Parents, Teachers and Snow

I’m not sure who annoys me the most when inclement weather sets in, teachers/headmasters who decide at a whim to close schools, or parents who whine how that decision inconveniences them.

Teachers first. Why is it that it is OK for them not to get to work when nurses, doctors, policemen, civil servants, IT engineers, etc… can?

Teachers have responsibilities, i.e. to educate children. And not just imparting knowledge, but also teach work ethic and lead by example. What does it impart to the children when they learn that their mentors would rather take a day off rather than make the effort to get to work?

Now the parents. How is it that their careers seem to take precedent over the welfare of their progeny? Are children just an inconvenience? How dare teachers close schools! Means I have to take a day off work! It’s not like I get any privileges as a parent, what with maternity/paternity leave and money from the government and flexible working et al…

Now I know that I might be accused of being a tad unfair, and that not everybody can get the day off at short notice and as we as a country can’t cope with extremes of weather, but I listened to a couple of semi-professional whiners on the Jeremy Vine show, one a headmistress who tried to kid us that head teachers sobbed into their pillows at the anxiety of making the decision to close a school, while the other someone who took affront that her precious routine was interrupted… The pair were just as bad as each other, and if were truly the representative of their kinds, then this country is well and truly buggered…