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OT-School Closings???

J

Jiles

Well-known Member
I have Eight grandchildren and all of them were out of school 4 days this week, because of anticipated weather conditions.
This created an acceptable problem for all their parents as to their caretaking. Of course we had the pleasure of "babysetting" some of them.
Now after all the weather related school closings they are out of school Monday Presidents Day!!
They were also out Martin Luther day.
Now wonder this country's educational system is in trouble!
Next--Government will include Flagg Day and Ground Hog Day as a National Holiday and shut Government Down along with many schools!!
I guess I am just getting old, but I don't remember my school closing for weather--if you couldn't get to school, you just missed.
 
I agree. Used to be when the school bus got stuck all the kids cheered! I remember a day when the bus got stuck more than once including a time an amish pulled us out with a team of horses, then the driver said "that's it, I'm taking you back home"!
 
I share your frustration. I have served on our local school board for the past 7 years and have proposed make-up days on Martin Luther King and President's Days and it falls on deaf ears of our administration. I am told they avoid federal holidays. Those are not observed holidays by the general work force in our community.
 
When I was in school, they required so many days a year, if you were there for so long it counted as a full day, and if a certain percent of the students made it, it could be considered a full day. The district left it to the bus drivers whether the thought they could safely get down any roads, and any kids not picked up were given an excused absence. We"d only have about 2/3 of the kids in school but we didn"t have to make up the day, either.

Worked out of Indiana north of Fort Wayne for a while, get a little fog and they"d be closing school.
 
Like many states Minnesota has a minimum number of school days required. If the schools are closed for weather then the school system must make it up on the "back" end. A bit of a problem here in MN as schools are not permitted to start the school year before Labor Day so the kids wind up having school in June some years.
 
When I went to grade school everyone walked. I only
remember being out of school once for the weather
and we had a blizzard that lasted a week. If the
teacher could get there school was open. She lived
2 miles away. Now high school was a different story
 
Jiles; decades ago Paul Harvey stated "...the school bus anymore isn't as reliable as the foot used to be."

Administrators run in fear of law-suits if any little sweetheart should get a boo-boo so they call off school. Peek at the bus windows and most aren't even half-full of kids; but the school parking lots have to be expanded for all the students that drive. A feller and I were out on the back roads shortly after 1600 yesterday and within 10 minutes we counted four district buses heading back to the garage and a fifth (from another district) doing the same. I drove for four years '76-'80 and it amazes me what I drove in and now-a-days they close the school house doors. The coldest I recall was -57 or -59 windchill and the 1968 'Binder' with a 345 gas, two-speed rear end made the route with kids waiting at their stop. My coffee is cold now...
 
Don't worry. Won't be long before they'll be going to school on Religious Holidays and will only have made up government holidays off.
 
I think one of the greatest problems with my area is that too much reliance is put on "Weather Forecast" from COMPETING news stations.
A lot of times, they make it sound a lot worse then it really is, or will be --STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER REPORTS!
 
Which state do you live in? You state probably requires every school to hold classes for a minimum number of days each school year (180 in MN and Iowa?). When the schools are closed the class days are not lost anymore, they are rescheduled. Its been that way since at least the 1960's.
 
(quoted from post at 17:50:28 02/15/14) Which state do you live in? You state probably requires every school to hold classes for a minimum number of days each school year (180 in MN and Iowa?). When the schools are closed the class days are not lost anymore, they are rescheduled. Its been that way since at least the 1960's.
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Here, in NW Alabama, News Media calls a light dusting a Winter Storm!!! And it probably is to some people.
I just imagine we are laughed at Up North???
But we are not as prepared to deal with these situations.
 
A smart kid won"t miss anything by not attending the average public school these days, made up curriculum ""taught"" by mostly second rate morons putting in their time.
 
I have come to the conclusion that all the teachers and administors are lazy........Very lazy. They already get 3 months off in the summer, 2 weeks at Christmas and 1 week at Easter. And all the extra BS days, like you mentioned. It is disgusting how much time kids are out of school.
 
