Cancel school! Never mind that it is actually a beautiful spring-like day outside. The forecast was for wind and everybody knows you can’t teach if its windy outside… What about tomorrow, too sunny? Not sunny enough? Humidity too high? Too low? Cripes. As far as I can interpret this madness, if the weatherman forecasts ANYTHING resembling normal winter conditions; school is cancelled. No wonder kids today are borderline illiterate and can’t do basic math. —Wishing I got the day off every time weather occurred
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2011.
What seems funniest to me is that the kids who can’t go to school are sledding and scooting down places like Citadel Hill. Back when I was a kid, I used to climb to the top of the Halifax Shopping Centre Snowplow Mountain with my buddies and tumble down from its peak.
I’m glad you spelled “illiterate” correctly! Otherwise, the Coasters would have torn you a new one!
100% valid bitch if I ever read one!
When I was growing up school was never canceled.
I am 100% behind you on this one OP!
Agreed. The cancellation today is a ltitle ridiculous. If the roads are bad, send them in late, let buses run late, but seriously? It’s a gorgeous day out there.
I am a bit jealous, I had to walk my 2.5km to work this morning, the little buggers shouldn’t get the day off 🙁
Sure, now its bright and sunny out, but did you happen to be on the roads this morning? Extremely slippery/icy with white outs…not exactly the safest travelling conditions. It was pretty rough going this morning. Took me 35mins to make my normal 15min drive to work, and my boss an hour and a half for her usual 20min drive.
Probably warranted a delay in starting school, maybe not a full cancellation. But I can understand why the call to cancel was made.
3 cancellations in 2 weeks! I wish I was still in school 🙂
The roads were treacherous this morning and in a lot of the HRM cars were going off the road and couldn’t make it up hills. If a child had of gotten hurt walking to school there would have been an uproar from parents. Also the roads weren’t safe for the school buses. So as much as I think it’s crazy that today is a snow day…It took me 45 mins longer to drive to work. just saying….
I wonder why they don’t start late more often rather than an outright cancellation? I guess it’s because of child care and arrangements and whatever. It is really complicated having kids. I imagine a full cancellation is the easiest. Still, they’re lucky buggers, because it sure was a lovely day to be sledding 🙂
“No wonder kids today are borderline illiterate and can’t do basic math” – and some PhDuh’s too 🙂
I grew up in a town where snow storm was the norm during the winter months, and the public schools NEVER had a snow day. We walked to school for about 15-20 minutes in blizzard conditions, single file with older students in front. lol
Think of the disaster with bus scheduling with starting a day late. Not to mention that yesterday afternoon when school should have been cancelled, there was a school bus accident in the HRM. There have been 3 snow days this year. Last year we had none… but each year there are 5 days added into the schedule to account for days like these. Do your research before you bitch, bitches!
Busses are not difficult to schedule for a late start. I’ve lived in a few different cities that would have a noon or 11:00am start for students when the weather was clear but the roads weren’t plowed yet.
I noticed that kids made it to the malls by 10 or 11 today with no problem. Their parents probably dropped them off because they couldn’t take another day home with them 🙂
Wasn’t it because of bad road conditions and not wind?
I’ve ben told that a school bus dosen’t do too well on icy back roads, especially icy dirt roads.
They have early dismissals, so late starts are only fair.
OP, you fail to realise that there are roads outside HRM. Rural routes namely, and they were iced over. Did you see the news this evening?
I can see cancelling rural schools…why cancel those in town ?
Because Halifax drivers don’t know how to drive in winter, More.
aah the beloved newt…they don’t know how to drive in good weather and if you add road “conditions” look out http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/Stati…
“a beautiful spring-like day outside”???
I don’t where you are OP, but it was -28 with the windchill and insanely icy. I froze my butt off and nearly slipped and fell a few times while going places today. They might not have been justified in cancelling school, but it sure as hell wasn’t spring-like, unless you’re from Yellowknife.
the last “snow storm” we had here in La la land .. people were panicking in the streets and loading up on supplies (dope and acai juice) ..the snow was gone in like 12 hours 🙂
RCMP advised metro drivers to stay off the road for 2 hours this morning.
If you were outbound on Magazine Hill at 8 am I hope you took a long look at the blue vehicle upside down in the bushes and two lanes of 18 wheelers, buses and cars trying to maintain traction as a tilt load truck sat there with the rear wheels spinning on the ice.
Thankfully the schools were closed and all that teacher traffic was at home.
some people are just who and what they are o.p., fucking pussies. when i went to school, you had to walk about 2 miles, 4 times a fucking day. today’s kids get a ride on a bus, transit, or mommy’s car. holy great fuck.
