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Unfortunately, I don't get to have a household with two working parents. My wife passed away from cancer not too long ago.
Sorry I'm so late in responding. I could not access CD until today. I'm very sorry for your loss. I've had some experience with cancer in my family as well, though it turned out differently.
Your situation is very much like the families with two working adults in that there's no stay-at-home parent in the event of a last minute two hour delay. Now maybe you have one of these jobs where you have a lot of flexibility and that isn't a concern for you. My spouse worked in IT/telecom and had a lot more flexibility than I did as a health care worker. Even so, it was hard for him to go in late spur of the moment. Interestingly, the patients who had appointments at the office where I worked usually managed to get there on time so we had no delays.
So that is the issue, someone has to stay home with young children or make other arrangements.
European countries aren't any less likely to cancel than US ones, given extreme enough temperature. The big difference? Europe does not experience as volatile of weather as the US.
It's always good to get input from someone with actual experience in the issue.
Only one of your answers makes sense which is rush hour. But even rush hour means nothing outside of major cities.
The roads are cleared as it is snowing. It's not like they wait to clear roads right when school starts. 2 hours won't matter. 2 hours won't affect the temp either, so the exposure example makes no sense. If it is exposure then school should be canceled.
In my very rural county only half the roads are paved, the rest are graded and graveled and well maintained but when the buses have to get kids who are far from the main roads it does take time before the plows get there. Travel from the far edges of the county to the centrally located HS, with many stops to pick up kids and maybe drop off younger ones at one of the the elementary schools can take over an hour.
We also have early morning black ice and that melts as the sun and other traffic warms the pavement even if temps are not that high. We have one traffic light at the center of the county where the main north/south and east west roads meet.
How would they be putting work ahead of their children? Work provides the money to keep a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs and food in their bellies.
If parents didn't feel that buying each kid an $800 phone before they turn 12 was a necessity, you wouldn't need 2 salaries to pay the bills.
This is about schools, not work places in general. Keep in mind -10F is around -22/23C.
These are the guidelines per Education School Premises Regulations 1999 in England:
Schools have already been closed or dismissed this year in multiple locations in England for temperatures that dipped to -4C (+24F) and below because the school couldn't maintain these temperatures.
Please note, the tempatures don't even cross the 0F mark.
While we were in Germany one year local schools in our area closed early each day for about 8 days because it was too hot. So did quite a few of the businesses and factories in the area after one factory alone had over 20 heat injuries.
As a general rule we can control the interior climate in buildings well despite the nastiness that might be going on outside, which probably is what leads people to forget that extreme temperatures can actually be deadly. However, it generally isn't cheap to do this so the emphasis in an area is addressing their own types of normal extremes. It is cheaper to just close a couple of days than prepare for extreme weather that may or may not come even as often as every 5 to 10 years.
European countries aren't any less likely to cancel than US ones, given extreme enough temperature. The big difference? Europe does not experience as volatile of weather as the US.
The red part is such a terrible lesson to kids.
It's basically saying, "It's easier to just wing a test than actually study for a hard test that might only happen once a year and then we can just whine to the teacher to give us a take home test to make up for the fact that no one bothered preparing"
The idea that a school needs to close because the room temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit is literally insane. That is way too hot. Why can't the kids who are cold just wear their jacket in the classroom?
Sorry I'm so late in responding. I could not access CD until today. I'm very sorry for your loss. I've had some experience with cancer in my family as well, though it turned out differently.
Your situation is very much like the families with two working adults in that there's no stay-at-home parent in the event of a last minute two hour delay. Now maybe you have one of these jobs where you have a lot of flexibility and that isn't a concern for you. My spouse worked in IT/telecom and had a lot more flexibility than I did as a health care worker. Even so, it was hard for him to go in late spur of the moment. Interestingly, the patients who had appointments at the office where I worked usually managed to get there on time so we had no delays.
So that is the issue, someone has to stay home with young children or make other arrangements.
You should just send the kids to school at the normal time.
When enough kids are there in the cold for 2 hours, the school will figure out how to get things going on time.
It's basically saying, "It's easier to just wing a test than actually study for a hard test that might only happen once a year and then we can just whine to the teacher to give us a take home test to make up for the fact that no one bothered preparing"
The idea that a school needs to close because the room temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit is literally insane. That is way too hot. Why can't the kids who are cold just wear their jacket in the classroom?
That's like saying Atlanta should have the snow-clearing capability of Boston. The other lesson that could be taught to kids is the part of economics called risk management. You prepare for risks that are likely, not for "black swan" events.
You should just send the kids to school at the normal time.
When enough kids are there in the cold for 2 hours, the school will figure out how to get things going on time.
That won't be the result of parents sending their kids to school at the normal time. The result would be a bunch of parents rightfully facing neglect and/or child endangerment charges. Besides, most will be sending them to wait at the bus stop for an extra two hours, not the school.
Aren't you supposed to be a professional who works with children's programs? If so, you should know better.
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When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
It's basically saying, "It's easier to just wing a test than actually study for a hard test that might only happen once a year and then we can just whine to the teacher to give us a take home test to make up for the fact that no one bothered preparing"
The idea that a school needs to close because the room temperature is below 70 degrees Fahrenheit is literally insane. That is way too hot. Why can't the kids who are cold just wear their jacket in the classroom?
Reasearch has shown that children who are physically miserable don't learn as well - which is after all the purpose of school. Despite what far too many people think, schools do not exist to provide babysitting services.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
That won't be the result of parents sending their kids to school at the normal time. The result would be a bunch of parents rightfully facing neglect and/or child endangerment charges. Besides, most will be sending them to wait at the bus stop for an extra two hours, not the school.
Aren't you supposed to be a professional who works with children's programs? If so, you should know better.
I agree. I find these posts to be a little scary.
As you say, at our school more than half of our kids rode the school bus. That would mean they'd be standing out in the cold for 2 extra hours waiting for the school bus. For those who did walk, since we were usually dealing with snow and/or ice along with freezing temperatures, it meant that sidewalks might not be cleared and parking lots would not be plowed until AFTER all the streets were cleared.
I don't understand why some people are having such a difficult time comprehending the issues involved.
You know which school district I was in. So you probably know that our school system had the largest fleet of buses (not just school bus, but also metrobus) in the United States. Something in the neighborhood of over 150 school parking lots and HVAC systems. And since the HVAC systems were always among the lowest-bid jobs, during bitterly cold snaps they did not always sufficiently heat the building.
It's one thing for posters to give an opinion, but people who don't know something keep posting, I just find it a little bizarre for them to lecture schools and school systems on how to operate.
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