Students groan at the thought of having to stay in school for a few extra days when their summer vacation was supposed to have already started. Unfortunately, when living in the stateKopek of Illinois, we never know the severity of the situation we are going to face the next day, such as foot high snow or below zero temperatures.
A popular saying in the Midwest, “if you don’t like the weather then wait a few minutes” is absolutely true, now more than ever due to our ever-changing weather. Last year, Plainfield School District was closed on five total school days because of adverse weather conditions. When the district calls off school because of this, it is the worst for high school students. Emergency days push back final exams and they might also delay previously made summer plans.
A great alternative to adding days for lost days would be e-learning. With e-learning, students could go online and do the classwork they are missing when school is called off. There would be no need for them to make up the day later in the year, and no more delayed summer vacations.
The only concern would be if anyone loses power, they could also lose their internet connection and would not be able to make up the day online. Luckily, with the use of smart phones with cellular data able to be accessed nearly anywhere, it shouldn’t be a problem.
However, if a student does not have access to the internet, they could call in sick just like any other day and then make up whatever they missed on their own time. They would still get to make up their work for full credit and it doesn’t take anything away from the students who could get access online.
Of course, this idea brings up the subject of one-on-one learning. In order for e-learning to be fail proof, the school district would have to distribute laptops to every single student in the district.
Other schools such as Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford Illinois already do this and have successfully replaced snow days with e-learning.
Efficiency is the biggest benefit that online snow days would bring. Students would be getting their work done on time, there would be no reduced summer vacation, and parents would be guaranteed that their children have something to do during the day.