So the kids in my city had no school on either this past Thursday or Friday. Ostensibly this was because it was so cold (which it was). Apparently, it doesn't matter that fewer kids walk to school now than ever. Still, it was pretty cold and for those kids that do walk, I'm sure they appreciated it.
That being said, what's the longest walk any of these kids probably have? 20 minutes? Maybe 30? Again, not great given the weather but how serious is it really? Apparently not that serious.
The front page of the Saturday Plain Dealer had four photos of people dealing with or doing things on Friday. The bottom right corner was a 10 year old kid who spent the day at Boston Mills ski resort. So, seemingly it was far too cold for this kid to go to school, where he would have been in a heated building most of the day, but it wasn't too cold to go to a ski resort.
Such is the fallacy of "cold days" and "snow days" in school systems. The theory is that school is called off because it's too dangerous or treacherous to go. But go to any mall on one of these days and you'll see these same kids had no problem getting there. It must just be dangerous driving to school but the roads to the malls and ski resorts are apparently cleared. It's such absolute bullshit.
Here's my solution: change the school calendar. Instead of giving kids off the Summer, give them off the worst of the Winter. Suspend school from December through February instead of June through August. That way, our precious little darlings will be protected and the school system can save money by cranking down the heat in the buildings. AC in the Summer will be cheaper that heat in the Winter, and you only need air conditioning when it's really hot.
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5 comments:
I really can't believe the slopes at BWBM were open Friday. It was 14 below. I know there are diehard winter warriors but the instructors and patrol in the Val are fairly safety conscious. Are you sure it wasn't that nasty place out by the airport?
You do raise a good point though. Many of us parenting folks would like to see a radically different schedule closer to the year-round model, six weeks off here and six weeks off there. Even the two weeks off at the holidays made it difficult for the kids to get back in the swing.
They said in the paper that Brandywine was closed but Boston Mills was open. I think it was because it was so cold they only had one open. I couldn't believe it either.
I think the year round model would even be better for kids. Less time off at once probably means forgetting less.
I'm not a parent so it's not an issue for me, but I think kids should go to school year-round with hefty breaks in between sessions (maybe 2-3 weeks). I think it's better prep for the "real world." Most parents no longer need their kids to be off in summer to help with the farm work. Here in Texas, air condition is more expensive than heat (full summer goes from May to September with temps typically between 97-100 deg high, and as I write this it's 71 deg out and not much need for heat) so it wouldn't save $$ but I still think it's a good idea.
I agree Blue. Better prep for the real world makes more sense to me.
All of them must be really excited for the summer.
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