“Must be nice to have all those Snow Days!” said many people.
Well, here we are at the end of April, and I can unequivocally say: Nope.
Set aside the curriculum adjustments and the uncertainty over when the school year will end with make-up days tied up in the state legislature.
What really made all those Snow Days so terrible was the uncertainty. Students’ ability to maintain a rhythm was shot. Student with a predisposition for anxiety saw it skyrocket. Continuity in growth through the year was devastated.
Even now, with snow gone from our minds and tulips blooming joyously, the year feels palpably different thanks to some three weeks of cancelled classes. Even if every day were to be made up, the loss sustained from those Snow Days could never be recovered.
A Snow Day, here and there, provides lots of happy opportunities. Fifteen Snow Days impacts the minds and bodies of students and teachers much like I imagine a hurricane might – but without a hurricane to point the finger at.