Our local district has had enough snow days that they are doing two make-up days. President"s Day weekend was 4 days, (FSSM) had school yesterday. Other day will be Easter Monday. Any more snow days will be made up in June.
 
Real sad to say,that's how it is up here in the north country anymore. Too many administrators that ain't from around here.
My Dad was transportation supervisor for the school when I was growing up. The superintendent was a local guy who came up through promotions and was one of Dad's best friends. Many a winter morning they had some early morning phone conversations trying to decide what to do. They very seldom cancelled. More often than not,even if it was bad,Dad would say "let's try it".
 
We walked to grade school unless it was a really bad blizzard, then Dad took us to school on a hay rack with the team of horses. We'd work our way under the loose hay to get out of the wind. He'd be back when school let out to pick us up; he'd get the team on the road heading for home and then get under the hay with us.

The horses would go right to the barn and stop, so we'd have to walk back to the house.

I can only remember high school closing twice in the 4 years that I went there. I drove myself to high school in weather nobody would go out into today.
 
Way not true. I teach teachers. (Technology Education) The teacher of today is faced with expectations yours were not:
Delivering content including discoveries made since you were there.
Maintaining a resemblance of discipline in the face of powerless options.
Creating an atmosphere in which learning can take place.
Taking on the responsibilities of parenting and basic morality definitions for more than 50% of the students.
Finding time to develop lesson plans and do the (now mandated) documentation of progress.
I have more than 1500 teachers that I have directly influenced to be professional and effective. (and many more that are now burned out from encounters with the above ""JOB"".
You can believe (incorrectly) that the summers and Vacations/days off are goofing off. They are not, they must do continuing studies to maintain their license. They quite often must take summer jobs to maintain even a lower middle class income.
Just the psychological drain of being in front of today's "children" makes getting away from them mandatory for sanity.
Jim, teacher educator since 1979.
 
You're living in the past. Too much liability and safety risk these days to take chances. Too many lawyers and parents ready to file a lawsuit at the drop of a hat. Also, all days have to be made up in our state. School personnel are contract workers and are required to work so many days a year and they do not get paid for being off in the summer or missed days. There are no such things as paid vacations or off days except 4 holidays in our state. In most cases educators are underpaid and overworked considering the amount and cost of their education and the time they put in on the job and off the job at home. Most complainers wouldn't work like teachers for the same pay. The "poor old farmer" makes much, much more than teachers do.
 
I graduated high school in 1965. We never had a snow day. They would run the bus on the roads that were plowed and if you lived along that road you went to school. The state said that we had to have so many days in school and being a farming area the parents needed the kids home to work in the summer not in school. I have a lot of amish that live by me and the english schools were closed and the amish kids were out in 20 below weather walking to school. Some of them close to a mile. They were bundled up to stay warm. The problem with the English kids is that good warm coats and scarfs make you uncool. JMHO

Bob
 
I know that a lot of missed days are necessary but my gripe is the hardship it puts on the parents--and grandparents. Like, I had to reschedule a tax appointment because of weather, which was justified, and rescheduled date was for President's Day. That will change my appointment again, because of another BS holiday!
While not exactly on the subject--what is your School Administrator's Salary? I think that's a big part of lack of funds for education!
 
We had a hill on the way to school where the bus driver had to turn around at the bottom because the road changed to dirt. When it got icy in the winter- especially in the morning, we'd all move forward in the bus so he had less traction to get back up the hill with. Used to really pizz him off....
 
You ought to be in Pennsyltucky. They close down
the schools for the first week of deer season
because most of the kids and teachers are going to
be hunting.....
 
(quoted from post at 18:55:45 02/15/14) You ought to be in Pennsyltucky. They close down
the schools for the first week of deer season
because most of the kids and teachers are going to
be hunting.....
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Yes-- and what about Spring Break and Fall Break. Wasn't that set up years ago so kids could help plant and harvest?? Do we still need it today??
 
Well, the way that I see it, every day that children are home with parents, grandparents, or some others as opposed to being locked in at a public school, is a day that children have the opportunity to be educated as opposed to indoctrinated. Reading your post seems to further bare that out. That's my opinion though.

