Should There Still be Snowdays? – Caroline Paulson, Senior

These were the instructions: flush an ice cube down the toilet.  Wear mismatched socks: one red and one blue.  Wear your underwear inside out when you go to bed. When I was a young and impressionable first grader, the “big kids”—also known as the 7th and 8th graders of Swallow Elementary School—gave these instructions to me.  They claimed that, if these tasks were completed, a snow day would be guaranteed.

What was my snow day like?  I would start by sleeping in and waking up with a wide smile on my face.  I would spend the day sledding, building snowmen, and laughing with my friends as the cold air turned my cheeks bright red.  Later, I would come inside for hot chocolate and a good movie.  These were the moments from my childhood that will stick with me forever.

Many years later, during my sophomore year of high school, the nostalgic feeling of the snow day made a recurrence as my small town of Hartland, Wisconsin was struck with a series of blizzards and days of dangerously low temperatures.  Before the blizzards hit, I remember logging onto my computer during study hall.  I loved the excitement of pulling up snowdaycalculator.com to calculate my chances of staying home the next day.

Simply put, my childhood would not have been the same without the occurrence—or simply even the anticipation—of snow days.  Virtual learning was put into place during a catastrophic pandemic that stole so much from us; do we really need more taken away?  Do young elementary-age children—who have already had to sacrifice so much of their childhood experience—need snow days ripped away from them as well?  School is important, but the ability to “just be a kid” is arguably more essential for growth and learning.  Snow days may be the best way to teach this principle.