Rob Errera

Writer. Editor. Publisher. Musician. Autism Dad.

  • Home
  • Autism Dad
  • Books
  • Music
  • Book Reviews
  • Custom Guitars
  • Contact
  • Store

Wimpy School Closings A Sign Of The Times

March 19, 2013 by roberrera Leave a Comment

Get to class, whippersnappers! There were no "extreme weather" days when I was a kid. We walked to school in blizzards! With no boots! Uphill! Both ways!

Get to class, ya wimpy whippersnappers! There were no “extreme weather” days when I was a kid. We walked to school in blizzards! With no boots! 

Both of my kids had a delayed opening today due to two inches of slush. Wimpy! This was first published in June 2008 ,but it works just as well in March 2013.

My cell phone rang just after 9:30 on Sunday night, as I was putting my son to bed. It was an automated message from his school district.

“Due to extreme weather conditions, all students and staff will have early dismissal tomorrow.”

I asked my wife about it after Rocco was tucked in.

“What extreme weather?” I asked.

“It’s supposed to be 100 degrees tomorrow,” she said.

I shook my head, figuring this was another cheap excuse for Rocco’s school to cancel classes. They’re famous for it. They’ve called snow days when there was nothing more than frost on the ground. They’ve cancelled class based on a forecast of snow.

So I was surprised when I took my daughter to school the next day and found that our local district was only having a half-day as well.

“It’s going to be 100 degrees today,” the teacher offered.

“Doesn’t the air conditioner work?” I knew my daughter had a window unit in her classroom.

“Yes, but not all of the classrooms are air conditioned, so…” she let the sentence fade, hoping my questions would, too.  They did. It was too hot to argue.

Back in my day … 

But I started thinking back to my elementary school days. A school cancellation was rare. There might be a couple of snow days each winter, but it really had to snow. I remember shoveling our driveway just so my Mom could drive me to class. Today, anything more than a dusting results in a delayed opening if not a full day off. They closed school for a couple of days in April 1984 when half of Pequannock Township was flooded. That was a big deal. Other than that I have scant memories of school closings.

“Do you ever remember them canceling school when you were a kid because it was too hot?” I asked my wife.  She shook her head. “Never.” Neither could I.

But I had plenty of memories of sweating it out during June finals, dripping perspiration onto those blue essay books or onto those nightmarish Scantron forms (use a No. 2 pencil, and color the circle completely!) If it got really hot, they’d prop open the windows and bring in giant standing fans that looked (and sounded) like jet engines to blow the warm air around. One year the school board allowed students to wear shorts during finals week, and we were all appreciative of this magnanimous gesture.

What happened in the years since I was in grade school? When did school administrators —and students—become so…wimpy, so willing to cancel class at the slightest hint of inclement weather?  I realize I sound like an old curmudgeon (“Back in my day, Sonny, we walked to school…uphill…both ways!”) but something has gone sour—and soft—with our educational system.

Coddled Kids, Sleazy Lawyers

My guess is that lawyers are at the root of this problem (as they are so many).  Some student, somewhere, overheated and passed out during a hot June class, and the parents sued the school for negligence. Now all schools—certainly in this area, and probably across the country—have adopted overly ambitious “safety first” policies.

These policies are more about avoiding lawsuits than about protecting students. It’s easy to sue someone in this country (or something, like a school board or a business) and expensive to defend yourself. Even if you win you could face a big financial loss—a good defense attorney costs money. It’s better to prevent a problem before it starts. Cancel classes for everybody rather than risk one student slipping on a patch of ice, or getting dehydrated on a hot day.

Whether this policy is better or not is debatable (hey, I don’t want it to be my kid who slips on ice). But the society we live in makes it a moot point; too many lawyers and too many frivolous lawsuits have eroded all need for personal responsibility. If you’re careless or klutzy it’s not your fault. Make someone else pay.

