I've seen lots of posts lately on social media questioning, "Why do I live here?!" I'd like to preface this post by saying that I don't work outside. There are no animals that I need to care for that live outside of my house. I'm not in the field of public safety. As a teacher, I'd like to think that I'm an essential employee, but in reality, when my students aren't in school due to weather, I have options for whether or not I will go in to work in a quiet building.
I love Minnesota. I love it in the summer. I love it in the fall. I love it in the spring. And yes, I love it in the winter. I was born in Minnesota. I've lived here all my life, except for 3 months in college when I lived in Florida. And no, I didn't love it in Florida. Some people do! This girl didn't, so I was happy to come home. I adore Minnesota and am incredibly lucky as a teacher to teach what I love - Minnesota History!
Today, while driving into town during a winter weather advisory, I tried to be funny with my husband (who was doing the actual driving.) "Hey, get this," I said, "Winter weather advisory in December - 'Looks like we better stay home!' Winter weather advisory in February - 'What time should we head into town?' " Hahahahahaha, I laughed at my own joke. He didn't laugh. I said, "Sometimes I wonder if you even like it when I talk to you." He smirked, "Yeah, I like it. You think you're pretty funny." Yes, this is why I laugh at my own jokes, because I know that no one else will laugh or even understand my humor.
Where I live, our last few weeks have gone like this:
Monday, January 28th - No school due to snow and ice
Tuesday, January 29th - No school due to dangerous windchill (online learning day)
Wednesday, January 30th - No school due to dangerous windchill (online learning day)
Thursday, January 31st - No school due to dangerous windchill (online learning day)
Friday, February 1st - YAY! SCHOOL!
Monday, February 4th - No school due to snow and ice (online learning day)
Tuesday, February 5th - YAY! SCHOOL!
Wednesday, February 6th - YAY! SCHOOL! Our 6th grade students had a PERFECT Learn to Ski Day at a nearby ski hill.
Thursday, February 7th - No School due to snow and blowing (online learning day)
Friday, February 8th - 2 hour delay due to blowing snow
Now, here I am on Sunday, February 10th, staring into the face of another potential winter storm starting Monday night into Tuesday. Some models have suggested a possibility of 10+ inches of new snow.
Most people are gritting their teeth and again saying, "Why do I live here?!"
Me? I really, truly adore it. There is nothing better than sledding down our hill in fresh snow. Or waxing my cross country skis and going into the woods with huge flakes coming down. Or playing dominoes, or boggle, or something else with the kids. Or having a movie marathon, or two cups of coffee in the morning, or baking something yummy, or finishing a project that's been staring at me for too long.
Please, don't crucify me and other teachers on snow days with comments like, "What do teachers even get paid for anyway?! Did you see everything she likes about snow days? I wish I had a job where I didn't have to go in to work on a (scoff) snow day!"
The truth is, that I actually don't let myself enjoy any of those things (except the coffee) until after my school duties for the day are done. That includes answering emails from parents and students, getting up early to communicate with my team so that we can send a coordinated email regarding assignments for the day, or grading things that I took home with me anticipating a weather related delay or cancellation. Did you know that the time that a teacher puts in outside of contract hours is exponential? Please realize how passionate we are about our jobs and our community's children. We are so passionate that we will ignore our own children on a snow day so that we can answer a student's email about how he/she can earn extra credit because the grades on the regular credit are not up to par.
Again, before complaining about teachers on snow days, note above that we have had FIVE online learning days. This is something truly innovative. Something that for someone who doesn't observe it or plan for it, is really difficult to understand. We are educators. We KNOW that the best learning is done in the classroom. We are fully aware that there are some assignments given on snow days that kids can't or won't complete for a variety of reasons. This is why we HATE being gone from our students, even for legitimate reasons like weather or illness or our own child's illness or appointments. It's why I've scheduled FIVE appointments on President's Day when we don't have school. It's why I moved my mammogram from tomorrow to spring break, so I don't miss time in the classroom with my students.
Despite what one might think, online learning days can be valuable. They teach more lessons than just about particular subject areas. Online days teach perseverance and communication. When a student doesn't understand the assignment, he/she has to communicate via email or message to the teacher who has to be able to explain it without being physically present. A student sometimes has to search for where the online assignment is posted. Is it emailed? Is it posted online? Is it messaged? Is is a calendar item? An online assignment forces students to be independent. They don't have their peers or table mate to ask clarification questions or to get answers. And finally, it teaches follow through. If a student did not do the online assignment, he/she has to follow through and still complete it in a timely manner.
My own three kids have had varying levels of work to do on the online days. My freshman legitimately had 4+ hours of work each day. My seventh grader, and this could be due to how long it takes us to normally complete assignments, too, had about two to three hours of work. (Side note - we also realized this weekend that he was STILL missing three snow day assignments. Luckily his teachers are gracious enough to accept the late work. And yes, my son had consequences for those missing assignments.) My 6th grader had an hour of reading each day and an assignment from each core class. Altogether, probably 1.5 - 2 hours of work.
So, you see, snow days aren't what they used to be. It's not a free for all for students and teachers. We don't get "paid to do nothing." We get paid to do our jobs, just like every other day. We grade, we communicate, we team with our colleagues, we post assignments, we plan ahead.
And again, I realize that there are LOTS of people who don't get to stay home and do their jobs remotely. I do not envy your position, where you have to put your job above your own personal safety. I do not envy those people who keep us safe when we have to go out and I give them my utmost respect.
As I've gotten older, I've become less of a complainer or lamenter. I choose to embrace what is happening, because really, there's nothing I can do about it anyway - especially when it comes to the Minnesota winter weather. While I won't ever be a "when it's raining, dance in the rain" kind of person (I'd much rather watch it rain from inside), I AM an "embrace the winter" Minnesotan. It's why I live here. It's one of the reasons I love it here. And, it's one of the reasons I'll never leave. Keep me guessing, Old Man Winter, it's one of the things I love about you.
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