It’s cold, so you’d better walk home
One of “my” online newspapers is carrying an open letter to parents today, explaining a policy decision from yesterday. At least they didn’t dilly-dally on getting the press release out. Allegedly (what a strange word to describe actually) the local school board in a central Ontario area decided to cancel school buses yesterday due to cold weather and blowing snow. For the safety of the students.
It’s true, sometimes weather does get dirty in Canada. We’re spared the wrath of southern typhoons and volcanic eruptions in return for a little cold and nasty. By all means, don’t run the school buses at such times, for safety reasons. Except.
Except, don’t take the kids to school and then leave them there.
The school board excused itself:
All of these groups pulled together as a educational community and by early evening less than 30 of our 25,000 students who are usually transported by bus and 50 of our approximately 6000 staff members remained in our schools. As well, some stranded travellers were accommodated at our schools where they were provided with safe refuge from the elements.
That’s enough to make one give the head a good shake, now isn’t it! It’s cold, so you’d better walk home. This is not a new policy; I’ve experienced exactly this kind of warped thinking, back in 1971. Although I haven’t been a student in that school board in 35 years, allegedly (what a strange word to describe actually) they’ve been doing this “on and off again” for the better part of my lifetime.
In the rest of the country (at least, in the four other provinces I’ve lived in) the school boards have access to weather forecasts. Hint to the transport guy, try here. If it’s getting nasty, take the kids home or don’t take them out at all. A policy that dictates things like school bus safety should be based on “it’s cold, so you’d better walk home” is a dictation, not a policy. In fact, I think it’s time that the school board officials gave their heads one big collective shake.
