The blast of January cold and snow we just endured had the What You Said staff feeling, frankly, a bit nostalgic as we reminisced about the days it was so cold that we could walk across the frozen Ohio River -- uphill both ways of course -- and still get to school on time.
So we wanted to know: Should schools today be more selective in calling snow days?
Your replies have us feeling a little better about things, as it seems common sense and compassion have come to the fore when it comes to the schools' discretion on calling off for bad weather.
Brandy Lucas' comment received 90 "likes" on our Facebook page, and six "loves."
It also sparked a lively conversation that included some old-school folks like Josh Hunt, who took issue with the compassionate approach:
The What You Said staff was actually happy to see that the old school philosophy is alive and well:
And Jamie Puckett even brought up the old days, when, by golly, a few snowflakes didn't scare off anyone from going to school and getting their lessons.
Actually, we walked through 10-foot high snowdrifts, but, hey, that was a long time ago.
Today's parents, principals and teachers, thankfully, don't see the point in taking unnecessary risks on the roads, a big majority of your responses indicated.
Our completely unscientific, but still relevant pollfound that 50 percent of you said schools are not too quick to call snow days; 44 percent said yes, they are. (Six percent clicked on an empty space; we're not sure what that's about.)
And then there's the ever-present issue of liability, Joseph Lee Dugan and others reminded us:
Some of you were ok with the schools' calls but would like a little more notice:
Sarah Elim emailed us:
When my kids' schools do get called off, I really wish they would make that decision ahead of time - it would be nice to know in advance so our family could make plans accordingly, rather than trying to scramble at the last minute.
And Christopher Covert would like to see a more scientific approach to snow days, and even suggested some specific measurements to use in the decisionmaking:
Maybe it would help parents planning if the local governments/districts were to create an objective measure/checklist of what will result in a “snow day”. For example, if ambient temperature is 6 degrees or less, or wind chill factor at 6 degrees or less would result in school off, or snow accumulation of 1” or greater inches with 45% of roads and neighborhoods uncleared.
We do hope the kids (and parents) enjoyed their snow days. With the temperatures headed to the 50s this weekend, it may be a while before we get any more.
Next week, we'll ask your opinion on another topic. In the meantime, you can go to our Facebook page or Twitter and share your thoughts there. You can share your opinions in the form of text, photos, video, drawings or audio recordings.
And take a look at our Feedback Friday page for another way to express your what's on your mind.
