A Coat, Common Sense, and the Responsibilities We Still Hold as Parents

As many of you know, the heat at Clay County Middle School was out recently when students returned from Thanksgiving break. The school was cold, and it was undeniably a difficult situation for everyone involved.

Parents shared concerns—as they should—and a few individuals looking to gain attention on social media shared their opinions as well. And sure, like with any situation, when you look back, you can always see ways something could have been handled better. That part doesn’t surprise me. What did surprise me, however, was the number of parents who said their children didn’t wear a coat that morning.

And it wasn’t because they didn’t have a coat.
It was because they didn’t want to carry a coat from class to class.

Let me repeat that: it was below 30 degrees outside, and many students left home without a coat—not due to lack of access, but because it was inconvenient.

When I was growing up, my mother would have never let me leave the house without a coat on a cold day. If I had tried, I’d have been talked to pretty sternly and handed one anyway. It was simple, basic parenting. Winter brings a lot of “what ifs”—and responsible parents prepare for them.

What if the school bus heat went out?
What if the school building lost heat?
What if the kids went outside for any reason in freezing weather?

Coats exist for a reason. So does parental authority.

This whole situation brought back memories of my own high school years. Today’s students have the luxury of staying inside one building all day long. Those of us who attended high school before 1991 remember something very different. We had six buildings scattered around the hill, and we walked outside—rain, snow, heat, whatever Mother Nature gave us.

Let me give you a scenario our younger parents today may struggle to imagine.

My second-period study hall was in the old H building, which is now City Hall. My third-period drafting class was all the way out by the Ag building, next to the Kozy Motel. When that bell rang, you practically sprinted across the bridge at U.S. 421, through the parking lot, and over to the Ag building—just trying to beat the next bell.

If it was thunder and lightning, they might hold the bell. But if it was simply raining? The bell rang on time. You walked in it. If you got wet because you didn’t bring a coat, that was your decision—and your consequences.

We didn’t go home and complain. We didn’t get on social media to vent frustrations. We dealt with life the way it came. It made us responsible. It made us prepared.

And that brings me to my point.

Yes, the situation at CCMS could have been handled differently. But at the end of the day, parents have a responsibility to send their children to school prepared. Prepared for weather. Prepared for delays. Prepared for the unexpected—because things happen. Buses break down. Heat goes out. Equipment fails. That’s reality.

And it will happen again.

If your child needs to wear a coat, take a coat, or carry a coat—then that’s simply what needs to happen. Even if they say “no.” Even if it’s inconvenient. Even if they don’t want to.

Because preparing a child for the world—even for cold weather—is still the parent’s job.