By RICHARD GIRARD
This past week saw a handful or two of high school games canceled. Officials claimed the “heat index” was too “dangerous” for student athletes to compete.
On Thursday, Claremont Superintendent Michael Tempesta, citing the heat, ordered Stevens High School to close at 11 AM, sending kids to homes where parents were away at work. Waiting until 11 AM allowed the day to count as a full day so it won’t need to be made up at the end of the year. How convenient.
This growing wave of cancelations needs to stop before it gets out of hand.
We realize that there are a lot of folks who’ve moved into the area in recent years. However, those of us who’ve been around for a while understand that 90-degree heat and high humidity aren’t uncommon during our summers, even in September. The idea that schools and sports need to come to an abrupt halt is as unprecedented as it is foolish.
No doubt, those making these decisions to cancel everyday activities, because of an alleged threat to the health and wellbeing of students and athletes, believe they’re acting out of an “abundance of caution.” That is problematic.
Where does this thinking end? What does it lead to? What message is being sent to students when schools close or games are canceled due to little more than routine weather? (If we’re honest, we’d admit that the weather the “adults” say necessitated their actions is rather ordinary.)
What kids are being taught is that they should be afraid of what is normal. This needlessly produces enormous anxiety, which, thanks to the constant drumbeat of fear and doom perpetrated by the COVID pandemic panic and “climate change” alarmism, is already at historic highs and rising. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg travels around the globe chastising world leaders for failing to act on climate change, believing everybody on the planet will be dead in less than 10 years. Where do you think she got that idea?
Perhaps Stevens’ students and those on the sports teams who’ve seen their games canceled aren’t worried the planet is about to self-destruct because school was closed or their games were canceled. Is it a stretch, though, to believe they might be worried about whether or not school or playing will be “safe” the next day? No doubt, some will be worried about whether their parents, especially those who labor manually, or their friends, whose games haven’t been canceled, are in danger of suffering a catastrophic, heat induced health event or even death.
This needless nonsense misses the opportunity to teach kids important life skills. Instead of using the school app. to advise parents that school had been closed, Tempesta could have used it to advise parents to ensure their children were dressed appropriately for the weather and drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. Kids could have been encouraged to bring a water bottle.
The same is true for sports. Coaches understand and teach the need for proper hydration. The weather is a chance to emphasize that. It’s also a time when coaches rotate players in and out of games more frequently to make sure no one overheats.
Kids need to be taught how to adapt, not how or why to quit. Closing schools and canceling games is teaching kids how or why to quit. If they learn this lesson, they will grow up anxious, fearful, unable to adapt and overcome adverse circumstances. They will be unreliable. They will learn that they are helpless when confronted with circumstances they don’t control and they will, as a result, give up.
An honest look at the last couple of generations can’t help but see this trend is already well advanced. At what point do we say “enough is enough” and teach our kids how to overcome adversity, build resilience, persevere and succeed? Staying in school and playing games in weather that is normal is a good place to start.
— Richard Girard ispublisher of the Eagle Times
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