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Saturday, January 22, 2011

A snowy week














In the week since I last "blogged" and tried again to share my thoughts publicly through this "blog," there has been a LOT of snow and ice! We've had another snow day and a delay (in my district) resulting in the need to rethink our plans and find innovative ways to assure educational continuity for our students. Interestingly, the kids were actually excited to be "back" in school yesterday after the 2 hour delay. A couple of students hugged me as they came in as if they were returning from a long vacation. Perhaps it was as if they were hoping we would be back into our "school routines" from this point forward.....
YET, in my own reflection about this cold and snowy winter, I am actually wondering if the "breaks" in our schooling allow students to recharge and energize? Yesterday, in our shortened day, my sometimes reluctant learners worked harder with less "prodding" than they typically do on any day of the week! In talking to my colleagues, my experiences were not atypical! Perhaps there are messages in all this weather induced disruption to our "normal" schedules? Perhaps we need to give students more "short" breaks even within the school day in order to enhance learning? Or perhaps the need is just for a little "downtime" in all of our busy lives?
For me...snow and ice means time to think and read even if I am up early determining the viability of my hour long commute. For our students...snow and ice may just mean a chance to spend a few hours without "plans, places to be, and persons to see." Perhaps...
As Theodore Geisel might have deduced,
Whatever the reason
The "weather" induced delay
Gave stress to commuters
And gave students time to play!

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