"I'm hot!"

"Common sense is not so common"- Author unknown

"Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it"- Author unknown

I do not expect my students to be perfect and I do not expect them to be little Einsteins. However, I do expect them to use their brains, think for themselves, and use common sense. Forget about reading, writing, and arithmetic. If there's one thing students sorely lack nowadays it's the ability to think. Case in point... The weather has been in the mid 80's this week. It has been sunny, hot, and humid. I have students who are wearing sweatshirts outside at recess time. When these students come back inside the building they whine and complain about how hot they are. I am flabbergasted when I have to tell a ten year old to take off a sweatshirt in summer like conditions. This would not be an issue if the students were silly enough to wear sweatshirts in summer and did not complain. In that case I'd say, "Knock yourselves out!". But the fact is the same students who are wearing sweatshirts are the same ones asking me to turn on the classroom fan to help cool them down. Here's a novel thought. I'm just spitballin' here, but have you tried, oh I don't know, maybe tried TAKING OFF YOUR SWEATSHIRT WHEN IT'S NEARLY 90 DEGREES OUTSIDE????????? Come on, man! THINK! Surely you (as a 10 year old) have enough sense to remove an article of clothing meant to keep you warm when you're hot! THINK! It's not rocket science! Step one--- I'm hot. Remove all clothing that school rules allow. Step two--- Sit still and let your body cool down. Step three--- Drink some water. It doesn't seem that tough to me, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot get these kids to stop wearing sweatshirts at recess in sweltering heat. I'm fighting a losing battle.