Monday, March 6, 2017

A Day Without Brains

A Day Without Brains
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
March 6, 2017

With practically no workable notice – less than 48 hours – Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) have inconvenienced parents, possibly costing them a day’s pay while teachers participate in something called “A Day Without Women.”

It should be called “A Day Without Brains.”

Some 15,200 students, attending 16 Alexandria, VA schools, lose a day of instruction as all ACPS will be closed to satisfy the whims of irresponsible adults. ACPS claims it did not make this decision lightly, but they certainly did not take working parents into consideration. “This was not a political decision,” said ACPS spokeswoman Helen Lloyd. “This is about the safety of our students and our ability to deliver instruction to them,” she added.

Safety? ACPS is turning 15,200 children loose on the city streets of Alexandria with this irresponsibly last minute decision affecting the schedules of many more thousands of people – working parents, siblings attending non-ACPS schools.

Nor is the decision egalitarian with regard to all ACPS staff, as six city schools will be open for two hours – one each for breakfast and lunch. Clearly not all women can participate in this silliness.

How will students with working parents get to school? Are the school busses running back and forth for both meal services? Will ACPS reimburse working parents’ lost wages for those who do not have appropriate care for their children and end up missing work on Wednesday?

Elsewhere in the region, sensibility rules the day. DC schools, Prince George’s County in Maryland, as well as Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia will operate business as usual.

Every teacher without a doctor’s notice for March 8th should lose a day’s pay. The residents of Alexandria should not have their property taxes wasted on the foolishness of people who put themselves first and not the children for which they have a responsibility to educate. The students of Alexandria have learned a valuable lesson while out of school – who’s not looking out for them.


Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He was a one-time candidate for the Alexandria School Board.

3 comments:

  1. Now that would mean, that those of the Left leaning persuasion, would have to realistic and think of doing life in review of subsequent consequences and that just does not happen very often when one is living with an utopian mindset! It's land of equality flatness where everyone loses ! Yes, it's a Day Without Brains because the Left has lost it's mind!

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  2. Good thing you were just a candidate and didn't get elected to our school board. Phew.

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  3. Excellent job.

    These women should be forced to face consequences for ditching work.

    I can't believe these people are allowed to teach children. They are supposed to be adults.

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