Not Again

I started school in 1973 and the biggest things I’ve noticed are:
– School closures were only announced in the morning the day of. There were obviously no texts, e-mail or internet so it was announced by radio or TV.
– There were no school closures due to temperature (only snow). If roads were good you went to school. I have a co-worker that grew up in Grand Rapids that commented they still had school in 1996 when the actual air temperature was -50 w/out wind chill.
– There seemed to be a lot more 2 hr late starts or early quits.

In general I think things are a lot more protective these days even though we are better equipped to handle things than we’ve ever been. Especially in the metro.

biggill wrote:

Again, what’s changed? The weather certainly hasn’t.

I know I already probably identified what changed but it isn’t justified.

Safety? BS. Show me data that says it puts kids at more risk.
Lawsuits? BS. Schools/districts have insurance for that sort of thing and already get sued far more for other reasons than school buses on the road in 6” of snow. They have to show negligence based on the weather information they were given or for not following policies.

Fear of social backlash. We live in an age where law and common sense takes a backseat to social justice.

I demand for the superintendent to be fired and an apology!

Go get yourself on TV stomping your feet. It is what it is. The hockey thread needs ya.

Dutchboy wrote:

Go get yourself on TV stomping your feet. It is what it is. The hockey thread needs ya.

Nope. Not going back.

I’ve got some climate change points I want to make.

Stay tuned…

I’ve heard school officials say “I’d rather go to school an extra day in June than attend a funeral in February.”

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Huntindave wrote:</div>
Well,,,,,,,,,,,, you certainly seem to have this all figured out. Next crisis please.

If I’m asking questions I clearly don’t have it figured out. Please enlighten me.

biggill wrote:

They are simply closing school out of fear of social media backlash.

Your words above are a statement not a question.

Sittin in my dorm with classes cancelled today…
Why not have school in June July and August but not have school December January and February? It would get rid of the cold/snow days. Put AC in all the schools so there is no reason to not be in it school when the “heat index” is too hot to sit at the bus stop?

Because the teachers don’t want to be in school in June, July, August. But it is a good question.

What the heck is going on here?

Schools canceled that’s that. Doesn’t matter when you went to school. Doesn’t matter any ones opinion. It was canceled and that’s that

Bearcat89 wrote:

What the heck is going on here?

Schools canceled that’s that. Doesn’t matter when you went to school. Doesn’t matter any ones opinion. It was canceled and that’s that

Because it’s unnecessary and costs some families that can’t afford it money. Not to mention the rest of us.

biggill wrote:

Because it’s unnecessary

I’d say at this point that’s an opinion.

Charlie W wrote:

Why not have school in June July and August but not have school December January and February?

Because kids need the summer off to work on the family farm?

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
What the heck is going on here?

Schools canceled that’s that. Doesn’t matter when you went to school. Doesn’t matter any ones opinion. It was canceled and that’s that

Because it’s unnecessary and costs some families that can’t afford it money. Not to mention the rest of us.

It’s been the snowiest February on record and we had a couple of days of the coldest temps in the last 20 years. This winter, specifically this month and a half have been an anomaly. You’re acting like this is an every year thing now. If it really bothers you so much, maybe you should think about running for a spot on your local school board?

blank wrote:

If it really bothers you so much, maybe you should think about running for a spot on your local school board?

If it bothered me that much I would. Apparently having a two sided debate here is frowned upon?

Everyone’s opinion is welcome here, except mine apparently.

blank wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>biggill wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
What the heck is going on here?

Schools canceled that’s that. Doesn’t matter when you went to school. Doesn’t matter any ones opinion. It was canceled and that’s that

Because it’s unnecessary and costs some families that can’t afford it money. Not to mention the rest of us.

It’s been the snowiest February on record and we had a couple of days of the coldest temps in the last 20 years. This winter, specifically this month and a half have been an anomaly. You’re acting like this is an every year thing now. If it really bothers you so much, maybe you should think about running for a spot on your local school board?

Well said, there is nothing ‘normal’ about this past month or so of weather. The definition of ‘record breaking snowfall for the month of february with a full week still left this month’ is that it has never happened before.

And yes, I know that one time when you were 12 there was this one day that had extreme weather. That does not make that day ‘normal’.

