Head Cold
Actually, I guess it’s more like a head ache…for the teachers at one particular middle school that is. You see, they’ve been spending a lot of time and effort dealing with students who are complaining about their hats.
The kids are losing them.
Yes, it happened when I was a kid and it happened when my sons were in school, but there’s a big difference here.
These hats cost $350.
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Knit caps made by Italian apparel company Moncler have become THE fashionable clothing item this year at the Great Neck North Middle School on Long Island, New York. Many parents are shelling out the princely sum of $350 for the hats so their kids can pop them atop their heads in the frigid temperatures of that northern state.
I’ve seen the hats. They are beautiful and they look warm. They come in a rainbow of colors, are made of pure virgin wool, and have a fox-fur pom pom on top. The Moncler website describes them, as “extremely soft pure wool to tackle the most hostile urban temperatures, like sudden snowfall on a ski slope.”
The site goes on to say that the hats are “an accessory with almost architectural surfaces and an exuberant personality, an elegant athletic detail, the perfect finishing touch to all your winter looks.” The child-size version retails for $170, but is currently out of stock.
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The small-size toboggans being out of stock is not the predicament in Great Neck though. The problem is, as with most things for middle school kids, it’s a case of “out of sight, out of mind.”
Some kids wear the costly caps to school and then promptly forget about them just long enough for the knit topper to disappear, pom pom and all. Then the students complain to their teachers and the administration has to waste their time hat-hunting rather than educating.
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Yes, that’s the problem. I know I’m old fashioned but I was raised in a time when teachers were responsible for teaching “the three Rs” with a liberal amount of discipline thrown in to ensure everyone was paying attention. That’s pretty much it and I think that’s plenty.
I lost lots of clothing items at school, and home, and everywhere in between. But the problem was pretty much mine. Well, you could say it was my mom’s too, but that made it mine, believe me.
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Most of you know my mother and two sisters were teachers; my mother-in-law was a teacher; and two of my sons and their wives are teachers, so I’m at least a little aware of what it takes to teach on a daily basis.
Educators have to teach their subjects to an overstuffed classroom full of kids, many of whom are not the least bit interested in paying attention, or even learning. Others have difficulty understanding and require extra help. And there are some who find it all too easy and so the teacher struggles to keep their interest. And don’t forget the constant effort of teaching boys and girls in the same classroom while keeping them appropriately separate. Plus there are the disciplinary problems. Bullying, teasing, flirting, playing, boasting, yelling, screaming, and falling asleep – all have to be dealt with. Sending home announcements, order forms, permission slips, and carefully worded notes to parents who think their kids never do anything wrong. Then they have to collect homework and excuses along with most of those same things they just sent home. Don’t forget sorting out conflicts, hurt feelings, and broken hearts while constantly being on the alert for the same.
And those are just a few things I thought of in a couple minutes of thought.
And they have to do all that on much lower pay than they should.
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The administrators at Great Neck sent a note home to parents. “We understand that fashion is very important to our middle schoolers. However, we have had many students who have worn their Moncler Winter Pom Pom hats to school, and either lost or misplaced them.”
The note continued, “We need your help! Please try and redirect your middle schooler from wearing these hats to school. … It has consumed a great deal of our time trying to locate these missing hats, and it has been disruptive to the students’ focus and time as well.”
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Like I said, I grew up in a different time. Back then the principal or teacher would send a note home saying, “Send your children to school wearing expensive clothing at your own risk. We won’t waste our time looking for lost articles. If we do happen to find some, you can look for them in our lost and found container.
“Oh, and that box is first come, first served so, if you want your stuff back, write your kid’s name in big, bold, preferably bright colored, letters.
“Have a nice day.”
There you go; problem solved. Glad I could help.
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