As a child I loved snow days, especially if I had a test or I hadn't completed my homework. I would go to bed and pray intensely for half the night hoping for a major blizzard. I was overjoyed on the few times my prayers were answered, and devastated the multitude of times they were not.
When I was a working, single mother with three young children and a grandmother to support, I worked nights, which didn't leave me as much time with the children as I would have liked. I loved snow days. I could let the children sleep late, we would go out and build snowmen and have snowball fights, go back in and have hot chocolate with marshmallow thick and goopy melting over the edge of the mug.
There was also the time when we lived on a mountain and the school bus had to travel on a ledge along the deep side of the lake and up a mountain road that had cliffs. The road was not a priority road with the Road Department, the Superintendent of Schools hadn't canceled school in spite of the three inches of snow that had already fallen. I made the decision to keep the children home that day. Even though I kept them home for weather reasons and it wasn't supposed to count as an absence, it kept daughter #3 from getting an award for perfect attendance.
Why am I bringing up past history?
In the past two years the schools in Massachusetts have canceled schools before a single flake of snow has fallen. They have based the closures on weather reports, most of which have been accurate. However, this has not gone over well with some parents and their employers.
We have to find a way to help working parents when schools are closed. The schools have been right to close, because they are looking out for the safety of the students, teachers, bus drivers, etc.
Parents should be able to enjoy snow days too, but for the ones who have to work anyway, we need to find a way to keep their children safe.
Everyone should be able to enjoy snow days.
The only reason I decided to comment on the blog was to commend you on turning it into an article with further purpose--to encite others to work on ways to aid working parents when school is shut down.
ReplyDeleteHere in northern Minnesota schools are sometimes closed when temperatures become so low there is an imminent danger for frostbite or exposure.
I hope child #3 got over her resentment at missing the perfect attendance award.
I appreciate your comment.
DeleteAs far as #3 does it still comes up occasionally. :)
I remember back in the 70s there was usually one mother in the neighborhood or the apartment building who was around during the day that we could trust to watch the kids. (I worked nights, so that was usually me.) But that was in a city/suburban type of area. Once we moved to the country and there were half mile stretches between houses things were different.
During one of our snow days in January when the snow hadn't started yet, the local Boys and Girls Club opened their doors for any kids who needed it while parents went to work. For FREE! We need more places that are willing to do that.