No matter what the mayor said, it just was not a good idea for some people to go to school today but I do understand keeping them open.

I propose the following procedure for these bad weather days when schools are open

1.  No absences will be held against students.  No tests will be given and no new, crucial material will be taught.

2.  Teachers who deem it unsafe to get to work should be allowed, without any penalty to either use a sick day or a day without pay.  No letters to file or notes on cards to indicate the teacher did not make it in.  No special rewards for those who do show up.

Safety is a priority.  In all my complaints about Principals, I never worked for one that did more than make nasty comments when we did not show up on snow days.  I was lucky.  I know not everyone is.

E-mail from a teacher.  I am so glad to be away from this nonsense/

The APs  and Principal walked around on Thursday during the snow storm to see who was teaching.  Rumor is from now on teachers will formally be observed since they are entitled to at least 6 pop ins as part of the new evaluation system.  Then you ask why I am going.  It pays to fight the snow, parking and then be harrassed.  Also I wonder if a teacher has a coverage if that teacher can be observed, probably. Memo:

Instruction on a snow day 28Q505 | 2/13/2014 1:08:53 PM On a snow stricken day with a little over 800 students in the building, what should be happening in the classroom?  Choose the best possible answer. _____       a. One on one time can be utilized with students that are still struggling with skill deficits. _____       b. Combining classes to promote data-driven tutoring across disciplines so that students can take advantage of the brain bank of one room. _____       c. "Office Hours" type discussions with students about their goals, College aspirations, scholarship writing and or vocabulary words and key concepts found in exams like the S.A.T and A.C.T _____       d. All of the above     Thank you for your efforts in making sure that whether there are two students or 34 students that instruction is still being capitalized.  Respectfully submitted, Instructional Core Team

It wasn't that he opened schools.  I am used to NYC never getting a snow day.

It wasn't that I would have had to take a sick day if I did not go in.  I always felt fortunate to have those to use.

It wouldn't have been for my own kids.  I let them stay home, attendance be damned, when the weather was that bad.

It was the arrogance that pissed me off.  De Blasio and Farina could have said NYC schools stayed open because they felt that was best.  Period.  They didn't have to talk about how wonderful the city was running when, in reality, it wasn't.  Trains and buses were running late and canceled in many places.  Cars were skidding and getting stuck.  Sidewalks were slippery.  It was not a day to be out.  They heard the same weather forecast we all did and chose to ignore it.  They should have said they were in charge, they made a decision and everyone had to accept.  I wouldn't have liked the words but they would have been better than the lines they fed us.

I remember Angela coming to school with 103 degree fever.  Her mom insisted she come and truthfully, she wanted to be there too.  She wanted to keep her perfect attendance and get a certificate at graduation.

I wonder how many kids braved the elements this morning, risked getting hit by skidding cars, falling on ice and waiting hours for buses just for that perfect attendance award?

Schools should have been closed today.  I have no sympathy for teachers who wouldn't use a sick day, but I have lots for the kids who went in, not willing to give up that perfect attendance or afraid a day out will hurt their grades.  I know some parents depend on the schools to babysit while they work, but schools are not babysitters.  Perhaps the city needs to set up a babysitting alternative for school days.

My daughter reminded me that there were no snow days when she was growing up.  It was wrong then.  That doesn't make it right now.  I am one who always took public transportation and went it.  But even I would have stayed under the covers this morning.

Parents can keep kids home,  teachers can use sick days.

Everyone should think of themselves and do what feels right.

Kids don't need perfect attendance and this is a perfect use for one of those 10 sick days.

I used to love going in on days like today.  Public transportation got me there in less than 30 minutes and I enjoyed spending time with the few kids who braved the weather to get in.  But, at the same time, I resented the admins who made a big deal about those of us who showed up.  We did what felt right for us.  No judgements of any kind needed.  I remember hating the Principal who smugly stood outside greeting those souls who made it in.

Several years ago I remember that the decision to close schools was made after many teachers had already left home.  I remember one teacher who bundled up her young child and drove in from Long Island and was pissed that she endangered herself and her child for nothing.  I remember thinking the teacher was an idiot.  How could any parent in their right mind expose their offspring to dangerous road conditions for a job.  Teachers have ten sick days a year.  Intelligent teachers use one for a heavy snow storm.