The Snow Day Cycle!

The Graph of Snow Day Excitement. Source: Michael Smith's http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/

Thanks Mike...I love this!

Snow Days affect us in different ways.
To break it down I’ve made a graph with words (it’s all I got, so bear with me).

Students:  It’s a combination of Christmas, their birthdays, and a trip to the amusement park.  In their lifetimes nothing rivals this special day.

Not their first cars.  Not their college graduations.  Not their weddings.  Not their firstborns.
Nothing.

The snow day to a child is life’s greatest gift.

Parents:  It’s fun about once a year (especially if they also get off work).  It’s not unlike summer vacation for mom and dad. 
Fun for awhile, but at some point  it is time for the kids to go back to school (this generally occurs about 9:42 am when the kids announce they are bored).
Snow Days #2-5 are simply babysitting nightmares.

Teachers:  They will tell you they don’t want a Snow Day… way too much to do.
That’s a lie. It’s a paid day off. Even if they have a lot to do, they get over it about halfway through watching Regis and Kelly in their pajamas (teachers’ pajamas… not Regis’s).

Principals:  It’s a break from students, parents, and teachers.
Enough said. Of course, if the principal is also a parent… all bets are off (sometimes watching 400 of other people’s kids is easier than 2 of your own).

Superintendents:  Snow Days are a nightmare.
Do you cancel school? Do you not cancel school?
Who wants to get up at 4:00 am and stare into the darkness and try to guess what the weather will be like in 3 to 8 hours? What do you say when parents call and complain?
Cancel school and people are upset about not being able to find a sitter.
Don’t cancel and the very same people complain about how dare you risk the children’s lives when it’s _________ (fill in the blank with snowing, windy, cold, foggy, or icy).
Even worse, don’t cancel and all four districts that surround you do (the dreaded Snow Day Donut).
It’s a no win. Now don’t get me wrong.  It’s still fun. It’s still a Snow Day!!!

As always, Snow Day is capitalized. That’s out of respect.  We don’t want to offend the precious Snow Day and risk it not returning.

Come on Mother Nature...we need a few Snow Days in 2011... ; )