Snow day frustrations
Q.: I hate snow days. Wait a minute, let me explain. I hate the kind of snow days we have now. I don’t care if you call them remote learning or flexible instruction days or remote instruction days, they are horrible! I’m the kind of student who needs to be in the same room with my teachers. I know a few friends who do cyber (very few who do it and like it) but I know myself well enough to know that’s not for me. I don’t like learning on a screen. My mom said when she was a teen they had real snow days, where they stayed home and drank hot chocolate and watched movies on VCRs. I wish we had those old days. I absolutely hated learning online during COVID. Thanks for listening. It felt good to complain! 17-year-old
Mary Jo’s Response: You can always complain to me.
You’re not the only student who dislikes flexible instruction day or remote instruction days, and many parents and teachers would prefer classes be in-person or school be closed. The challenge is the state requires a certain number of instructional days, and a large snowfall or below zero temperatures may make it unsafe for students to go to school in-person. During those old days you think were so wonderful, many schools were forced to have make up school days long into June.
I do understand your concern though, and your memories of the pandemic do not make it easy for you to accept this form of instruction. May I suggest you try a few things to make it easier for yourself?
1. Embrace the situation. Remind yourself this is a temporary inconvenience and see how much you can get from the experience. A positive attitude can make a difference.
2. Set aside a quiet place to study with few distractions. During the pandemic, one of my college student graduates, who had her very first classroom as a teacher, was teaching first grade. She laughingly told me she ended up teaching in her closet, after first bagging all her clothes. Her normal apartment included her dog, her cat, and her plants, and her first graders were so distracted by those items she simply could not teach. You’re not a first grader, but, like all humans, you can be distracted.
3. Put aside your phone. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of YouTube and TikTok videos. Save them for breaks.
4. Turn on your camera if possible. It helps to be connected to the class visually.
5. Organize assignments. Take notes throughout the day and review them before you shut down the computer.
6. Create a routine. Start on time, follow through with assignments, and stay connected with your teachers.
7. Connect with classmates. Talk about what you covered in class and what you need to do to encourage learning.
8. Make the most of being home. Hang out in your pajamas, enjoy drinks and snacks.
9. Finally, unlike the pandemic, virtual snow days have a definite end point. Eventually, things will melt. Remind yourself that you will have more summer days to enjoy.
Good luck! I hope your area thaws soon and you can return to in-person instruction.
Have a question? Send it to Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski’s email podmj@healthyteens.com.