Another storm day...

Here I am on another stormy Tuesday... or what was a stormy Tuesday earlier this morning. I'm sure that the right decision was made to cancel school this morning so that students' safety on buses, walking to school, etc could be assured.

I wouldn't want to make that call. I wouldn't want to be the one making the decision that is always going to make some people irate.

Storm days are a source of much debate for the general public.

"Why should teachers get the day off?"

Unlike many people who are stormed in or travelling on wintry roads, it's a real matter of importance for a teacher to be able to get to work better than on time. Someone has to be there to great the kids getting off the buses or out of their parents' cars. That bell rings to start my school day at 8:50 promptly... with students sitting in their desks... whether I've managed to make the trek or not. I can't simply delay my work for an hour if I need to shovel out. I can't let my "office" simply handle itself. It's a different kettle of fish all together.

But do teachers really get the day off? I'll be working all day at my report cards; something for which I'm grateful, because if today wasn't a storm day, I'd be doing these report cards every evening and weekend from now until they're due at my principal's office. Last time I checked my pay cheque, I didn't get the overtime pay for that last term... hhhmmmmmmm....

Below is a response I wrote to another teacher's blogpost re: storm days. My response deals with school being cancelled part way through the day, instead of first thing in the morning.

I don't think these storm days are "free" days in any shape or form...

Here's a link to the blog post: 

Here's my response:

This post made its way to my facebook feed this evening. Today I was honoured to be graced with *half* a snow day. Imagine. As I trudged on my 1/2 hr drive to work... knowing full well that school would end up being cancelled within an hour or two instead of taking the precautionary route... I thought over my morning's lesson on facts vs opinions. I grappled with how my struggling readers would attend to the lesson. The lesson went on. The adaptations and differentiations were successful. There was a lot of fact vs. opinion discussion surrounding it becoming a "snow day" or not.

Then it happened. At 10:02 am. The principal met me in the hallway to warn me to "Start making the phone calls." Sigh. I continued to the photocopier to get my papers. I intercepted a phone call to a colleagues parent re: school being cancelled midday and arranged his departure. Then, I headed to my classroom to personally phone the parents or emergency contacts of each of my students.... from my cell phone, as the school only has 3 outgoing lines and about 20 people lined up to use them. I scrambled to contact and make arrangements for one last student. I phoned cell phones, work numbers, brothers, sisters, aunts. 

And once all of my students were safely on route to their homes on their buses, I waited for the cue to leave so I could drive my usually 1/2 hr home in a now-started snow storm.

I begrudged this snow day; but, I certainly do not begrudge most.
I agree wholeheartedly -- snow days are part of my job.