candice Langston

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March 19, 2011

With all the chatter and debate swirling around the budget cuts bearing down on CMS, I thought I’d head straight to the horse’s mouth for a reality check. Peter Gorman? No. Meet Mica Carleson, kindergartner at Shamrock Elementary.

Some names have been changed to protect the innocent (and the not-so-innocent).

Mica is a firecracker. Opinionated – especially on the subject of Ms. Patrick’s tectonic blockade of the bathrooms and water fountain during Reader’s Nook. Yet she’s compassionate when it comes to her love of the playground, her schoolmates, and her teacher. Mica reminds me of myself and my friends at that age growing up in CMS. There were problems and disappointments – not enough materials to go around, music and art classes cut back or out altogether. In junior high (I went to Eastway) our students, teachers and parents sold magazine subscriptions all year to make money to buy an activity bus. We papered the east side with enough Field & Streams and Good Housekeepings to buy the bus, only to have it taken away and folded into the CMS fleet two years later. Every time we’d spot our bus hauling around the kids from Randolph it was like a knife in the gut. But like Mica and her schoolmates, we had teachers, parents and neighbors who cared about us and our education, and who pitched in to fill the gaps where the schools--mostly due to tight budgets--fell short. It’s both disturbing and comforting to see that not much has really changed in the last 30 years.

I knew Mica would give me an unabashed peek into her life in CMS. I caught up with her at the beginning of her after-school program – just before snack time, which, she informs me in no uncertain terms, she can’t miss. It’s cupcake day.

Mica, what’s the best thing about school?

Recess and lunch. And the red and blue monkey bars.

What’s your not-so-favorite thing?

Ms. Patrick [another teacher] sometimes won’t let us come into her class during Reader’s Nook because she might be giving a test or something. It’s not really fair. She has the big bathrooms, and sometimes we want to go to the water fountain, but we can’t because we might disturb the other kids.

What’s your favorite subject?

Starfall.com. [Among the uber-hip kindergarten set, website = subject.]

Sounds cool, what’s that?

It’s a computer game where you create your own person and you can pick her hair, eye and skin color, and then you can give her stars or Teddy bears on her blanket. The stars twinkle and the Teddy bears dance.

How many computers do you have in your classroom?

One, but we share it. Our teacher tells us when our time is up so the next person can work on it. Some kids play games; some kids read or watch movies. [The conversation unexpectedly drifts onto the subject the English as a Second Language program, or ESL, so I go with it.] The ESL kids speak Spanish, or whatever language their parents speak to them at home, and they learn English from our teacher. And we speak English to each other. It’s kind of cool.

What do you have in your bookbag? [Mica’s bookbag is enormous and has all the Disney Princesses represented.]

[Opens side pocket] I have a pencil I found on the playground today, some jewels, my agenda, and some library books. I’ve already read them. And a backup set of clothes, you know, just in case.

What’s on your agenda for today?

Not much. I already had school, but I can’t miss snack time.

Do you know what a “budget cut” is, Mica?

Um, nope.

Well, it involves money. Like, if someone said they were going to take some of your allowance but you already had big, important plans for that money.

I have one hundred pennies. No! I have one thousand pennies in my Tootsie Roll bank. I plan to spend some of it at Chik-fil-A and I’m going to save some for later.

What would you do if you ran the school, Mica, and I said you could have all the money you needed to buy stuff for your class?

I’d buy all the girls dolls and also one for Kumar. He’s a boy but he likes dolls. I’d probably buy trucks for the boys. Right now there’s one doll that all the girls share, but I want everyone to have something of their own. I think the boys would like trucks. [Apparently the plight of the boys – except for Kumar – is not currently a huge concern for Mica.]

Mica, you’ve been great. Thanks for your time. I know your teacher and your parents are really proud of you.

They are. You’re welcome. Are you staying for snack time?