5 thoughts on “When Schools Stayed Open In Bad Weather”
Tuesday morning it was 4 degrees F at my house. As usual I rode my motorcycle the 10 miles to work.
There weren’t a lot of parents looking to make a quick buck off of the school system (read: their neighbors’ property taxes) back in Laura’s day, either. Being a wimp is part of the school cancellation decision, but it’s also a strategic decision to avoid ending up in court when a parent sues the school district because their SUV ended up in the ditch while driving their child to school because they never learned how to drive in snow.
Although, out in rural areas, drifted-shut roads are just as much a reason for school cancellations as well sometimes. It seems that the latest fad is the “two hour delay” any time the temps get a little bit chilly, the air gets a little too foggy, or the roads get a little too snowy (not to be confused with the “two hour early-out” in August, September, April, and May, used when the temps get above 78 or 79, it seems). And every two-hour-shortened day still counts as a full school day, too, for now.
I think a lot of this stems from banning children from carrying hunting rifles to school, which used to be quite common in rural areas. Back then, when the temperature would drop below -40, we’d wander out in the predawn darkness, shoot a buffalo, cow, or elk, gut it, and crawl inside the body cavity to stay warm while we were waiting for the school bus. Kids today aren’t allowed to do things like that, and they couldn’t even gut a conveniently dead elk that just died from cold because they’re not allowed to carry knives to school, either.
The comments over there are pretty savage.
Back then, parents were in charge of their children.
If they couldn’t make it to school the parents kept their kids home.
Now that the State is in charge, they have to have a one-size-fits all solution.
Also, if a bus has an accident on a snowy road, that’s 20+ lawsuits.
Tuesday morning it was 4 degrees F at my house. As usual I rode my motorcycle the 10 miles to work.
There weren’t a lot of parents looking to make a quick buck off of the school system (read: their neighbors’ property taxes) back in Laura’s day, either. Being a wimp is part of the school cancellation decision, but it’s also a strategic decision to avoid ending up in court when a parent sues the school district because their SUV ended up in the ditch while driving their child to school because they never learned how to drive in snow.
Although, out in rural areas, drifted-shut roads are just as much a reason for school cancellations as well sometimes. It seems that the latest fad is the “two hour delay” any time the temps get a little bit chilly, the air gets a little too foggy, or the roads get a little too snowy (not to be confused with the “two hour early-out” in August, September, April, and May, used when the temps get above 78 or 79, it seems). And every two-hour-shortened day still counts as a full school day, too, for now.
I think a lot of this stems from banning children from carrying hunting rifles to school, which used to be quite common in rural areas. Back then, when the temperature would drop below -40, we’d wander out in the predawn darkness, shoot a buffalo, cow, or elk, gut it, and crawl inside the body cavity to stay warm while we were waiting for the school bus. Kids today aren’t allowed to do things like that, and they couldn’t even gut a conveniently dead elk that just died from cold because they’re not allowed to carry knives to school, either.
The comments over there are pretty savage.
Back then, parents were in charge of their children.
If they couldn’t make it to school the parents kept their kids home.
Now that the State is in charge, they have to have a one-size-fits all solution.
Also, if a bus has an accident on a snowy road, that’s 20+ lawsuits.