Mark
 
I don't doubt for a minute that you are a sincere person who works hard and cares about what you do, but most of your list of woe was forced upon you by the very politicians your teachers unions overwhelmingly bankroll. And how in the world did we the people, in a supposedly free country, get to the point where bloated bureaucracies such as the average school system in the USA believe themselves entitled to ''take on the responsibilities of parenting and basic morality definitions'' as you put it. I thought they were busy offering watered down, politically correct claptrap in place of US and World history and promoting so called progressive agendas that have absolutely nothing to do with educating children in the principles of math, science, literature, reading, writing or much else that will help them to become independent and productive citizens. Maybe where you live teachers are all about to starve but where I live there are plenty of SUV's in the Teachers parking lot, the majority of which screech out of Dodge at 3 pm, sharp.
 
I clicked on modern view to see where you are experiencing the opposite of here, but find no registration information.
Here, the "industry" of choice is, and has been for decades, "education". More specifically public school "education". For total inputs necessary(time, education, etc.), most public school employees get a return equal to or greater than anyone in the area. Then, they have more free time to choose what to do with. A few stay at school and coach, or help with some activities. They are the exception. I know several teachers who, decades ago, decided on their profession based on the best return for their time and costs. One, from whom I rent farmland, retired several years ago, at about my age now, has excellent health care, hunts for fun, is now wintering in Florida.
 
I remember snow days growing up (ECHS '76). When you live in a hilly area many roads get unsafe in a hurry. One of our nearby counties is Switzerland County, named that as it reminded people of Switzerland. This is in the not so flat state of Indiana.

In the district I grew up in (Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools) we had a lot of hills, including the main roads. Skipping some of the side roads was sometimes necessary for the drivers, but how about this. On North Dearborn Rd., about half a mile east of North Dearborn Elementary, is a big dip (or small valley, with a wiggle in it). One morning the schools buses were stopping at the top of the dip, and one bus would make a run at it.. Once it had cleared the dip the next bus would go. The drivers were concerned that one bus would would get stuck at the bottom with more buses coming down the hill behind them. When the drivers are worried that they will get stuck on the county road almost within sight of the school, it is probable that the school should be closed.

Around here only town and city schools close for Martin Luther King's Birthday, don't know of any that close for Martin Luther's. Maybe the Lutheran schools? Already schools with 2 weeks of spring vacation are canceling one week, days are being added to the end of the school year, and the Indiana is allowing schools to make up for missed days by lengthening the school day for the rest of the year.
 
The reason they don't make up on those days is because it's a
federal holiday and non contracted certified staff such as bus's
drivers cooks and janitors would have to be paid time and a
half...
 
I wouldn't mind if they added one more holiday---George Washington's birthday. It sickens me how little most Americans know about this man and how his personal strength of character kept the revolution going until independence was won. It sickened me when he and another great president, Lincoln (I'm the southern great-grandson of Confederate veterans, by the way), were squeezed into the mushy, generic "Presidents Day" slot on the calendar to make way for another guy who now is the only individual honored with a holiday.

It appears that the common thread in all the cited fear-induced school closings is an underlying, unspoken fear of the lawsuits that will most certainly materialize if any little thing goes wrong. Certainly caution and common sense should prevail in all activities, but unfortunately, the fear of litigation from hungry hordes of rapacious lawyers (not you, Mike) is the sticky goo that so greatly hinders real progress on any number of fronts in this country.
 
Not trying to be an a$$, I have a lot of respect for Martin Luther. Very little respect for Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
I repeat my main complaint----Schools needing to make up time for missed days due to weather and then observing an unnecessary holiday! Why not let that holiday make up one of the missed days? Some school systems may do this, but I have not witnessed it in my area.
I guess they leave it up to the overpaid school administrator??
Major respected holidays are understandable but not these BS made up holidays!
 
(quoted from post at 19:58:11 02/15/14) Not trying to be an a$$, I have a lot of respect for Martin Luther. Very little respect for Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Please excuse my over site--I feel the same.
 
