Snow, Schools and Slush

Yes, it is setting a bad example for schools to be closed, especially when it is due to the over-cautious "we might get sued for Health and Safety" knee-jerk butt-covering.

This shows failures at many levels.

First, the underlying root problem that certain lawsuits actually get the time of day. If mercenary ambulance chasing and downright irrational cases were systematically given the brush, then even the predatory "Ambulance Chasers 4 Purple Ocean" would not bother with them.

Second, that schools are consenting to that form of bullying. Even if lawsuits were given the time of day, they should be vigorously resisted. Maybe some are. If the schools lose too often, then that is a failure of either their lawyers or the judges.

That said, there is still a failure of logic. A school should endeavour to open in case kids who are not total wusses make it in. Nothing more dispiriting for a child to trudge all the way to school only to find they had shut it, causing the kid to trudge home and in some cases force the parents to take a day off work and even jeopardise their very employment. Not a good lesson.

There should always be responsibility for ones own decisions. It works both ways. Schools should try and open, yes, but then each parent and even the child should be prepared to be responsible for their actions in trying to get to school. The school cannot be blamed for anything that happens en route. I suspect, however, that those making the decisions do not have the strength of conviction in their own reasoning and logic. That is a tragedy.

The scary thing is that schools have shown the lack of reasoning and backbone. Two things that schools should be helping parents to instil in our next generation.

2/10.  See me.

Yes, I wrote it in red, now go and blub your guts out in a corner yer big girl's blouse.