The End of Snow Days?

By Aaron Ntoko, Reece Williams (Freshmen)

Snow days aren’t just events brought forth by logistical problems, they are a cultural phenomenon. Songs, shows, and movies alike celebrate snow days as a break from the normal tasks of the school week. When conditions are too severe or dangerous students and teachers have been given the snow day. However snow days may soon become a thing of the past. With Pittsburgh Public Schools becoming a one to one district (the ratio of students to technology) during the pandemic, expectations are shifting. 

A mixture of both students and teachers have their own opinions and thoughts on snow days. Ms. Coyne, the highschool arts teacher, described snow days as, “delightful,” and, “a break from the routine.” Not only do teachers enjoy the break a snow day provides for us but students too. Snow days “are a time to relax,” said 7th grader Joseph Ntoko. Since remote learning in 2020, snow days have been replaced with synchronous days. While students don’t have to get ready for school they still have to wake up and log on. This may be difficult for some students who have yet to experience what a synchronous day is like at Obama. “I’m a little nervous,” Orli Trumbull “I didn’t attend Obama during the online school year and so I’m not really sure how it will work.”Not only are new students intimidated by online learning here at Obama but previous students as well.“It’s hard for me to learn online because I find it hard to focus,” said Freshman Isaac Werner. Another factor of online snow days is that students don’t have a day to take a break anymore. “We need these breaks to catch up.” Some, like Ms. Dugan, a middle and high school math teacher, think there should be some sort of compromise between the pros and cons of snow days. Ms. Coyne agrees. “I think we need to strike a balance where on some days we don’t always take breaks, and in other cases we do,” Ms. Coyne said.