More Schools Take More Snow Days

Many children can relate to hearing stories from their grandparents about "walking uphill to school in blizzards" every day of the week. They hear that their ancestors never had a so-called "snow day," but instead were required to arrive on time at their educational facilities no matter what the condition of the weather happened to be. These same grandparents (and even parents) are often appalled at the speed that schools decide to cancel classes due to inclement weather these days. With the drastic winter weather that has raged throughout the entire Midwest of America this year, many schools have cancelled classes. While some may say that the administration of these schools is wrong to do so (since it might never have been done decades ago), here is a closer examination of some of the possible reasons that the administration has been so hasty to close their schools today.

In early December of the past year, schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma were canceled because of "extreme cold temperatures." This was a decision that caused much mocking of the administration, with parents wondering if principals would also choose to cancel classes during the month of August due to extremely high temperatures. However, while this may seem like an absurd excuse for a day off of school, we should all realize that most school calendars have built in more "snow days" than they ever make use of during the average school year. Because of this, some schools actually end up keeping their pupils in sessions for more days than required by law, simply because they have been extra careful in planning their school year calendars. Therefore, while some may laugh at the decision to cancel classes so quickly, they must also realize that their children's education is not being greatly affected as a result of the unexpected breaks.

Additionally, it seems that many college campuses are also cancelling classes due to inclement weather more frequently within recent years. This is most likely a trend due to several factors, with the primary one being the increased amount of commuters studying on college campuses. Whether due to over packed dormitories or to the cheaper cost of living off of campus, most colleges have seen an increase in the number of students enrolled as commuters; because of this, it is simply neither practical nor fair to hold classes on days where ice or snow could prevent commuting students (and professors) from safely reaching the campus.

With cooler temperatures hitting the Midwest again this year, there will most likely be many schools taking advantage of their "snow" days. While some may scorn these decisions, they may actually be the best decisions in the interest of all parties involved.