Once upon a time, I was a young kid growing up in Baltimore City. It was far less dangerous back then. Or at least it seemed that way. And even though most of our families had two automobiles, we pretty much walked everywhere. And this included our journey to and from school each day.
For me, it was roughly a one mile walk to Ben Franklin Jr. High School. As I walked southwest on Patapsco Avenue, this initial part of the trek was downhill and then midway it bottomed out and you began ascend. So, technically, I did indeed walk to/from school uphill in both directions.
Similar to the mailman, we often walked to school in all types of inclement weather. The rain would wreak the most havoc. By the end of our journey, we looked like we had swam to school. The bulk of the day would be spent drying out. I would try to find a heat source somewhere in the classroom to dry my coat. With any luck, the rain would pass by the time the dismissal bell rang at 2:30.
Snow could be a challenge too. But there was something about the snow that made it seem less grueling. It was kind of like watching TV while you're exercising on a treadmill. Baltimore City was a place where the schools hardly ever shut down for bad weather. While every other jurisdiction in the whole state of Maryland would close their school systems, the City schools were always open and on time.
Today, a mere mention of snow flurries on a Sunday will shut the schools down until mid-week. I have even seen local school systems shut down due to rain or wind. And with the COVID outbreak, many school systems have decided to go to "virtual learning". This is basically where the kids stay home and pretend to do school work for six hours a day. But what really took the cake for me recently is when I learned that "virtual school" was closed due to a forecast of snow! Ironically, it never even snowed. And even more perplexing, is that it's a virtual class! The trip to "school" consists of walking down the steps and into the living room! There is no traffic to deal with and, unless someone left their toy Slinkee on the staircase, the odds of slipping were pretty low.
Due to all of the impromptu closings, I understand that most of the school systems will now be in session until the end of June. If they keep cancelling school due to rain, summer break will be reduced to the Labor Day weekend. But then again, with virtual learning does it even matter if the kids are in "school" or not? It kind of reminds me of Charlie Brown's virtual teacher, Miss Othmar ("Wah-wa-wa-wa-wa"). But at least Charlie and the rest of the Peanuts gang were in an actual classroom.
These random closings and virtual "learnings" will inevitably have an effect on the intellectual growth of today's kids. Unfortunately, I don't think the outcome is going to be good. Kids need to be in a class room with a real teacher with other kids. I still have close friends from my childhood days. It's depressing to think that many of today's kids are being denied the opportunity to forge these longtime friendships.
I am not a big fan of anything "virtual-ness". Whether a virtual meeting in the business world or a Zoom meeting with distant family members, it's pales in comparison to face-to-face interactions. While technology has advanced and made things easier, it didn't necessarily make things better. The importance of social skills can't be underestimated. If people, especially young people, never interact with anyone on the outside world, how will they ever develop these skills?
Bottom line, kids need to be in a school made of bricks and with hallways, a gymnasium, a large cafeteria and an auditorium. But mostly, it should have real teachers in real classrooms filled with real students. And it should only be closed when it really snows....
kw