When I was in elementary school during WW2 and that also includes my wife the school never closed for the weather. When there was snow or ice the bus driver installed tire chains and picked up the students. We all lived on a farm and when were young we helped with the morning milking. That milk had to be out early for pickup by the creamery truck from Delaware.

My mother was working in a defense plant making 20mm ammo. It was my job to install the tire chains on a 1939 Ford she never missed a day from heavy snow. She did when there was an explosion at the plant. Some were killed. She was given extra stamps for tires and gas. My wife's mother there too. Farmers could get extra gas and tires for the farm equipment. I think the Cecil county schools in MD where I graduated from has been closed for 11 or 12 days from snow and they are closed this coming Monday.

Our daughter started school in 1960 and I don't think the schools closed back then. By the time she was in high school we were about a mile from school and no bus service she had to walk so my wife took her and picked her up when school was out. I put tire chains on the car so she could get around. Later on I studded snow tires for her car and they were very good on ice. Now the state of MD has outlawed studded tires. I think WV still uses studded tires since I bought a used Mercury Bobcat that had studs. To get the car inspected in MD I had to remove the studs. Hal
PS; The Bobcat is in this picture along with the wood splitter.
a145477.jpg
 
Teachers, Farmers and unions are one tough subject to get into for me. I have two sons and both are teachers. I do all my work on tractors for farmers. Most are personal friends also. I myself once upon a time signed up and attended two meetings to prepare for certification for instructor at Vocational School. I saw the BS right quick and stuck to pulling wrench's. Was invited one more time to give it a try but turned it down.

With the union problems in Wisc, my very level h eaded second son and I have to avoid the union talks now. He never complained about his salary or benefits as he had worked at other jobs before he went back to further his education to get a teaching degree. But, with what happened last year in Wisc, it is now an off limits subject.

Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
 
I read all the responses and agreed with most of them. (I graduated HS in 1968).

One point I didn't see raised: What are we teaching the children about personal responsibility and work ethic?

Aren't they going to be surprised when they don't call off WORK every time it clouds up.
 
And what is your point? I am a retired teacher and it was the hardest job I ever had. You never have a real day off or vacation.
Looks good when you are on the outside looking in. Yes, I have worked in industry and have been running my own business as well as operating a "for profit" farm. Most people wouldn't last a day in a classroom as a teacher.
 
I don't know where you get your numbers wile E,summer=out June 10-15,back in school Aug.10th or before.Christmas depends, this yr.=1 week.Easter=Good Fri.same as Factorys.Other then Christmas break,they work as many(same) days as a factory worker with 3-4-5 week Vac.and have same holidays.No more-No less.And NO I don't teach.As far as snow days,I have seen parents NOT let their kids go to school (get on bus)because of bad weather.Yes they could have gone on some days but the call has tobe made at 4-4:30 in the morning because the buses are on the roads by a least 5:30AM,6 at the latest.
 
If the school hasn't used up its allocated snow days, then what is the issue? Around here, it's typically five days per school year. Did you bother checking before you went on your rant?

Schools certainly closed for bad weather back in the so-called "good old days", whether you remember it or not. And based on the number of grammatical and spelling errors in your post, I'd say whatever educational system you graduated from didn't do a particularly good job, so I don't know where you get off complaining about today's schools.
 
The little brats do not go back to school until after Labor day where I am at. The last day of School is usually 6/10. This year it was almost 3 weeks for Christmas.

Trust me, my son is in the local school so I know all the days these Bitc7es get off. And all the Brats.
Yep, cannot forget snow days too.....9 total for the year. They are alloted 7 for the winter. I will sum it all up for you..........Lazy
 