Dutch’s point about working parents is very apt as well.

philtickelson wrote:

Dutch’s point about working parents is very apt as well.

I thought so until I googled it quick.

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2014/beyond-bls/stay-at-home-mothers-through-the-years.htm

Yeah guys, we are on the verge of breaking an All-Time record for snowfall in February. I don’t think it’s surprising that school was cancelled a few days. I will add, social media is a HUGE part of the problem. If there is a problem. They can’t win with either decision.

I drove from Forest Lake to Woodbury today, and back. The backroads not so bad – Kinda fun with 4×4. But the freeways are horrible. Can’t see the lanes and visibility was bad. Saw several accidents and spin outs. I wouldn’t have wanted my kid on the roads….. nope, glad he’s at home!

biggill wrote:

The problem is younger parents have very little PTO and now they need to take time off without pay to stay home in weather that has not historically caused any real safety concerns over the past 3 decades.
Companies are also struggling to keep operations moving because employees have to stay home and their vendors are unable to conduct business. I’ve seen all three sides of this first hand.

Do you have any evidence of this besides your personal anecdotal evidence? Seems like more people than ever have the ability to work from home, so business and PTO is not interrupted nearly as much as when we were growing up. I agree it happens a lot more now, but there are more accidents than ever before too. And certainly social media has an impact as well, when the St. Paul school bus(es) got stuck last year and kids didn’t get home until 9 pm it made national news and was all over Social Media. It just is what it is, and while I generally agree with your sentiment I don’t have a problem with erring on the safe side. But our daycare stays open, and the wife and I have PTO and the ability to work from home so we aren’t as negatively impacted either.

We broke the all-time February snowfall record with the last snow here in Rochester. I just cleaned off 4 3/4″ so the old record is well into history and we’re due for another go-round this weekend. I hope like heck my snow blower belts come on Friday. The drive wheel helped some but with the belt slipping today it wasn’t much more fun than the last dose we got.

I bet if you asked the people who are affected by it the most (the kids), every single one of them would be happy not to be in class!
When I was a kid, having a snow day was awesome. I’m sure it’s still like that too.

BigWerm wrote:

when the St. Paul school bus(es) got stuck last year and kids didn’t get home until 9 pm it made national news and was all over Social Media.

I’m glad you brought that up. That should not be an example of why you close schools. That is a complete failure of logistics and communication in an age where both have never been more accessible.

My bus got stuck on an unplowed road the first day of school after the Halloween blizzard. We were less than 2 hours late for school that day because they sent out another bus to come and get us. Pretty good in comparison to what happened there.

It’s worth challenging this trend.

biggill wrote:

It’s worth challenging this trend.

Good luck, you have almost every teacher, child and helicopter parent working against you! May the odds be in your favor.

I think there are bigger battles to fight.

Well, Fords are better than Chevys! So there are my 2 cents on schools closing

BigWerm wrote:

Good luck, you have almost every teacher, child and helicopter parent working against you! May the odds be in your favor.

Don’t forget the lawnmower parents.

I doubt teachers are going to want to elongate their school year.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>BigWerm wrote:</div>
Good luck, you have almost every teacher, child and helicopter parent working against you! May the odds be in your favor.

Don’t forget the lawnmower parents.

I doubt teachers are going to want to elongate their school year.

Is it possible to “elongate” time? Sorry, just wanted to get in on the bashing….

This was the most snow I have blown all year and the roads were a hot mess all day. Granted, it was probably not the worst in the early morning and by 3pm, but who knows that in advance. This is the most deserving snowday so far imo.

Im just salty that we have great ice and driving is next to impossible.

That wind is ramping up now from the south. Its been a pretty steady 14-16 mph for the last 45 minutes. That’s help out in the drifting dept. and night travel.

What the teachers want doesn’t matter. Thats why they are unionized.

Please list the name of the kid(s) that should be sacrifice so they don’t have to cancel or delay school.

For the life of me I can’t figure out what your agenda is on this one.

Dutchboy wrote:

Please list the name of the kid(s) that should be sacrifice so they don’t have to cancel or delay school.

Sacrificed? Come on. If you can’t be realistic I’m not going to participate.

Can you post a link to that wild thread?