West Michigan has been getting slammed with snow ever since Thanksgiving, and while this is a welcome return to the snowy holidays that many Michiganders expect, it is also a brutal reminder that, yes, this is a cold and snowy place to live. However, one of the single best benefits of snow is the joy of having a snow day.
A day where you can go out with your friends, play in the snow, and get an unexpected break from everything going on in your day-to-day. *cough* I mean stay safe at home and not be on dangerous roads. Obviously. But, while watching the school closing announcements this morning a thought occurred to me.
⬇SNOWFALL TOTALS SINCE THANKSGIVING IN MICHIGAN⬇
Instead of the school calling a snow day, the schools could switch online for the day. This was always a possibility after the COVID-19 pandemic, considering how schools had to adapt to online classes during lockdown. The pandemic proved it is possible, though teachers and students have had a lackluster reaction since enduring schooling.
All schools in Michigan are allowed ~6 “forgiven days” that allow schools to have 6 days of closures without needing to make that time up. These are typically used for snow days. While choosing to hold classes online most likely saves the need to use these days, coordinating an entire day’s schooling online on short notice could be more of a hassle than it is worth. Plus, not all students may have access to wifi, especially if there are power outages.
I understand never wanting to waste a day and lesson plans being thrown off, but it seems like more of a hassle to do online schooling than just accepting a snow day.
Universities have been toying with online classes for a while now, but this isn’t all that surprising considering a majority of coursework takes place online anyway. Owning a laptop is essential for college students so the administration choosing to hold online classes rather than canceling isn’t unrealistic…