Good points. I add that the worthless parenting, the lack of leadership based socialization (read 4H FFA AutoClub or other youth organization) and the zero sum game of TV trash thinking and morality (found on the streets and ghettos) makes the parenting teachers provide the only parenting they get. I deal with summer programs for disadvantaged kids. When interested, engaged, and expected to perform, they can and do. The strength to continue to deliver education in the face of a room full of rascals(35 of them)dead set on keeping every structured activity from happening Provides a reason for me to respect every teacher in current practice. Are there bad ones, sure. Are there mediocre ones, sure.
But the majority do well and they are the only buffer between anarchy keeping the country from disaster. They are not all abundant (nor is that bad) they are not all sucking tax money without delivering. I just ask you to volunteer to assist in an ag class or in a city, a Technology Ed class if you want to change it. Jim
 
The schools have been closed more than open around here lately, Friday they had school during a blizzard, at least one bus ran in the ditch and one worker at the high school fell on the ice,kids were fine with I except a 200.00 tow bill and Tim has a broken hip. That workmen comp. bill won t be cheap. But they closed because it was too cold last week(everybody rides a bus, the schools are two miles from town.
 
LAA,Why do you think schools now have to have armed Police-Deputys in them??Not on account of the teachers,but outside bad influence or TV-Internet-Games.Teachers have little or no control today over what happens in the classroom due to ACLU and like groups.That is why the Police are there.
 
The reason they don't make up on those days is because it's a
federal holiday and non contracted certified staff such as bus's
drivers cooks and janitors would have to be paid time and a
half...
 
I don't usually comment but today I must. For an
obviously abundant like MarkB_MI to encourage
using up snow days whether needed or not is the
reason our country is broke. I am with a lot of
people and no one I know sanctions cancelling
school ahead of time. What is next-too much sun?
My class of '59 rarely had a school closing and
in grade school there was not enough comunication
to cancel school. If you can't go-then you can't
go. When I go by the school very few kids are
dressed for the weather-jackets are a bother!!
A day off from school means the shopping mall,the
restaurants, and the health club are all full and
no one is hunkered down and shoveling snow.Chuck
 
You don't seem to think other people on here have kids-g-kids in school and know what they are doing.Four or more counties around us start school first or second week of Aug.and a few are looking into July.It sounds like you need to get on school board and get these things made right.Schools have no more holidays then any business.
 
Snow storms cause a lot of problems for us also. The first ones of the season seem to be the worst. Almost everyone has had a winter weather accident early in their driving career, and it takes some practice to remember how to drive in it again each winter.

If you hills are like the ones in Northeast AL near Chattanooga, TN, I wouldn't want to drive on them when it's icy.

I would have a tough time coping with your hurricanes. MN is on the far norther range of the tornado belt, so we don't get many tornadoes. I can't imagine what a huricane would be like, maybe a 100 mile wide F1, F2 tornado that lasts all day?
 
totally different generation nowaday's. everything is better... school buses, better heat in school, better road graders and so on. it had to get near the minus 40's before school would close and buses not run. but now it seems as soon as you hear -20 with wind chill then they are announcing school closures on the radio. I was thinking of this very same thing just last week. in grade one I remember riding on a 1957 chev bus with feet freezing from poor heaters. you just had to dress for the weather. not nowadays no hat thin jacket and running shoes and out the door. yep, everthing is much better but it appears to me kids are getting more time off.
and we thought we had it good cause my dad had to walk 4 miles to school.
 
(quoted from post at 16:08:35 02/15/14) I have Eight grandchildren and all of them were out of school 4 days this week, because of anticipated weather conditions.
This created an acceptable problem for all their parents as to their caretaking. Of course we had the pleasure of "babysetting" some of them.
Now after all the weather related school closings they are out of school Monday Presidents Day!!
They were also out Martin Luther day.
Now wonder this country's educational system is in trouble!
Next--Government will include Flagg Day and Ground Hog Day as a National Holiday and shut Government Down along with many schools!!
I guess I am just getting old, but I don't remember my school closing for weather--if you couldn't get to school, you just missed.
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I didn't read many replies so some of this has probably been mentioned.
Back in the day we didn't miss school because of a bad weather forecast. The weather actually had to be bad. We would often listen to the radio for school closings. Most of the time the decision to cancel wasn't made until the last possible minute. Many jobs have disappeared from my area so lots of folks commute. They need to know as early as possible if they need to make arrangements for their kid's care for the day.
The district where I live was always one of the last two to cancel school for bad weather. A few years back one of their bus drivers, who was a friend of ours, was killed in an accident on her way to work because of weather related conditions. Since then the district is much quicker to cancel school for bad weather. Over the years several kids were involved in fatal accidents because of bad weather. It took the death of a bus driver to wake up the school administration.

