Don’t Be Crotchety – Schools Calling a Half-Day For Heat Isn’t A Bad Thing

Calling kids "lazy" and "spoiled" because their schools called a half-day during a heat wave isn't productive, and it isn't fair. 

Trust me, I live in the same world that you do. I know that we're all crabby and divided after this weekend, and people on social media are letting loose. Opinions are like elbows - we all have them. They're neither right or wrong.

I don't have to show you a pic of the temp on my dashboard to tell you that it's been hot. Ridiculously hot. We've set RECORDS for September temps in the last week. The words "dangerously hot" were accurate. The 90s are dangerously hot even in July; why would September be any different?

Owosso public schools and some schools in Detroit that don't have A/C called half-days because of the heat. Seems like a logical step, doesn't it?

Not according to social media. I saw people calling these kids names - lazy, spoiled brats, etc. All because officials decided to look out for their safety. 

I know, I know. You should never read the comments, but I'm guilty as charged.

A lot of people up on their rockers here with the "back in my day" sentiments. Guess what? Back in YOUR day, things weren't perfect, either. Smoking was recommended by doctors, women could be denied a credit card based on their gender and were also encouraged to drink during pregnancy, and lead was still used in paint. to name just a few.

But congratulations for walking ten miles to school in your bare feet. Why is progress a bad thing now?

This should be a no-brainer, but the schools calling for a half-day do NOT have A/C. And believe it or not, there's a LOT of them.

It's no secret that schools are struggling nowadays to get funding, and air conditioning is a luxury that school districts don't have money for. In fact, aside from the tourism industry lobbying against it, it's one of the main examples of why kids shouldn't be in year-round school. 

Districts so rarely take "heat days." But let's be honest - we don't usually have temps this high after school starts. I have asthma, and I'll tell you right now - heat is a HUGE problem for me. If a kid had an asthma attack from sitting in a hot classroom, guess whose parents would sue the district for not calling off school? It's a precaution to call a half day. It protects the school, the teachers and students.

And what's the point of having a classroom full of kids (body heat, anybody?) who are too hot and miserable to get anything done?

The time missed WILL be made up. The kids are NOT lazy or spoiled, nor did they make this decision. I get it; we all want to romanticize the past as though it was perfect. Progress can be a GOOD thing, and we should support ANYBODY who cares enough about our kids to look out for them when we're not around.