The Myth of the Snow Day

by Angela Sanford

This is the first week, in what seems like all winter though it certainly hasn’t been, without a storm to shut down schools.

Ask any math instructor and they’ll likely tell you that everything in our world follows a pattern—it’s our job to identify that pattern in order to solve the problems we face. Some patterns are easy to spot, others are challenging, and some are simply perplexing—like why storm tracks seem to have claimed our Mondays this winter; Wednesdays a few years ago. No, it isn’t a grand plan to gift us long weekends, and yes, there is a scientific explanation, which I recently explored out of simple curiosity.

That said, calling it a “snow day” as a teacher can be a bit misleading. Snow days are not days off. While we may not be required to report to our school buildings, teachers are still expected to work from home—planning lessons, grading, and completing reports. Unless a medical day has been requested or someone has called in sick, there is a clear expectation that work continues, even on so-called “snow days.”

Personally, I see these days as a great opportunity for professional learning—but that’s beside the point. A snow day still means pajamas, a slower start, and no icy commute chilling my soul. It means not worrying about road conditions and easing into the day  - and week - at a more humane pace.

So having storms land on Mondays is fine by me, though it does add pressure to the rest of the week, to complete all the tasks I’ve prioritized. If I had my choice, I might opt for a Friday storm track instead. Sure, I’d be carrying plans forward into the following week, but it would truly feel like a bonus day.

Then again, now that I think about it, maybe Mondays—or any day but Friday—are better after all. A reoccurring Friday storm would feel a little too much like vacation, and I suspect I’d be far less productive.