Hoorah! Another snow day! We got the phone call yesterday afternoon, so last night it almost felt like the holidays again to know I didn't have to get up early in the morning and could have a lie in watching Jermey Kyle! In fact, my alarm went off at 6.25 as usual (I wanted to have the joy of not having to get up) and it really did feel like the middle of the night. I was so relieved to be able to roll over and go back to sleep, though I did have some really weird dreams.
I've been thinking about this snow day phenomenon and have some theories about it. I've been at my school now for 6 years and it has snowed a few times in those years. There has always been talk of snow days, but so far it has never actually happened. So what is different this time?
I believe that the heavy snow over the Christmas period has firstly influenced things. Even though most of us didn't actually have to go out much because we were on holiday, we did experience, either first hand, or on the news, the problems that heavy snow can cause. And we know how much easier it is (and nicer) to just be able to stay at home, wrapped up warm and cosy.
Secondly, I think the memory of that holiday has been important. Nobody wanted to go back to work on Monday and getting up and going in on Monday morning was actually quite painful. Therefore, the opportunity to not have to do it on Tuesday was snapped up all too easily - we WANTED to stay in bed, and we were given the chance to. Had it been a few days or weeks later, we would have been back into our routines and most likely would have soldiered on into school or work.
And I think the third influence for this mass snow day has been peer pressure. A handful of schools initially announced they were closing yesterday, and were soon followed by a whole lot more. The schools that did go in mostly seemed to finish early, and almost all the schools in the area are closed today. I expect that many of them have looked at other schools in the area, and even if they would have liked to sty open, they may have felt the pressure to close "because everyone else was" and therefore it may have increased the perceived risk to pupils and staff. Had fewer schools closed yeaterday, perhaps more would be open today because there was less pressure to close.
And now I expect there has been a knock-on effect. Many parents are having to take the day off to look after their children. In addition, some employees are genuinely unable to get to work safely. This may that those employees who can get to work arrive to find their workplace closed, or they decide that they will have a day off because everyone else is. It would appear that Britain is enjoying an extended Christmas holiday - partly because of the snow, but also because everybody was so desperately eager not to go back to work. I wonder how long it will last?
I've been thinking about this snow day phenomenon and have some theories about it. I've been at my school now for 6 years and it has snowed a few times in those years. There has always been talk of snow days, but so far it has never actually happened. So what is different this time?
I believe that the heavy snow over the Christmas period has firstly influenced things. Even though most of us didn't actually have to go out much because we were on holiday, we did experience, either first hand, or on the news, the problems that heavy snow can cause. And we know how much easier it is (and nicer) to just be able to stay at home, wrapped up warm and cosy.
Secondly, I think the memory of that holiday has been important. Nobody wanted to go back to work on Monday and getting up and going in on Monday morning was actually quite painful. Therefore, the opportunity to not have to do it on Tuesday was snapped up all too easily - we WANTED to stay in bed, and we were given the chance to. Had it been a few days or weeks later, we would have been back into our routines and most likely would have soldiered on into school or work.
And I think the third influence for this mass snow day has been peer pressure. A handful of schools initially announced they were closing yesterday, and were soon followed by a whole lot more. The schools that did go in mostly seemed to finish early, and almost all the schools in the area are closed today. I expect that many of them have looked at other schools in the area, and even if they would have liked to sty open, they may have felt the pressure to close "because everyone else was" and therefore it may have increased the perceived risk to pupils and staff. Had fewer schools closed yeaterday, perhaps more would be open today because there was less pressure to close.
And now I expect there has been a knock-on effect. Many parents are having to take the day off to look after their children. In addition, some employees are genuinely unable to get to work safely. This may that those employees who can get to work arrive to find their workplace closed, or they decide that they will have a day off because everyone else is. It would appear that Britain is enjoying an extended Christmas holiday - partly because of the snow, but also because everybody was so desperately eager not to go back to work. I wonder how long it will last?
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