No More School Snow Days
A childhood holiday will be claimed by technology
As we head into the heat of the summer and school concludes with Zoom end-of-year ceremonies and drive-by graduations, classrooms have become a distant memory. For the past few months, students have been frustrated, bored, and have genuinely missed school. Now, they can’t wait to return in the fall. But not too long ago, aside from playing hooky like Ferris Bueller, time spent at home on a weekday was reserved for a select few days when administration closed school doors temporarily. Like snow days.
Ah, snow days. It’s hard to imagine there was a time when students actually wanted to stay home. But come with me in the wayback machine and remember the thrill upon sighting the first snowflake from your bedroom window on a school day. It could only mean one thing to a kid: school was closed and you had a free pass for the day.
But perhaps, not any longer. Though few are declaring success, the global digital teaching trial has come to an end and districts are using those learnings to develop reopening strategies. In whole or in part, video conferencing and digital teaching tools will be used by districts to support the continuity of learning. And as they do, beginning with the fall semester, it’s possible that unplanned school closures may be eliminated entirely.
