Weather or Not

As my students left our classroom last Friday afternoon snowflakes filled the air. The weather report had been getting worse and worse all day and, even though I know they weren't checking their phones for updates like I was, they all seemed to know Snow Days Were Possible. That wonderful mix of a little bit of knowledge and a whole lot of hope blended together like ice and slush in the clouds, turning them all into meteorologists. "You see, Mr Robertson, there is a cold front moving in over the mountains, and that will carry with it a 98% chance of precipitation, and since the temperature will be below freezing (thank you for teaching us that, bee-tee-dubs), the roads will become dangerously icy and perhaps even snowy. As you can tell, we probably won't have school Monday."

Friday night fulfilled that promise. It snowed good. Good for here, so a couple of inches. I know I know, all my Mid-Western and Canadian friends scoff when they hear that, but that's because I live in a part of the country that doesn't expect to be covered in snow four months of the year. They live where settlers reached, built up, got snowed on, and then couldn't be bothered to tear down and move on to a more comfortable clime. I live where people saw that snow and said, "Forget that frozen noise" and kept right on moving west. Portland and the surrounding areas are incapable of dealing with snow, and even when there's not snow we get serious ice. The Friday night in question, however, simply snowed and snowed a lot. Deep enough to build snowmen and go sledding all without reaching the grass layer. The weather report said that this would continue through the weekend and on into the next week. Before I left on Friday another teacher had joking remarked, "Well...see you in two weeks."

Then it stopped snowing. Then it rained. And everything melted away. As a precaution my school district had a two hour late start this Monday, just in case the ice needed a little more time to melt. It wasn't needed though. The roads were fine.

My kids felt so betrayed. They had been promised snow days! The internet showed days and days of little cloud icons with tiny cartoon snowflakes. Phrases like "up to ten inches" were used*. Then nothing! How dare the weather lie!

I exaggerate for comedic effect, of course. No one was stomping their feet and huffing at school today. But there was a definite sense of WTFness. Expectation unfulfilled.

Personally, I am happy there were no snow days *knocks on wood*. I don't like the snow. I grew up in the desert and then moved to Hawaii. Until I moved to Oregon I had actively avoided snow. Snow sucks. It's cold and wet and no one can drive in it. So just as a personal preference I'm glad the snow chose not to fall. But also as a teacher, snow days are awful. Most of the time. There's snow much to do and snow little time. I can't flake on the mid-year assessments, and it's easy to drift off the pacing guide with too many missed days. Snow days always result in flurries of activity later.

How should I feel about my kids being excited about not having school? Should I take it personally? Some would argue that it means I'm not doing my best work if my kids are happy about missing school. The kids should be snow excited about coming to school every day! They should love school that much. These people, who get listened to mostly because they talk with authority regardless of weather or not they deserve it, go further and accuse me of not doing my best work if I myself am happy about a snow day.

Snow days suck because they put us behind. I need every single day I can get.

Snow days are pretty freaking sweet. An unexpected day off always is. And feeling like you're promised one and then not getting it is a bummer.

I tell my kids I don't like them having any days off. Holidays, weekends, whatever. I tell them I want them at school all the time. Of course, I also tell them I want them to enjoy their breaks, relax, and try to read and get a little math in if they can. Double message? No, two sides of the same coin.

Teachers who are excited about snow days are human. That's it. Now, teachers who complain endlessly about not getting a snow day are obnoxious, even if they're joking. We all work with one, laughing a little too loudly at their own jokes-but-not-jokes-because-jokes-are-funny about having to be back while making copies. But they are few and far between.

Currently the weather report for my area says we're getting snow Tuesday night, and it might be bad enough to cancel schools. But over the last 72 hours the weather report has changed forty-seven times. Will I be sad if school gets canceled? Yes, because we've got a lot to do and I like spending time with those kids. Will I be happy if school get canceled? Yes, because I like spending time with my own family and any extra day with them is welcomed, plus the break from teaching is also nice. Do I want my students to be excited about snow days? Yes, because I like the idea that children are excited about things. I don't take it personally. I loved school, and I still loved a day off.

I'll continue to check the weather reports hourly on my phone during this cold snap. I need to know if I have to set my alarm like normal, set it back an hour, or turn it off and let my loud children wake me up instead.

*giggle

If you like this post and the other posts on this blog you should know I’ve written three books about teaching- He’s the Weird Teacher, THE Teaching Text (You’re Welcome), and A Classroom Of One. I’ve also written one novel- The Unforgiving Road. You should check them out, I’m even better in long form. I’m also on the tweets @TheWeirdTeacher.