It’s time to cancel ‘snow days’
“Snow day.”
Those were once the two most glorious words ever uttered on an early morning radio broadcast.
When I was a kid in the ‘70s, it was pure heaven to wake to snow-blanketed hills, then tune into Jack Bogut’s KDKA morning show, praying he’d say our suburban school district was closed for the day.
As soon as our snow day was granted, we’d grab a bowl of cereal, layer up our clothing, then hit the sledding slopes for hours.
So I read with interest — and sadness — that many school districts across the country are putting an end to snow days.
Thanks mainly to remote learning technologies, bad weather and other emergencies are no longer reasons to shut down schools.
Technology has made the snow day a relic of our past, but why should it be the only relic of our educational system to go?
Why, for example, do kids still get 10 weeks off from school every summer? Are they still tilling fields and tending to livestock?
Education experts know that a long summer away from school causes learning loss among most students, as their math and reading skills regress.
This is particularly true among poorer students whose families cannot afford things like the summer learning programs wealthier kids enjoy.
...continued
Copyright 2022 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
