Letter to the Editor

A letter to the Editor

To All Those Snow Day Haters,

After another snow day in Halifax I am writing to express my frustration with all those parents who choose to complain when schools are closed. I would like to respond to a few of the common quotes I hear from parents:

 “Why do teachers think they can’t go to work in the snow when everyone else has to?”  Do these people think we are the ones that actually decide when there is a snow day?

“It didn’t even snow, what were they thinking?” Unless these people are meteorologists, and this probably wouldn’t even matter, do they really think that anyone can be 100% certain of what the weather will be on any particular day? I know being a mother I would prefer they err on the safe side when it comes to the safety of my children.  What would these people say if, god forbid, they didn’t close the schools and there ended up being an accident?

“What do they expect me to do with my children? I have to work you know!” These people obviously think that we are their kids’ babysitter. Well, we aren’t. Our job is to educate your child, not babysit them so you can live your life of luxury.

“Oh to be a teacher. There’s no other job that gets so much time off!” Then why weren’t you a teacher? Did you decide that you didn’t want to spend oodles of extra hours of your own time preparing lessons for which you don’t get any paid time for? Or did you decide that stretching your patience to the extreme limits on a daily basis wasn’t in your cards? Or did you decide that playing the role of counsellor, teacher and parent wasn’t an easy task after all?

If you are one of these parents who chooses to complain about snow days perhaps you should take a look at your parenting. As a parent and a teacher I look at snow days as a chance to spend extra time with my children that I wouldn’t normally get. Yes, I here you all now screaming at the fact that it is easy for me to say being a teacher, but I truly believe that any extra opportunities you have to spend with your children is a blessing. There are few opportunities for your children to be home from school so take advantage of it when they are. And if you can’t get the day off don’t complain, because you could have chosen to be a teacher if you wanted to. You just chose not to.