Comments on: Weather forces thousands of school closures http://www.parentsoutloud.com/weather-forces-thousands-of-school-closures/ Helping provide a voice for Parents Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:05:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: marie http://www.parentsoutloud.com/weather-forces-thousands-of-school-closures/comment-page-1/#comment-1248 marie Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:28:22 +0000 http://www.parentsoutloud.com/?p=1206#comment-1248 Interesting to see coverage about the snow and pleased to see it provides another much needed opportunity for honest debate about the way we organise our working lives/business, family life and care responsibilities at home. After all, snow /bad weather is just one element that affects people's daily lives and in many ways just represents the overall dilemma of how society is best organised and perhaps even more importantly the delicate (and arguably unsustainable) balance of the economy in the longer term. My main concern is that yet again the arrival of snow and school closures across the country highlights the fact that we have our backs to the wall and have created an impossible situation for average families struggling to cope with everyday life, bad weather or no bad weather. Does society really now expect all parents to be in paid work no matter what? What about the role of care? Is our society so dependent on two parents - dads and mums - working and getting their kids to school that businesses will collapse if a few days are missed by one parent? If so many parents depend so much on two incomes to survive/pay the mortgage (on impossibly high housing costs) , is this sustainable especially in times of unemployment and globalisation with decently paid jobs so scarce? Are we not just feeding consumerism and growth which probably can't be sustained in the longer term anyhow. Would it not be best to work towards an entirely different and simpler model? Indeed isn't it about time that care was factored into GDP instead of being viewed as without monetary value or somehow as just 'unproductive' or simple 'inactivity' (which it clearly isn't view that the human condition depends on unpaid care work). It may be true that in the old days schools would just open up and accept local children and teachers would travel to help out in the nearest school, but I doubt whether the rationale behind this was to help two working parents enabling them to travel to the office as usual - rather it would have been in the spirit of community and to help farming communities etc In any case in those days families lived closer to each other and there was more help available - plus untrained adults would step in to help in the classroom without the need for CRB checks etc (my mother led a newly set-up morning playgroup for four years on school premises in the 80s without any training whatsoever - how times have changed).Anyway - for what it's worth, this is my view. I'm less interested in the snowfall and more interested in a wider debate about where we're all heading!!! As far as our own family are concerned, we live 3 hours from nearest family members, so no help available from them. We have four children attending different schools in different parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire. Last year in an attempt to travel to school on the Friday I got my youngest in by 9.45 am and the others travelled by bus, only to be informed by 11am that all the schools were closing, that bus services were suspended due to dangerous conditions and that I'd have to a) collect my youngest b) book a taxi for two to travel up from the New Forest 15 miles away and c) at the same time be available in Salisbury to provide transport for our 15 year old (no buses). It became impossible. I do some part time work but fortunately was not due to work during that particular week (thankfully as the stress would have been intolerable). My husband was actually away on business at the time. I don't know what the answer is but I don't think that we should put unreasonable pressure on people to travel in poor conditions (whether we're talking about school staff or pupils or workers, although care workers/medical staff in hospitals/care homes should be a priority, caring for the sick and needy). I think people generalise too much and we need to help each other out more often. That includes friends and neighbours, as well as family members. Schools are not babysitting services for adults and employers who have not realistically factored in their care responsibilities/family support systems (and this is not blaming them because at the end of the day we are all just doing our best in the times we live). I've lived abroad and know what regular snowfall is about, but it's hard to make comparisons as all our systems are so very different. Interesting to see coverage about the snow and pleased to see it provides another much needed opportunity for honest debate about the way we organise our working lives/business, family life and care responsibilities at home. After all, snow /bad weather is just one element that affects people’s daily lives and in many ways just represents the overall dilemma of how society is best organised and perhaps even more importantly the delicate (and arguably unsustainable) balance of the economy in the longer term.
My main concern is that yet again the arrival of snow and school closures across the country highlights the fact that we have our backs to the wall and have created an impossible situation for average families struggling to cope with everyday life, bad weather or no bad weather. Does society really now expect all parents to be in paid work no matter what? What about the role of care? Is our society so dependent on two parents – dads and mums – working and getting their kids to school that businesses will collapse if a few days are missed by one parent? If so many parents depend so much on two incomes to survive/pay the mortgage (on impossibly high housing costs) , is this sustainable especially in times of unemployment and globalisation with decently paid jobs so scarce? Are we not just feeding consumerism and growth which probably can’t be sustained in the longer term anyhow. Would it not be best to work towards an entirely different and simpler model? Indeed isn’t it about time that care was factored into GDP instead of being viewed as without monetary value or somehow as just ‘unproductive’ or simple ‘inactivity’ (which it clearly isn’t view that the human condition depends on unpaid care work).

It may be true that in the old days schools would just open up and accept local children and teachers would travel to help out in the nearest school, but I doubt whether the rationale behind this was to help two working parents enabling them to travel to the office as usual – rather it would have been in the spirit of community and to help farming communities etc In any case in those days families lived closer to each other and there was more help available – plus untrained adults would step in to help in the classroom without the need for CRB checks etc (my mother led a newly set-up morning playgroup for four years on school premises in the 80s without any training whatsoever – how times have changed).Anyway – for what it’s worth, this is my view. I’m less interested in the snowfall and more interested in a wider debate about where we’re all heading!!! As far as our own family are concerned, we live 3 hours from nearest family members, so no help available from them. We have four children attending different schools in different parts of Wiltshire and Hampshire. Last year in an attempt to travel to school on the Friday I got my youngest in by 9.45 am and the others travelled by bus, only to be informed by 11am that all the schools were closing, that bus services were suspended due to dangerous conditions and that I’d have to a) collect my youngest b) book a taxi for two to travel up from the New Forest 15 miles away and c) at the same time be available in Salisbury to provide transport for our 15 year old (no buses). It became impossible.
I do some part time work but fortunately was not due to work during that particular week (thankfully as the stress would have been intolerable). My husband was actually away on business at the time.
I don’t know what the answer is but I don’t think that we should put unreasonable pressure on people to travel in poor conditions (whether we’re talking about school staff or pupils or workers, although care workers/medical staff in hospitals/care homes should be a priority, caring for the sick and needy). I think people generalise too much and we need to help each other out more often. That includes friends and neighbours, as well as family members. Schools are not babysitting services for adults and employers who have not realistically factored in their care responsibilities/family support systems (and this is not blaming them because at the end of the day we are all just doing our best in the times we live).
I’ve lived abroad and know what regular snowfall is about, but it’s hard to make comparisons as all our systems are so very different.

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