Comments on: Letter: Unsure why school was not cancelled due to cold

By: GIJOE

GIJOE — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:42:58 +0000

Mary,
no, I did not walk up hill both ways, on the way home it was up hill.
I am not picking on this kid, just wanted to make a point!
Being responsable starts now!
No one is going to hold his hand and dress him his whole life.
When he has to work for a living there will be no reason not to go to work, so may want to get used to it now.
Thats all I’m saying, am not picking on him.
Only the strong survive, be a leader, not a follower, you will get ahead in this world by doing so.
have a great day!
GIJOE

By: KJM

KJM — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:02:47 +0000

While I cannot agree with GIJOE’s method of delivery, I have to admit that I agree with him. People went to work despite the cold on this day. Ryan, school is your job. If you had been an employed adult on this day, your employer would still expect you to go to work. You need to suck it up and realize that this is life. There will be cold days.
Bundle up, be prepared. Rather than complain about how cold it was, come up with an action plan for next time. Perhaps create a carpool action plan with your fellow students and your/their parents if everyone is so worried about temps such as these? It is possible to stand outside and wait for the bus during temps like these. My husband worked outside all day that day…he survived…and he is a skinny man without much padding on him…why couldn’t you muster up enough strength to last less than an hour?
Mary Kenkel would have us believe that GIJOE is chastizing you for your age and thinks that you are a hooligan in order to write what he wrote. I’m not much older than you, but I agree with him. When I was growing up, I lived on a farm with a mile long drive way on a road that was rarely plowed. Unless we ended up in a ditch, we made it to school. Mother Nature is not going to relent for school…I’ve gone to school through all sorts of weather and I did it to get an education and make something of myself….so man up and accept your responsibility as a student. Go to school and get an education….rain or shine.
While I commend you for writing your viewpoint – couldn’t you have offered solutions rather than whining and requesting for class to be cancelled? THAT would have been a learning experience in and of itself. Because trust me, kid…when you get into the workforce…your employer WON’T CARE that the weather was bad…they WON’T CARE about your complaints…UNLESS you can offer solutions. What are you going to do? Quit work because they don’t cater to you? Call in sick every time the weather is bad? Good luck in the unemployment line.

By: Mary Kenkel

Mary Kenkel — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:48:04 +0000

Ryan,

I feel your pain. Waiting out at the bus stop in 20-below-zero weather is tough. On days like that, Kaneland should think about the students waiting outside in unhealthily cold temperatures.

But more than agreeing with you, I’d like to commend you for writing your thoughts to the newspaper. It’s great to see you, as a high school student, taking the time to share your opinions to make a difference for yourself and your fellow students. Good job.

And GIJOE, I’m sure you walked to school uphill both ways, too. And the kids back then were much better behaved than today’s hooligans. Please don’t chastise a high school student because he wrote to the local newspaper that he doesn’t want to wait outside in 20-below-zero weather. And please don’t make broad generalizations about younger generations. Whether or not you agree, there are plenty of good “hoodlems,” too.

By: GIJOE

GIJOE — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:12:31 +0000

RYAN,

JUST GO TO SCHOOL AND QUIT WHINING!
YOUR OFF ENOUGH THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THE COLD WILL NOT KILL YOU IF YOU DRESS FOR THE WEATHER.
DRESS WARM AND GO TO SCHOOL.
WHEN I WAS A KID, WE WENT ALL THE TIME, DID NOT HAVE ALL THE DAYS OFF YOU HAVE NOW.
WE WHERE ALLOT TOUGHER THAN KIDS TODAY, WE DID WHAT WE WHERE TOLD TO DO, WE ACCECPTED THINGS FOR WHAT THEY WHERE.
AND WE WENT TO SCHOOL BECAUSE IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
I CAN RECALL FREEZING MY REAR END OFF WHILE WALKING TO SCHOOL OVER A MILE, SO THE NEXT TIME THE WEATHER WAS WELL BELOW ZERO, I LEARNED TO BE PREPARED FOR IT, AND STAYED WARM.
BE RESPONSABLE FOR YOURSELF, AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT HOW YOU MAY LOOK TO OTHERS ALL DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER AT LEAST YOU WILL BE WARM.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE!
GO TO SCHOOL, LEARN SOMETHING!
WE ALREADY KNOW HOW COLD IT CAN GET AND HOW BAD THE ROADS GET.
DON’T NEED TO KNOW ALL THIS.
PAY ATTENTION, DRIVE SAFE, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF YOUR NOT A BABY.
REMEMBER THIS, ALL THE GUYS WHO SERVED THIS COUNTRY ENDURED HARSH WEATHER CONDITIONS DAILY OF ALL TYPES, FROM REALLY HOT TO WELL BELOW ZERO BUT TOUGHED IT OUT AND DID WHAT THEY WHERE SUPPOSE TO AND SURVIVED BECAUSE THEY LEARNED TO DRESS FOR CONDITIONS THEY WHERE SUBJECTED TO.
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF, NOW GET TO CLASS.
LATER!
GIJOE