MMeM, Vol.12 Issue 45 – BRRrrrrr

Education. It’s a never ending topic and rightfully so. We analyze our educational systems locally, regionally, at the state level, and then nationally. We like to see how we compare to other countries. More often than not, we find ourselves somewhat surprised that, “Gosh, we aren’t always producing the best and brightest!” Thus begins the hand ringing, the testing rigmarole, the Common Core fights, the poverty vs. priveledged arguments, and it goes on and on, and on.

Amidst all of the arguing, there are always the “back in my day” types who like to chime in with their two cents. Yeah, we’ve written about these comparisons before by highlighting the claims of walking to school uphill both ways in dire heat or droughts back in their day. Then we find stories of grade school aged children risking their lives by ROCK CLIMBING to and from school, sans any rock climbing gear.

Then just this week, it’s the middle of December and UH-OH, there’s been SNOW and horribly COLD weather! OH MY! Never before this year, have kids been more attune to weather reports come Sunday night.

Well, chalk this story up to just one more reason why those National rankings sometimes find the U.S. lagging compared to others.

Dateline, Batagai, Yakutia region of Siberia, Russian Federation, population 4,369 saw temperatures of -53C, (That’s -64.3F) and that city only cancelled classes for kids 15 and under.

Still not impressed? Well, in the capital of the region with a population of 269,601, children 12 and under were told to stay home while all other kids were expected to GO TO SCHOOL while the temperature was a balmy -49F.

“In the city of Verkhoyansk, it plunged to minus 51C (-59.8F) but lessons were only cancelled for children below 13.”

WHAT? Look, I’ve heard of being glad and relieved when it’s time for kids to go back to school and all, but this is ridiculous, right? I sure hope that none of those kids saw “A Christmas Story” and got any ideas from that flagpole scene, or somebody is gonna lose a tongue for sure!