It will undoubtedly come as a blow to many of our students, but among the many developments that have taken place during this pandemic, we can now add the demise of “the snow day”.
This is – as anyone who can still remember their school days will recall – the one or two occasions in the year when the overnight fall of snow is so thick and treacherous that it is deemed unsafe for anybody to come into school.
The result is that lessons are cancelled and, instead, students can spend their day throwing snowballs, sledging and enjoying some officially sanctioned fun.
READ MORE: Online teaching fuelling an increase in positive feedback from parents in Shirebrook.
School days used to be cancelled if a snowfall meant it was too hazardous for students to come into school, but remote learning means that they can now log into lessons online.
Coronavirus has put an end to this because, now we have all adapted to remote learning, on days when fallen snow has made it too hazardous for students to come into school, we can simply switch to teaching everybody online.
I was reminded of this when we had our first snowfall of the season earlier this month and we had to send home the 80-or-so students who were in school for our special provision early.
This was, as usual, a decision fraught with challenges concerning transport and letting parents know, but for the majority of students, who were at home and engaged in our blend of online live teaching and pre-set tasks, nothing changed.
As we approach the anniversary of the original lockdown, it’s moments like that which make me realise how far we’ve come.
Shirebrook Academy principal Mark Cottingham, who says that while technology has seen off snow days, it can’t replace face-to-face learning in school.
The kind of remote learning we are now providing has always been talked about as something we could expect to see in the future. Now that the future is now here, it has, happily, taught me that schools – by which I mean the bricks and mortar buildings themselves – are here to stay.
While technology is wonderful, it cannot provide all of the other things that schools are about – the extra-curricular events, the assemblies and the warmth and energy you get from being with other people, all of which help young people to develop emotionally and psychologically, to explore their talents and feel part of something.
You can’t get through a screen, but it is vitally important. And so, while needs must at the minute, I can’t wait to get back to normal – even if, I’m sorry to say, that normal no longer includes the occasional snow day.
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