We have adapted to so many changes and routines due to the pandemic. It has affected our daily lives, and we have all become so flexible and accustomed to various changes and creative alternatives due to the virus. One of the more stressing concerns about the new way of learning due to the pandemic is whether or not we will still be able to experience the beloved, cherished, and appreciated snow days.
As a community, we have gained and lost so many things due to the new way of life with virtual learning. Technology has been able to keep the community safe while still allowing us to learn. Technological advancements have changed our society greatly over the past year. One must wonder what it would be like without the advanced technology saving our education.
People have assumed since we have the ability to learn from home that snow days will be abolished forever. However, not everyone agrees that this should be the case. Some school officials want to keep the cherished tradition of snow days alive and not make 2020 worse than it already has become. Snow days have become a major controversy with questions arising as to whether they should be removed and we should resort to remote learning from home.
The main purpose of snow days is that students are safe from commuting to school in the hazardous weather; moreover, it is a day that serves as a spontaneous break from the week. While students still receive homework, it is different from sitting through lectures all day at home in front of a computer screen. Being able to go outside and help your family clear the snow off the sidewalks or go sledding and enjoy the various snow day activities that we have all been able to experience since a very young age has been a beloved tradition for so many years.
Students of all ages crave snow days. They even go to the lengths of spoons under their pillows and wish tremendously that they will receive a phone call that school is canceled the next day. The COVID-19 pandemic has already taken away so many activities from kids, including sports, school trips, concerts, and more. Taking away snow days would really be the cherry on top of all of the activities that have already been removed due to the pandemic. Additionally, all of these cherished activities have been canceled due to health repercussions, and having remote learning on a snow day would not alter our health safety.
Snow days are a way to have a break from the week. While we still are expected to do homework on these days, it is much different than sitting in front of a computer screen stuck inside for hours. Furthermore, mental health conditions have decreased dramatically since schools closed and students went remote. Studies have shown that anxiety, depression, and other serious mental health issues have been a result of learning from home and their normal life full of activities being shut down. The removal of snow days would only add to the stress that students already endure. There is really no point in holding online classes during these cold and snowy winter days.
Will the younger generation get to experience the joy of waking up to a phone call from their school saying school is canceled due to the coating of white snow in their yards? If they are canceled now, then it is likely that they will never come back and younger kids will not know the joy and tranquility they provided. Snow days should still be a day off from school, and they should not be abolished due to our accessibility to remote learning.
