It's so difficult, being a white guy in the western world. (The Subdudes)
School of Hard Knocks
Posted on Wednesday, February 15, 2006.
http://harpers.org/SchoolOfHardKnocks.html
From a school-trip permission form sent in September 2005 to parents of eighth-grade pupils at the Queen Elizabeth Junior and Senior High School, in Calgary, Canada.
Originally from Harper's Magazine, December 2005.
POTENTIAL HAZARDS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING:
Bus travel to and from site: Motion sickness, injury from other person’s motion sickness, injury from being thrown during sudden massive negative or positive acceleration, tripping hazard when entering or exiting vehicle or moving down the aisle, overheating during transit, objects coming through open windows, injuries from vehicle being involved in accident, chill hazard from open windows, injury from student putting head or limbs out of window, injury caused by own or other student’s inappropriate behavior.
Entire trip: Slipping or tripping getting on or off the bus, slipping while climbing stairs or pathway on the trail, exposure to pollens, food, dust, or other materials that might induce allergic reaction, dehydration, exposure to environmental conditions including cold, damp, warm, dry, hot, and sunny, tripping on sidewalk or paved pathways, attack or injury from wild animals, food-borne organisms in own or other students’ lunches, snacks, or drinks, electrical storms including lightning strikes, landslides on hills.
Viewing indoor exhibits at site: tripping hazard on stairs, bumping hazard from other viewers, pinching hazard from doors, slipping hazard on wet floor or pavement, injury from collapsing exhibits.
Viewing outdoor section at site: Slipping on wet ground, excessive dust from dry ground, exposure to various fungi, bacteria, or viruses in the air, soil, or rocks, falling down small hillside or trails, chill from exposure to wet or cool weather conditions, exposure to excessive heat or sunlight, falling in pond and getting hypothermia, falling in pond and drowning, drinking water from pond and developing giardiasis (beaver fever) or ingesting other potentially harmful organisms, rash from touching some plants, infection from skin puncture from some plants, risk of getting lost or harmed if student sneaks away from group, risk of injuring foot, leg, or body by stepping into animal-made or erosion-created holes, risk of tree falling and landing on student.
This is School of Hard Knocks, a reading, originally from December 2005, published Wednesday, February 15, 2006. It is part of Education, which is part of Readings, which is part of Harpers.org.
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