Back to School 2023
Just has seems to happen each year, the summer – at least the school vacation part of it – is winding down, and the new term is ready to begin. If there are a few sad faces around your home in these last weeks of August, at least part of it may have to do with the opening of schools.
It is no secret that much of what we do as a society, the way we schedule our lives, businesses, and social calendars, has much to do with the academic year. Social and fraternal organizations base their business years on the academic calendar as do many other parts of society.
For those of school or college age, that means the return to the schedule and structure of the scholastic year. And for those beginning the new term, we wish them a happy and challenging year, full of learning and the fun that goes with friends and activities.
For those of us in the work-a-day world, there is a certain nostalgia for school and our experiences, where life seemed a bit simpler, and responsibilities not as taxing. But we realize that with the beginning of school comes the end of the vacation season and beginning of a more ordered schedule.
So, for those getting back into the swing of the school year, good luck and do well! For those off to college or grad school, best wishes for fulfilling your dreams of a degree. While the fun and sun of summer might be coming to an end – as all good things must – getting back into the rigor of a schedule is an education unto itself and should be appreciated for the good habits it will afford you in your future lives.
Drivers be alert!
Meanwhile, the new school year serves as a reminder to motorists they must be more aware of school children, school buses, and following the rules of the road. It is no secret more and more motorists are treating stop signs, stop lights, and rights of way not as laws, but as suggestions.
We are alarmed at the growing number of drivers who seem to believe that red lights are for everyone else, and not them. Running a red light used to be a mistake or a rarity. It is becoming more common and more dangerous, with drivers playing chicken with crossing traffic just to get beyond the light.
Stop signs, too, are ignored in greater numbers. We are aware daily of drivers not even coming to rolling stops, but barreling through stop signs as if they are exempt from the rules of the road.
This laxity of compliance has led to people ignoring school bus signals. Last year, in our travels we noted an uptick of people passing school buses with flashing red lights. This can be a dangerous decision that can be life-changing for the driver, and life-ending for a child.
We see this wave of ignoring traffic laws as a symptom of our eroding social mores. Our society is becoming more and more lawless, and that lawlessness is siphoning its way down to traffic laws.
We urge motorists to be on guard at the beginning of the school year, and to redouble a personal effort to comply with traffic laws that are a means of keeping us all safe.
One wrong decision because of arrogance or negligence can have life-altering consequences.