One solution to these “extreme weather “ cancellations would be to mandate that all public schools have central air conditioning. It makes sense, since many schools operate year-round for summer sessions anyway.  Yes, it would be a big budget expense (at a time when school budgets are shrinking) but it would be offset by not having to close school two or three days a year.

Looking back on it, I probably should have become a teacher. You get home early each day, have summers off, and get plenty of bonus days for bad weather and the ever-popular  “teachers convention.”

Better yet, I should have gone to grad school and become a lawyer.

Then I wouldn’t have to do anything constructive at all.

Originally published in Wayne TODAY, June 2008

Share the love!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: coddled kids, extreme weather, get to class, grade school memories, school closings, sleazy lawyers, too cold, too hot, wimpy kids, wimpy students

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Home
  • Autism Dad
  • Books
  • Music
  • Book Reviews
  • Custom Guitars
  • Contact
  • Store

New Thriller! The Mud Man!

Born of mud.

Made for murder.

New! Autism Dad 3: Life Skills and Life Lessons!

Get A Job, Son!

Rob Rants About…

age of apology amateur writing autism Autism Dad blogging book review Brian Keene C. L. Holmes College Conjure Wife debut novel digital ban digital literature digitize classics digitize Salinger education Edward Lee family fatherhood Fritz Leiber future of publishing horror horror fiction Jack Ketchum Joe Hill John FD Taff journalism love story Lucky McKee memoir musical fiction mythology near-death experience new book no Salinger ebooks now available Our Great Abbess revenge tale Salinger Estate satire self publishing sensual nightmares short stories Stephen King weird

“Spine-Tingling Tales of Musical Terror!”

New Release! Autism Dad 2!

Autism Dad 2—'Tween Edition: Continuing Adventures in Autism, Adolescence & Fatherhood 
Get it @ Amazon!
   kindle
Get it@ Barnes & Noble!  nook
Get it@ Smashwords!   smashwords
Get it @ Createspace! Autism Dad 2: Autism, Adolescence & Fatherhood by Rob Errera

“Bloodcurdling Historical Horror!”

Our Great Abbess by C.L. Holmes

Get it @ Amazon!   kindle
Get it@ Barnes & Noble!  nook
Get it@ Smashwords!   smashwords

Dig The Enzertones!

Like It! Click It!

Like It! Click It!

Follow Rob!

Tweets by @haikubob

RSS

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

“Informative, poignant and engaging!”

Autism Dad: Adventures in Raising An Autistic Son
Autism Dad: Adventures in Raising An Autistic Son, $9.95 trade paperback / $3.99 ebook.
@ Amazon! kindle

@ Barnes & Noble! nook

@ Smashwords! smashwords

@ Createspace! Autism Dad: Adventures in Raising An Autistic Son by Rob Errera

More great posts!

Media Fall Guy Brian Williams

Brian Williams saga shows false face of journalism

FEBRUARY 26, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015, 12:31 AM WAYNE TODAY I learned journalism basics at college in the late 80s. 1) Ask the five “W” questions. Who, what, when, where, and why. Sometimes “how.” 2) Report the facts. Stories have many sides, and the people involved all have a personal agenda. Cut […]

commuters lament

Commuter Blue, Commuter Pink

Welcome to the New Year! Well, not so new, really, but I’m slow blogging. Below is another example of how my opinions change over time. The first column is from September 1996, shortly after I took my a job in New York City. It’s a major bitchfest about my commute. The second post is from […]

autism dad cover

Autism Dad trade paperback available at Amazon!

Get it here!  

“This book rocked my world!”

Hangman's Jam, A Symphony of Terror by Rob Errera

Buy it at Amazon! Hangman's Jam: A Symphony of Terror by Rob Errera.

Buy it at Barnes and Noble! Hangman's Jam: A Symphony of Terror by Rob Errera.

Buy it at Smashwords! Hangman's Jam: A Symphony of Terror by Rob Errera.

Buy it at Createspace! Hangman's Jam: A Symphony of Terror by Rob Errera.

Copyright © 2023 · News Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in