What Ever Happened To Patrol Boys?

Failing Education

Whatever became of Patrol Boys? Recently, I was hanging out with a couple of friends, remembering the good old days. Our reminiscing took us back to elementary and junior high school…a long time ago. Our conversation has been gnawing at me as I have taught in the Chicago Public School system for twenty-nine years.

In the early 1970’s being selected to be a patrol boy was a highly coveted and a position of great responsibility. I remember getting that orange belt after going through patrol training, learning how to fold and roll that belt, and standing in front of the mirror modeling - it was the thing! Patrol Boys ensured safe crossings at intersections surrounding the school; there were no paid adult crossing guards. The patrol boy was dismissed five minutes before the bell to get to his corner. The patrol boy had to maintain his grades and had a duty to report those who did not cross safely. How did I get patrol boy? Well, we go back to the fifth grade when I earned my first school job as Flag Boy. The Flag Boys were a team of two boys who were charged with the raising and lowering of the flag every day. My best friend, Jeff, and I were selected for the task. Every morning we had to arrive at school a few minutes early and report to the office to get the flag. One of us went to our classroom (on the second floor directly facing the playground flagpole) and the other would go to the flagpole. In the classroom, one would open the window at the back of the room, reach out on the ledge, untie the flagpole ropes, and lower the rope to his partner at the pole. The flag would then be attached to the pole, raised, tied off, and the ropes pulled back up to the ledge and secured. At the end of each school day, we were dismissed a few minutes early to reverse the process, lower and fold the flag, and return the flag to the office. We had to learn how to fold that flag and it had to be done perfectly. One day we were instructed to raise the flag halfway, which seemed strange, but that is what we did. We didn’t know why, but the adults were sad and serious.

The following year, in sixth grade, I applied for and was selected to be a milk boy. There were four of us and our job was to deliver the morning milk cartons to each classroom. For this job, we had to be at school half an hour early. We received the list of all the classrooms and how many cartons of regular and chocolate (yes CHOCOLATE) to each class. We would get the milk crates from the lunchroom coolers and make up the trays for delivery. Then we ran around the school delivering milk before the kids came in. As you might imagine, we figured out a system where we got the deliveries done in a hot minute and then went to the gym to shoot hoops. We also conspired to share our homework, dividing the load so nobody had to do all of the homework, it was an awesome system.

These jobs along with others such as blackboard washing, eraser cleaning, and mimeograph pick up, all led to the recommendation for patrol boy. The Patrol Boy job came with perks such as getting out of school before the bell, and hot chocolate after duty on those cold days, but you had to be outside on those cold, rainy, snowy days. It was not a job for the faint of heart.

So what's the point? Well, teaching in a large, metropolitan school district for nearly twenty-nine years one thing that sticks out is the lack of grit. Something is seriously wrong in our society, and that something is that we do not allow our children to experience responsibility and develop grit. All of those elementary and junior high school jobs taught responsibility: getting to school early, doing a thorough job, facing the elements, getting harangued by bullies. We built grit. Most, if not all, of the parents of my current students are millennials and the mere suggestion that a parent should allow anything that would require actual hard work is horrifying to these overprotective folks. Students are not allowed outdoor recess if the outdoor temperature is below thirty-five degrees. Can you imagine a twelve-year-old as a crossing guard? Chicago Public Schools spends $22 million on a program called Safe Passage, https://www.cps.edu/about/finance/budget/budget-2024/budget-overview-2024/#:~:text=%2422%20million%20for%20Safe%20Passage,during%20summer%20programs%20and%20activities where individuals of questionable repute are tasked with protecting children en route to and from school. Crossing guards in Chicago, according to indeed.com earn $17/hour https://www.indeed.com/career/crossing-guard/salaries/Chicago--IL. This was the job a kid did for a mug of hot chocolate and a hot dog picnic at the end of the school year.

Maybe I’m just getting old and falling into that “back when I was a kid” mentality, maybe not. I’ve seen this change over my 29-year experience and it's getting worse. Kids are bored. Everything is done for them, they have no grit.

Let me know what you think, comment, and share. I am looking forward to your responses.