While on the subject of snow and snow days...After we got a couple of inches of snow, Lincoln Public School officials made the call not to cancel school. Snow doesn't affect us homeschoolers much, so I didn't give it much thought. Apparently, however, there was quite a public outcry about it. Parents were worried about icy roads and icy winds. They were worried about the safety of their children. Maybe that's why our state slogan is "The Good Life" while "Virginia is for Lovers" (as opposed to parents, as last week's snowfall revealed).
Some reportedly even called their healthy little kiddos in sick. Now, I did grow up on the Indiana-Michigan border. I remember walking to school in snow up to my hips. I remember bus students not having to go to school because the buses wouldn't start. But walkers like me had to trudge through the mess and the cold. Minus five. That was the temperature we all waited for, because then school would be canceled. So I find it rather amusing that anyone would protest sending their child to school due to a bit of snow.
But who ultimately has the authority? If you honestly don't feel your children are safe going to school for any reason whatsoever, who should have the final say? Lincoln Public School official Dennis Van Horn knows the answer.
Parents have the right and responsibility to make a different decision for their children. That's the safety net for children. LJSAs a parent, you do not have to wait for the school to make a decision that affects the well-being of your child. It is your right and responsibility, whether it is in response to your child's academics or physical safety. You can oppose the school and make a decision based on your child's best interests.
I do wonder, however, how that counts on attendance records.
HT: The Lincolnite
Photo: Postcards from The Good Life Contest