Used to be if school was cancelled because of bad weather, those "snow days" would be made up during Easter Vacation, I mean Spring Break since they haven't been allowed to say Easter Vacation for many years. The problem is the teachers don't want to make up snow days during their scheduled break, so they now make them up at the end of the scheduled school year.

About 20-25 years ago there was a big shake up on some of the school boards around here. Previously those positions were generally held by parents, business and community leaders. Now they are often held by retired teachers and they definitely have an agenda. They are the ones that voted in the extra "holidays" and extended the school year. The teachers unions were heavily involved.
Public schools are run by elected school boards. Don't like how they do things? Get involved. Get a group of qualified people to run for seats on the school board.

I keep reading posts on here about how bad schools are today. I certainly don't agree with some of what they teach, or don't teach, but in some ways they are doing a better job than the schools did when I was young.
 
So, Chuck, I guess your definition of a "abundant" is "someone who sticks to the facts". If that's the case, then call me a abundant with a capital "L".

Since you're completely out of the domain of fact-based opinion, you'll have to help me out with your logic. Exactly how is it that using snow days is making the country go broke? All school districts in wintery states figure snow days into their schedule. If they aren't used up, the extra days are often tacked onto spring break, or school is let out a day or two early. If the actual number of snow days exceeds the allowance, it's common to add those days on to the end of the school year. Here in Michigan, the state has been quite clear that districts which have used more than their allotted snow days will have to figure out how to make them up. It's a zero-sum game.
 
(quoted from post at 18:50:10 02/15/14) So, Chuck, I guess your definition of a "abundant" is "someone who sticks to the facts". If that's the case, then call me a abundant with a capital "L".
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So let me get this straight.... you are denying being a abundant?
 
Jiles' "...if you couldn't get to school, you just missed." is what I recall from skooolll daze (intentional misspelling). My dad was hired to drive his car several trips in the a.m. and p.m. picking up children and transporting them to a one room school. Dad would, in poor winter weather, put chains on his 1955 or '56 Ford Fairlane. Some folks didn't have phones and I went to first grade riding with dad. Dad has passed but, I would guess it was up to the 'car drivers' if they would attempt some roads or go it at all on bad days. School started after Labor Day and was out by Memorial Day. No Fall Break; Easter would have meant Good Friday off; Thanksgiving Day and Friday; ALL schools called it Christmas vacation; the third Friday of September for county fair and students were excused for fall harvest work, which usually meant tobacco harvest in SW Wisc. One teacher has three grades in that same one room school; she had the authority and did discipline students when needed and I'm assuming parents didn't question such actions and more discipline followed at home.

Yup, times have changed. A little of my take-off on the school closings post on this TractorTalk discussion board.

Weather forecasts are now semi-accurate for many days...nature is still in control; NOT someone reading a weather '[u:4ca1c6acf3]forecast[/u:4ca1c6acf3]'. I'm empathetic to teachers who must deal w/mis-fits who have created misfits who themselves have NO parenting skills; ok, maybe a couple??? A lot of what is called 'education' should be taught at home; morals, manners, etc. etc. etc. wearing proper winter attire, etc. etc. We don't have to hitch the ox up to the cart anymore and make the trip to the nearest in-convenience establishment for eggs, milk and a fifty pound bag of flour to make biscuits, bread and pasties - those bland meals in a pastry those folks in Mineral Point, Wisconsin force-feed their offspring. Some rebel without a cause should jump on that bandwagon...oh, wait, that bandwagon probably went to a circus parade somewhere...somewhere warm. Anyway, back to transportation,... now-a-days, practically any youthful, inexperienced driver can access a four-wheel drive vehicle, now-a-days referred to as a SUV; operate their cell phone while driving same on treacherous roads; stopping to purchase a plastic container of soda/pop (choose you favorite noun) etc. on their way to sports practice or a game/match when school has been called off because of bad weather...go figure??!! I must state that in recent years, schools have for the most part, also cancelled all activities when school is cancelled.

