Monday 24 September 2012

A Deep Depression.

.

I am, of course, referring to the weather.   But, frankly, if this keeps up for long, it will also
refer to my state of mind.  We are not at the end of September yet and today is disgusting.
I had an inkling it was coming when Heather (Ragged Old Blogger) said it was awful yesterday
in Somerset.    Now today, it has reached here - strong winds and pouring rain.

Nothing changes you know.   It is more than twenty years since I left teaching but today, going
into town to the Bank, I passed teenagers (mainly boys) in their lunch hour, going into town to
the sweet shop rather than eating school dinners.   This is a distance of about half a mile - the rain
was pouring down - what kind of protection did the lads have?   None.   No blazer, no macintosh,
no coat - just blue cotton shirts and navy jumpers.    And they would have to sit in them all afternoon
in lessons.

So here is a question for you today, bloggers.   Should a Headmaster put out an edict that pupils
may not leave the school premises in the rain without adequate protection against the elements?
Or should he just let them get wet and suffer the consequences?

I smiled to myself as I wrote that.   My mother ended up with severe arthritis in her knees.   If I knelt on
a cold floor when I was young, she would immediately tell me to get up, reminding me that when she was
in service and had to scrub stone floors - that was when she 'caught' the arthritis that crippled her in the
final years.   I would smile to myself and take absolutely no notice.   That is the prerogative of the
young I suppose.   But now that I have arthritis in my knees it is a different story.

Keep dry and warm.

14 comments:

John Going Gently said...

Pat, a month worth of rain has fallen here in 24 hours!
Only the ducks are happy x

Em Parkinson said...

It's disgusting here on Dartmoor too.

I say let them suffer the rain but make them 'eat something proper' as my Grandma would have said!

Reader Wil said...

Aw the weather here is just like yours: rain, wind and inside warm, for I turn the central heating on.
Thanks for your comment! Mmmm Goudse Stroopwafels. I love them.They are made in Gouda, the city of cheese, candles and crockery!

angryparsnip said...

More rain ? where will you put it !You had no summer now no Fall ?
Fall is just starting in Tucson and the weather is finally cooling down. It is so lovely.

We had only one small High School in Laguna Beach and I think there was a lunch room but I really can't remember. The school was so close to the town and main road that the students could go out for lunch.
The school district put new rule that only seniors could leave campus. I remember lots of pizzas delivered to school at lunch time.

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

The boys will not notice they are wet to the bone all afternoon nor be tempted into any behavior that might pay off in the future, but certainly not at present.

The Solitary Walker said...

It's hard to teach the young. They will find things out for themselves soon enough — like we did! And of course some will never learn. Don't feel I know a great deal myself, actually, even now.

Heather said...

It's the same here Pat - we see children walking to school with no coats, no matter what the weather is doing. When I mentioned it to one of my daughters she said it was because the pupils have to move from classroom to classroom for different lessons and take all their stuff with them. Apparently there is nowhere for them to leave their coats.

Bovey Belle said...

Ah, common sense is usually the prerogative of us older ones, is it not? Then if kids DO wear jackets, they get the mickey taken out of them by those who don't. I know my girls had lockers at school, that everything had to somehow be shoved into, so any wet outer clothing would still be that way to wear home anyway.

Angie said...

We too have heavy rain and strong winds ...I cant believe how early I need to turn the lights on and infact it was so dismal after lunch that they went on then, today.

As for the boys ....let them get wet...we had to stay in school until 16, back in the dark ages and have a proper lunch. lol

Helsie said...

Well we haven't seen a drop in over two months. That coming straight after a couple of months that had it declared the wettest Winter ever !!Always extremes and so our Springtime lawn is brown and all the trees are shedding their leaves - very depressing !!
We are developing a severe Nanny State mentality here and the poor little wet things would have to ring their Mummies to have dry clothes brought down to them!! Of course Primary age children would not be allowed out of their classrooms for fear they would get WET!!! As Queensland schools usually don't have enough undercover areas for the children to play in, they often have to eat in the classrooms and have free time there... like caged lions! Aussie kids are used to wide open spaces and like to run like mad things in their breaks so it makes for an "interesting " day for teachers.
Cheers

Cloudia said...

The Amish say:
"Too soon old- Too late smart."

Thanks for both your wise posts, and your kind comments!

Aloha from Honolulu,

Comfort Spiral
=^..^=

> < } } ( ° >

Robin Mac said...

When my boys went to high school nobody was allowed out of the grounds at lunch time, but that has obviously changed these days as I see school kids in the shopping centres at all hours of the day! I insisted on driving my younger son to school when it was raining - and right to the gate- as he would not be seen dead in a raincoat, and I didn't want him sitting all day in wet gear. Some of the students insisted their parents drop them off around the corner so they wouldn't be called sooks (or worse) by their peers, but I was not going to be doing that as Stuart would have been just as wet as if he had ridden his bike! Our oler son was quite happy to be driven and not get wet!

MorningAJ said...

When I was at school we weren't allowed off the premises at lunch time. Our winter uniform was a raincoat (and a scarf) and we were told when winter started. (First day of September term was winter by default) So anyone travelling to and from school would be in warm and dry clothes.

Parents were discouraged from driving us because it was deemed dangerous for all the students who were on foot. Of course, we had a working school bus service which was free for anyone who lived more than a mile away!

The Weaver of Grass said...

As a teacher I can tell you that the worst aspect of kids getting wet in the lunch hour is that sitting in their wet clothes all afternoon gives off an awful pong!
Thanks for visiting and adding your pennyworth to the views - it is always interesting to read them. Do call again.