I am thinking about the difference between "cold" now and "cold" when I was a kid. Growing up in Minnesota we never thought cold was a novelty. It had been pretty much part of a Minnesotans life.
Many of my friends were flabbergasted when school was canceled through out the state due to cold. Being that I have worked in the field of education it does not seem odd to me. We have many children that often parent themselves as they get ready for school and do not understand how important it is to protect themselves from the environment.
As I look at our society these simple things make me believe that Family and Consumer Sciences are so very important. Teaching basics is often passed by because people assume that those simple things are just something that one should know. But when families don't have time or energy to have these conversations with their kids they get over looked.
When we as adults jump from car to building, our kids see this and think they don't need a coat because they do not know what it is like to be with out heat. I started thinking about what it might have been like in the 1700's trying to stay warm during this "Polar Vortex" and I can't imagine how awful it must have been for them.
I personally have experienced being very cold during a car breakdown, at night, a dead cell phone and no one seeing me to stop and pick me up while walking on the freeway. It was an unpleasant trek and I can't believe I did not get frost bite.
The news media has made a big deal about the cold and snow from this storm but it is o.k. Because really, unless our kids have no communication with the outside world in this day and age, they have learned you can get frost bite in 5 minutes when it "feels" like 50 below.
Hopefully it will stick with them and they will remember that those coats, hats and mittens serve a purpose.
With love from your retired FACS teacher.
Jane
P.S. For those of you with very below normal temps in the South....it is not that bad. Trust me. :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment