This year there has been an overwhelming amount of snow
days. It has taken a toll on me as a
teacher with having to replan lessons and units, modify my pacing guides, and
deal with student behavior due to lack of routine. It has been 2 years since we have had to deal
with missing school due to inclement weather.
I forgot how disruptive it could be to routines and planning. I used to
wish for snow days so that I could sleep in and have a relaxing day at
home. After having more than 10 snow
days this year, I no longer find them relaxing but stressful. I am looking forward to an uninterrupted week. Since 2013 we have only had 1 full week of
school. All the other weeks have either
had cancellations or delays. It is
difficult to have students complete activities and projects with so many disruptions. When we get back to school I am finding I
have to review and reteach concepts because of being off for so long. Having to reteach puts you even further behind in pacing. My team met on Friday to decide how we could tweak our pacing guides to ensure we got in all the required standards.
The snow days have been such a pain. I've never replanted so much for anything, and figuring out how to teach the whole course content with so few days is nuts. Now they're talking about making us go to school on Saturdays or miss some of our Spring Break, which is making parents, teachers, and students just nuts. It's great that your team is working together to be sure you guys can get done what you need to get done.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I have adjusted plans so many times I have lost count and when I consult the pacing guide I feel so defeated. I look forward to warm weather and having full weeks of school for the rest of the year. I want to be able to prepare my students for the SOL tests. We have to be in school to prepare and practice.
ReplyDeleteBeing out of the classroom these snow days affect me differently then a classroom teacher. My deadlines are different. That being said with as much as they have affected me, I don't know how the classroom teachers handle it. Remaking schedules and rewriting plans over and over again. In the past we have had to have extra resources and lesson plans online for the students to interact with at home, however less then half of our students have internet access at home so there is no way to have school when they are not at school.
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