Thoughts on the weather and attire

Two weeks ago, one of my students came in to class 20 minutes late, wearing fluffy ear muffs (it was in the 70s in CA then, making ear muffs an odd choice).  Since it was her 3rd late in a row, and since the rest of the students were doing some group work, I ushered her outside to have a conversation about arriving on time to class.  She kept the ear muffs on.  I kept wondering if she could hear me, while wearing ear muffs? -- obviously, she could, as she was actually apologetic and seemed genuinely willing to shape up, at least in terms of her timeliness.  But then I was still wondering if I should be asking her to take the ear muffs off, as "not wearing ear muffs" seems to me to be a more appropriate choice of attire when addressing an instructor, perhaps because they remind me of earphones, which students sometimes seem surprised to learn should not be worn in class.  But since she seemed to be listening to me, I didn't say anything, and she kept the ear muffs on, and then we went back into the room and she continued to keep the ear muffs on, all through class, actively participating and actively listening.  It is February, granted, but there are sure signs of global warming here in California and it was one of those hot, sticky days where the classroom feels stuffy and smells faintly of the sweat of a morning's worth of students.

Today, there is a buzz about snow -- people say it might snow in San Francisco for the first time since the 70s.  It feels cold enough.  Ear Muff Girl came to class in shorts today.