I love a good Snow Day Reflection …
And there was a concern that, with the explosion of skills in remote synchronous teaching, there might never be another one. The good news is that many school districts seem to have committed to maintaining the status quo, at least for now.* So my kids are sleeping in this morning, and will wake up to a world transformed.
One thing I haven’t written about in the past is that Snow Days can teach us humility as a species. We have grown ever-more confident in the last 100+ years in our ability to rise above the challenges placed on us by the world around us.
Consider the Twin Cities Skyways, which enable some Minnesotans to commute to work without going outside for weeks on end. Consider our ever-increasing disconnection from the natural world. Consider the last year, when a global pandemic didn’t long damper our work lives, as we found new ways to still do our jobs without leaving our safe and comfortable homes. (This is not at all to discount the millions of people who lost jobs and livelihoods due to COVID-19. It’s just to point out that even ten years ago, this pandemic would have decimated our world to another order of magnitude, and that our mastery of technology is just another way that humans gain pride and disconnection from the rest of the world.)
We, humans, can use a little humility. Snow Days remind us that we are not always in charge. Sometimes, natural phenomena are powerful enough to stop us from executing our plans for the day. Snow Days remind us that we are part of the whole world around us, not separate from it. Snow Days remind us that we can’t ignore the world.
* I think it’s good news to keep Snow Days for several reasons. First, as outlined above, they’re a lesson all on their own, if you’re paying attention. Second, the last thing I want when the roads aren’t safe is for teachers to still have to head out in the dark to teach from their classrooms; requiring them to teach synchronously from home is not a solution. Third, Snow Days are by definition unplanned – so the percentage of students who will not be able to participate will be too significant for educational equity. Fourth, we are witnessing the ever-expanding reach of school’s impact on kids lives: from amount of homework, to number of instructional days, to graduation requirements. Having a moment to remind us that the school isn’t the ultimate arbiter of our kids’ lives is a good thing.