Should snow days be a thing of the past? Two top student correspondents duel it out in this debate.

Argument for Virtual Snow Days

Every kid loves waking up to a world covered in snow, with news that school has been canceled for the day. However, these days of random relaxation often push the summer back further. Everyone loves snow days, but they keep students in school longer in the scorching heat of the summer, not to mention the fact that the snow messes up teacher- made schedules of new content for students to learn. As much as students love snow days, they end up causing us more harm than the one day of relaxation is worth.

With today’s technology, some schools have the solution: virtual snow days.  Schools have teachers create lessons that could be accessed online. Students then hop on to their school provided laptops and were able to complete assignments, ask questions, and even take part in class discussions. While the very idea of online classes makes students cringe (myself included), in the long run we would be better off.  Senior Tommy Auger, who goes to St. Cloud Cathedral high school in central Minnesota, where the school tested this program, agrees. “It’s hard to think ahead, but it’s definitely better,” he said.

Of course there are flaws in this system. The school would have to provide students with laptops to ensure that everyone can access the lessons. Virtual snow days would likely not be popular among students at first, they would take some getting used to.  Add these issues to the additional problem of power outages during winter storms, and virtual snow days may seem impossible.

The idea of them, however, is an exceptional one. While it would take some intense planning and perfecting a system of online classes for days when school is closed, it is possible  After all,. who wants to give up our precious summer and possibly other vacations as well, just for random days of being shut in during the cold days of winter. In the long run, fewer snow days pay off, and everyone knows it.

Argument Against Virtual Snow Days

A snow day is one of the most desired and despised days of the school year. Not only do we have to deal with the freezing temperatures and missing the nostalgic snow filled memories, but we have to worry about all the work we’re falling behind on. Doesn’t sound much like a high school student’s thinking does it?

An average high school student works more than sixty hours a week depending on the course load and level in which they are taking. Health wise, a student should not be working more than forty hours at most. Now that we have that statistic in mind, doesn’t a random break in the week sound pleasant once in a while?

In some communities there have been discussions about the possibility of new laptops  being distributed to student’s homes in case of a snow day. This could be a great fall back when there is bad weather; students could stay at home instead of standing outside putting ourselves in danger while waiting for the bus. Teachers would type up the classwork, email it to their students, or however they manage to get the work across, and basically deliver it online school.

As brilliant as that sounds, what makes those schools think every district can not only afford all those pricey computers, but also assure that the students won’t damage them? Not that we’re not trustworthy but hey, we’re not perfect. Sometimes it takes a whole lot of trust just to give a student a hundred dollar textbook, don’t even get me started on a four hundred dollar laptop.

Despite money and trust being a deterrent, don’t you think after several weeks of nonstop dreaming of the next Christmas and recovering over candy cane withdrawal we need a short break? I know people complain how it’s going to pay off when we’re staring outside the window during finals week wishing we were tanning in our swim suits, but hey, let’s not make ourselves depressed while we can.

Winter is now, and summer is later. And I don’t know about you, but some sledding and hot chocolate doesn’t sound like the most painful thing in the world right now.

In all seriousness, a “virtual snow day” just doesn’t exactly seem practical right now with not only Nashoba as a whole but other neighboring school districts as well. Not that there aren’t other solutions to making the days into our summer limited, but getting rid of our snowy filled break just doesn’t seem fair.