[DOOR FLIES OPEN]

As August winds down & September beckons, I’m reminded of a particular quirk in North American education programs.

Why do US schools open in August?

I’m constantly reminded of this seeming anachronism every year, but the COVID issue has made it particularly acute, as it’s on the news constantly. Do southern schools have A/C? Because that would be the only way it could be plausible for a Georgia school to be open in August, at least to me. I taught summer school for a decade, which ran six weeks from the start of July to the middle of August. That was hot enough in a Canadian brick & mortar school. I can’t imagine the internal temperatures of the buildings in the Palm Spring Unified School District, but GinMom routinely informs me every year that school has returned in the Valley.

Plus, I know how much US teachers are paid, and even with the exchange rate I make 1/3 more than the highest paid US public non-football coach school teacher. Summer school is a bonus on top of regular salary up here. I couldn’t bear having to go back to work when it’s still technically summer, and into a building with a temperature that would make a Russian leave his sauna.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Dallas Stars vs. Colorado Avalanche – 6:00PM | NBCSN / Sportsnet1
    • Game 4 – Dallas leads 2-1
  • Philadelphia Flyers vs. NY Islanders – 8:00PM | NBC / Sportsnet
    • Game 4 – NYI leads 2-1
  • Vancouver Canucks vs. Vegas Golden Knights – 10:30PM | NBCSN / CBC
    • Game 4 – Vegas leads 2-1
• NBA:
  • Nuggets vs. Jazz – 8:30PM | TNT / TSN
    • Game 6 – Jazz lead 3-2
• MLB:
  • Braves at Phillies – 7:00PM | ESPN / ESPN2 / TSN3
• MLS Soccer:
  • Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC – 10:00PM | FS1

Enjoy your evening.