Should School Just Switch To Online During A Snow Day?
The snow day is a Michigan tradition for kids, but the beloved snow day is coming under fire this year.
Normally kids everywhere begin their snow day rituals as soon as there is word of a major winter storm. Ice cubes down the toilet, spoons under the pillow, and a ton of other superstitions that kids do to bring on a snow day. 2020 has introduced us to virtual school though, and there are some parents barking online that school being cancelled on a snow day should be a thing of the past.
Just to be clear, I think the schools made the right decision to close today. Road conditions were dangerous, and with high wind and dropping temps, they were only getting worse.
2020 has shown us that school can be a completely virtual experience though, and that's what has some parents going after their schools online.
Community message boards on FB and other social sites were lighting up this morning after the cancellation messages went out. Some of the comments were suggesting that school should be happening online, no matter what the weather conditions.
The parents online are mistakenly assuming that teachers can teach their classes from home. At least I hope they are assuming that, because it would be a real jerk move to suggest that teachers should still drive in to school on a day with roads bad enough to close school.
The fact is that the vast majority of schools in Michigan require their teachers to be in the building for virtual learning. There are very few schools letting teachers actually teach from home during virtual learning.
Let's ignore all the facts though, and just ask why. Why do some people feel the need to be so bitter about everything? Did they forget the joy of having a snow day when they were a kid?
The virtual option has created a lot of opportunity for schools during an extremely tough time. Instead of trying to use it as an arguing point, we should be celebrating our teachers ability to pivot at a moments notice to keep teaching.
SEE MORE: Michigan Teacher Making Virtual School An Adventure