The article “The Joys, and Frustrations, of Snow Days in November” focuses on school districts across the northeast, and discusses the amount of weather related school cancelations they have dealt with this year. The article examines the impact extreme weather can have on a community, and looks at what the school districts are doing to help everyone cope.
Last week a snow storm moved across the northeast causing havoc for everything and everyone in its path. The Millburn School District in New Jersey was forced to exhaust all three of its allotted snow days, while three of its seven schools were still without power, internet, or phone service. In a nearby district of Teaneck they planned to keep schools closed an additional day because of hazardous road conditions.
In Connecticut, the Weston district has been forced to cancel school a combined nine times. They cancelled a full week due to the most recent snow storm, and they cancelled four days at the beginning of the year due to Tropical Storm Irene. In the event of more closures the district of Weston may be forced to remove days from their spring break.
These sudden cancelations not only force the schools to juggle their calendars of classes, sporting events, and club meetings, but they also force the same stress on parents. Parents have to alter their work schedules and line up sitters for children who would otherwise be at school.
In order to maintain adequate behavior in a classroom the teacher must provide structure and boundaries. While the boundaries set by the teacher will not be impacted, the structure of the class is at the mercy of the weather. Keeping the attention of each student is challenging when they know they are being dismissed early due to inclement weather. Can a teacher honestly be expected to present a lesson when their class time is cut in half? Or when the students know they are being dismissed half a day early? In order to attempt to do so I believe the teacher will need to relate to the students as much as possible. The instructor will not be able to suppress the students’ excitement, but the instructor will be able to redirect it. A teacher may have to modify their lesson on the fly, but if they allow the students an outlet for their excitement through the lesson, then they can maintain management over the classroom. Pair the students in groups, allow them to move through the classroom, and present a lesson that will be both fun and challenging.
In order to maintain management over the class the teacher has to keep realistic expectations. Using the class cancelation examples from this article I do not believe it would be realistic to maintain the same lesson plan schedule. The teacher will need to allocate time to review previous topics and ensure that the students still have a grasp of the material. While this is a minor modification, and it may cut into a previously planned lesson, it is necessary in maintaining the confidence and expectations of the entire classroom. If the teacher were to present the students with a quiz or test over the material presented a week prior the teacher would immediately lose trust and control over the students.
In conclusion I believe the teacher will be most challenged prior to the storm. The students know they are going home early, they are hoping for multiple cancellations, and they are planning for their time off. The teacher will have little to no preparation to combat student behavior, and will have to rely on their knowledge and relationship with each student when thinking of immediate lesson modifications.
I really enjoyed reading your article and your review of this article. I think that for us living in Iowa we are all use to all the crazy conditions that come with the winter season, and we prepare ourselves for snow days. I think Iowa teachers are much more use to having to change around their lesson plans due to snow days. I think it can be difficult for teachers who aren't use to having to do this. They do need to be flexible and figure out a way to maintain students attention through all the craziness and excitement.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your ideas on how to keep students engaged in school when they know their energy may be high and their attention gone. As a future teacher it might be a great idea to have some modified lessons or activities ready for these situations. We do experience snow days, late starts and early outs which I imagine are very challenging for teachers. I agree with your thoughts on how to change the day’s lesson with movement, fun and challenge to keep desired behaviors in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAdam, I think you hit the nail on the head so to speak in your conclusion. I can remember sitting in class knowing that school was going to be cancelled and not caring what so ever about what the teacher was intructing us about.
ReplyDeleteThis is one subject that will cause issues in the classroom and understanding this issue is a big deal. when change happens in the school behavior is way out of wack. Not even just snow days, but bus drills, fire drills, tornado drills. Especially if you have a strick routine this can cause some students to become stressed. We have to be aware to this sistuation and adjust our lessons to fit the students needs.
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