Wow. I am literally sitting in my chair laughing at the whole “in my day, we had to walk 5 miles to and from school, in blizzards, uphill both ways” vibe from some of these responses. I wouldn’t say that people are pussies nowadays (although, I wouldn’t entirely disagree at the same time…), but it’s still better to be safe than sorry. I had to go to class at 8:30 this morning, and I walked — the sidewalks were iced over and I couldn’t even see the roads at the time.
Funny, though, because I was so confused when I got out of that first class and people were upset that it wasn’t a snow day (for university). Haha.
Good job Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay didn’t listen to the HRSB snow reports or Everest would still be unconquered. Hitler would’ve held off invading Russia until summer, but then they would be closed for 9 weeks for the troops (teachers) to rest.
Hannibals elephants wouldn’t have gotten frostbite either.
The private schools were all open and running.
The roads were a bit slippery yesterday morning during the commute, but nothing dire in the city that would justify canceling school. Cars, taxis, buses, trucks, even bicycles were still out. Most students have legs, so make them walk. Or is that discriminating against the obese students?
For some reason Baz, your comment made me think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujF8RYCLHvw
sebastian probably thinks that this week’s cover of The Coast is discriminatory against him.
ps: seb, what were you doing laying on the lawn of the LBGT couple in Pictou?
Ivan – I think that skit had something to offend just about every humour challenged wanker. The PETA lot for the lion gushing blood, the anti-religion zealots with the reference to David and the Goliath, buddy who had an early post about Canada Goose jackets, the fur trade Nazis – this was all balanced by a lovely woman racing down the beach in a bikini – oh I forgot the feministas……at least there weren’t any gay references, people on bikes, a bus in sight, or racists. There could be a challenge made by the anti-smoking lobby though?
LOL BaZ – The lion fight had me rolling on the floor laughing, and it’s a cold dirty concrete warehouse floor. And now I’m back there >: ). Fasten your seatbealts Dunder-Mifflites; It’s gonna be a bumpy flight.
happy hump day commander^^
Back at ya Painey. Screeeeeeee!
I haven’t read the comments already here but if it’s windy enough to knock tree branches down and big icicles from roofs, school should probably be cancelled. When i was little, i was once blown off the curb and into the street face down. Wind can be dangerous for little people. But i think that when they cancel shool, they should discern between little elementary kids and high schoolers, which are often adult sized and should be better-equipped to take peoper care of avoiding danger.
I think the biggest impact of school closures is on the childcare arrangements of families with kids in school.
It has no real impact on the students’ educational outcomes.
Heresy? I don’t consider it so.
My son ‘dropped out’ of school halfway through 3rd grade. My daughter never went past kindergarten. My son will graduate from Dal’s Honours Physics program in a few months. My daughter is a freshman with a B average.
Both were home schooled. Trust me, it didn’t take 7 hours a day, five days a week, 44 weeks of the year to get them to where they are now. Far less.
If parents spent a little more time helping out and making sure that their kids did their homework (oh yeah – they don’t get homework anymore) and provided a suitable learning environment in the home along with access to lots of books (quality literature not ‘cut and paste’ efforts aimed at five year olds) a few missing days here and there wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in the big picture.
Snow days are really a daycare issue (regardless of the student’s age) and not a learning issue.
“If parents spent a little more time…..”
Bravo CE
Shut up people and listen to Rick Mercer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Upaaiv2nU
I love Rick Mercer.
screee…the boy was at the taping of that particular show
Rick Mercer, Cathy Jones, This Hour Has 22 Bores, Mary Walsh – all well past their best by dates, but that’s just me – I think they mostly hail from Newfoundland, please don’t tell me that’s racist?
That’s funny, cause I was going to say the flipside to this is Newfoundland. They wouldn’t shut down for a nuclear war. Ok I exaggerate..but not really.
For those of you who scoff at those who say they had to go up hill both ways going to school.
I lived on Joffery St in Dartmouth, I was at the end of Joffery by Portland St.
You walk down Portland St (its a downhill walk) to Victoria Rd. You Walk up Victoria Rd to Dartmouth High.
After school you walked down hill on Victoria & up hill on Portland St.
So there you go.
Up hill both ways to school. THe streets all still exist, Although the end of Joffery where it joins Portland street has changed a bit. The schools still there, next time you happen to be in that area check it out….& maybe next time you won’t be so quick to scoff at what in this case is the truth, up hill both ways !!!! & was walked by many kids then & now !