Last Friday, Waterloo Region schools were closed because the temperature fell below -35 degrees Celsius, a decision which was justified on the grounds that some children might be inappropriately dressed for the conditions.
This is yet another example of educational decisions, for example the new Ontario sex education curriculum, that are said to be necessary because some parents won't do the right thing. I suppose these parents exist in small numbers, but I wonder whether this fact justifies the use of blunt instrument policy decisions that affect everyone. How far is the government's role to extend? Will it institute school-based eating centres to provide children with three nutriitious meals a day because some parents feed their children poorly? What about bedtime checks to make sure every child is sent to bed early enough? And standardized snowsuits with regulation hats, mitts, and boots that every child must wear? (more...)
A letter to the editor from a retired teacher:
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