Yup, times have changed. Back in 1963, my one room schoolhouse teacher Miss. Fortune would have just now flipped seeing me having to use 'spellchecker' for the above word 'treacherous'. Whew...good thing she was busy teaching those older second grade students. I can't hardly wait for what we call 'recess' this Monday morning!! The forecast calls for three to four inches of snow...many more games of Fox-and-Geese on a new playing field!! Yippie!!
 
Schools close for weather situations much more today than just a few years ago and way more than 50 years ago.(never) The reason is liability- if a bus got into an accident and children were injured, there would be lawsuits a plenty. Administrators carry liability insurance, but a couple of lawsuits would clean their policies out quick.
 
I went to school in the mid 1950's and 60's. I don't ever remember school being cancelled. The bus did not show up alot of times, but there was still school. I live on a small mtn and the road would drift shut for sometimes 3 days.
The bus was an old Reo and the bus driver was a dairy farmer. He would stop at the bottom of the mtn and put chains on both the front and rear axles to try his best to make his round. If he managed to get up the mtn, he would stop at the bottom and take the chains off and continue his route. Now if the bus driver does not want to come up the Mtn he doesn't have to. If it is a early dismissal the bus stops at the bottom and the parents have to pick up the children.
 
massey 333, I do understand what you are saying but my point is why don't organizations such as the national teachers unions etc. quit financially backing and overwhelmingly voting for the very politicians and political party whose policys over the last 50 years have brought the nations schools to this sad state? You know that the public education bureaucracy in the US is almost uniformly left wing and have brought much of what currently ails society on themselves.
 
I spent 20 years in front of the classroom.

Yep, you're right. Teachers have 3 months in the summer plus a week off here and there plus holidays and weekends. Now that I'm a full time farmer, I do something every day. Them hogs need feed and water even on Christmas.

However, once I get the days chores done, I can kick back and let loose. I might spend some time thinking of how I might re-arrange the sheds or tinker with a better watering system. But if I feel like going to the show, it's not a problem.

When I was teaching, after the kids left, I had a stack of papers to grade. Some of these papers were almost impossible to decipher, but the I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan) for that child stipulated that neatness not be a factor in his grade since his disability was the cause of it. Then the scores needed to be entered into the grade book. I might have parent meetings, teacher team meetings, faculty meetings and the always popular meeting with the principal and a parent. Lesson plans took a significant amount of time. Weekends and summers were often filled with classes and seminars just to maintain my credentials. Office Maxx and Hobby Lobby took a good portion of my pay for various supplies. Add on top of that the ball games I was expected (but not "required") to attend, Open House night when the parents you need to talk to can't be bothered to show up and you spend all night talking to the parents of little Cindy Applepollisher.

True, many kids come to school not dressed for the weather. Many times it's because they want to look cool. But sometimes it's because that's all they can afford. Many is the time the teachers have passed the hat to provide for these kids.

Another difference between being a "lazy....Very lazy" teacher and a noble, hard working farmer. I had a student that was likely to drop out (OK, several hundred over the years, but that's beside the point I'm making). The kid would come to class but not pay attention. Generally, he would distract the other kids from there learning and just take up space. He acted like school was torture. I took an interest in this kid. Turns out he had deep, emotional problems that were leading to his acting out. Over several weeks, I was able to reach out to him, let him know he was important (but not THAT important) and that there were folks that did care about him. It took time and effort and there were a few setbacks. But eventually, he settled down, began paying attention and ended up graduating.

Earlier this winter, I had a pig prolapse in the night. apparently, another pig had stepped on his belly and squeezed his insides out the only exit available. Thr pig was likely to die and sounded like he was being tortured. He was also distracting the other pigs from the feeder. The pig was likely to die soon. Well, I just went to the house and grabbed the .22. Problem solved.
 
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