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The Case for Snow Days: a thread.
Hey @RIDeptEd, I know you're busy. But hear me out.
Virtual learning is not meant for snow days. Full stop.
Hey @RIDeptEd, I know you're busy. But hear me out.
Virtual learning is not meant for snow days. Full stop.
Virtual learning has opened up so many opportunities for our students and teachers. And that's great! But it's not perfect. And before you decide if you'll be using it during inclement weather cancellations, consider a few things.
There are families that still don't have reliable access to secure internet and technology. VL has blown open wide the space between our most vulnerable students and their more privileged peers. Students with IEPs and special needs will spend the next few years
trying to recapture progress lost during the closure last spring, if they can even catch up at all. Families are living on the razor thin line between barely making it, and extreme poverty. People are tired, stressed, and scared.
Rarely does a snow storm shut the state down for days. In fact, only recently have storms begun to knock-out power long term during weather events (a thread for another day). In those rare instances where you are considering a long term shut down, VL may have a place.
But when you're thinking about this week, and the first major snow storm of the year, consider where we are at with Covid. Numbers higher than ever. Outcry in districts where schools are still learning in-person. Lack of subs available for schools with too many
staff in quarantine to safely staff a building.
We all deserve a little joy in our lives. Sleds and snow tubes are great, but all a kid really needs for snow is a warm jacket and a friend to throw a snowball at. Don't make worried parents hover over their kids while watching
We all deserve a little joy in our lives. Sleds and snow tubes are great, but all a kid really needs for snow is a warm jacket and a friend to throw a snowball at. Don't make worried parents hover over their kids while watching
the snow fall out the window, thinking about shoveling and keeping the house warm and safely getting to and from work. Or worse, thinking of lost wages if their work closes for a snow day.
Give people one less thing to worry about. If its not safe to ask staff and students
Give people one less thing to worry about. If its not safe to ask staff and students
to drive to school, then people are holding space for worry & stress. Don't add to it. Tell people to play in the snow. Tell people to focus on staying warm and safe. Let snow days be something joyful.
2020 has taken so much. Let us have snow days.
2020 has taken so much. Let us have snow days.
