Read on Twitter
Unpopular personal opinion time: Children deserve a snow day. Inclement weather shouldn't result in a "distance learning" day. Children need the simply joys of a cancelled school day, a day to regroup, a day to take part in self-care activities.
Just because we can learn from home doesn't mean we should.
Students aren't "falling behind". They're somehow learning and growing and making connections *during a pandemic*. They're amazing. They're miraculous. Let them breathe.
Students aren't "falling behind". They're somehow learning and growing and making connections *during a pandemic*. They're amazing. They're miraculous. Let them breathe.
Teachers and educators deserve this time too, but I've given up on people *actually caring* whether or not we burn out.
IDK what if we gave kids something to look forward to
"It’s like we're in a boiling pot of water and eventually we're going to boil over," echoed 5th-grader Katie Wilkins. "A lot of this is really stressful — a great way to relieve stress is a snow day." https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/after-de-blasio-kills-snow-days-frustrated-students-vow-take-matters-our-own-hands
You can't complain about kids being on their devices all the time when you make them learn online all day instead of letting them play in the snow like kids have been doing since the dawn of time.
My school just called a "traditional" snow day tomorrow! 
Blessed. But thinking of all the NYC public students and teachers who have to miss out tomorrow.
Blessed. But thinking of all the NYC public students and teachers who have to miss out tomorrow.
I've noticed some *very cool* reply-guys RT-ing this screaming about who exactly thinks this is a popular opinion and the answer is: all the mayors and education administrators keeping their school systems open for long distance learning tomorrow. NYC being one of them.
This got far more traction than I intended it to, so of course I'm getting really hostile responses from strangers who don't work in schools or have kids.
Which, of course, you're entitled to your opinion no matter what, but maybe examine why a series of tweets about teaching during a pandemic is making you *so very upset* when you don't work in schools or have kids who attend them.
Main responses I'm getting include "UNPOPULAR OPINION, WHO IS THIS POPULAR WITH??
" and the answer is: education-related admin + mayors who are making the calls to keep schools open, at least remotely, today. This includes NYC, the largest school system in the states.
" and the answer is: education-related admin + mayors who are making the calls to keep schools open, at least remotely, today. This includes NYC, the largest school system in the states.
People of this opinion think students are already falling behind can't afford another lost day. I taught 4th graders last trimester who were downright despondent when snow made in-person learning impossible but instead of a day off they got another day of long distance learning.
Students' ability to engage and learn is not a finite resource. Very little learning got done that day. They were burnt out and lonely. These students have lost *so much* this year. They've lost recess+sitting together in the cafeteria+sports+singing+dancing.
Every new loss feels like a lot to them and either you're of the opinion that 8 year olds need to suck it up and learn multiplication no matter how hard + isolating their lives are or that we should be treating them with compassion and respect.
The other most common response is "UNPOPULAR OPINION, ABOLISH SCHOOLS SO STUDENTS DON'T NEED TO TAKE A SELF-CARE DAY TO RECOVER FROM IT".
First of all:
First of all:
Know this: If you are of the opinion that schools should be abolished, 1) You need to find a way to budget and support tf out of every other community resource because they will be flooded with 4-18 year olds.
Take it from a former public librarian: When schools are closed, for whatever reason, other community resources take a beating. So I hope you're out there donating your money and time to community centers and public libraries and the like.
2) Whatever you think schools should be replaced with, children will ALWAYS need self-care days. Growing up is difficult and exhausting and even more-so during a pandemic. There's no non-school alternative that won't result in least a little frustration and strife.
And if we're not here teaching kids about self-care in some capacity, we're going to have an entire generation that has no idea how to manage their feelings or exhaustion levels. Hi Boomers!
And last, all of Southern California is screaming at me because they don't get snow days. Take it from a self-centered NY-er: Not everything is about you. Snow brings entire Northern states to a standstill where people lose access to heat, shelter, and food.
People die in these storms every year. What are yelling at me for?
