Friday's "snow?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Selecting snow days like they're employee perks is a terrible idea. The purpose of snow days is not leisurely breakfasts.

That PP is saying it’s better to err on the side of caution. What’s the problem?

Her reason for wanting a delay or closure wasn't safety. She said she wanted time for breakfast and to potentially catch up on other work:

We, and most students and families appreciate erring on the side of caution. We get to sit down while we drink our coffee. We get to catch up on some work. We get to have breakfast with our families, without feeling like we’re rushing every single morning.

She also said she’s come in to work after a miscarriage the day before. Basically that she only took time off for the death of a sibling. So I’m not getting the sense that this is someone who just wants to linger over breakfast while the roads are totally clear.

At any rate, there should have been a delay based on the road conditions.

A previous miscarriage is obviously horrible, but I don't see how that's relevant to road conditions yesterday. Which she acknowledged were OK and didn't mention when describing her reasons for wanted a delay or closure.

It’s relevant to her work ethic.

I don't think anyone was questioning her work ethic or the hard work of other MCPS employees. Yes, hard workers like time off, too. But that isn't reason to create an unscheduled break.

A weather situation like Friday’s deserved a delay. Why would it have been scheduled? The earlier PP was simply saying to *err on the side of caution* on days like Friday, and I agree.

Read the beginning of her message. She acknowledged the roads were OK. That wasn't why she wanted the delay or closure. She thought she was entitled to the time because of the weather, but her motivations were not safety-related. She wanted time off from class to catch up on work and enjoy breakfast.

Did she say that road conditions were fine? Or did she say that she made it to work? Road conditions were not fine.

"I’m an MCPS employee and parent of a kid in MS and HS. Did I make it to work by 7:30 in my Honda Civic? Yes. Did the vast majority of students and staff make it to work even if they were late? Yes. The conditions were drivable."

Funny how you’ll quote that but not where she LITERALLY wrote that she would like to err on the side of caution.

Perhaps the conditions were drivable, but that doesn’t make them GOOD. I struggled on the backroads that day because they weren’t treated where I live.

It’s a big county. The teacher is able to acknowledge that it worked out fine for the majority of people, but that doesn’t mean a delay still wasn’t warranted. One: conditions are not clear at the start of a weather event and can’t always be accurately predicted. Two: conditions vary widely.

Grace, people. Grace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Selecting snow days like they're employee perks is a terrible idea. The purpose of snow days is not leisurely breakfasts.

That PP is saying it’s better to err on the side of caution. What’s the problem?

Her reason for wanting a delay or closure wasn't safety. She said she wanted time for breakfast and to potentially catch up on other work:

We, and most students and families appreciate erring on the side of caution. We get to sit down while we drink our coffee. We get to catch up on some work. We get to have breakfast with our families, without feeling like we’re rushing every single morning.

She also said she’s come in to work after a miscarriage the day before. Basically that she only took time off for the death of a sibling. So I’m not getting the sense that this is someone who just wants to linger over breakfast while the roads are totally clear.

At any rate, there should have been a delay based on the road conditions.

A previous miscarriage is obviously horrible, but I don't see how that's relevant to road conditions yesterday. Which she acknowledged were OK and didn't mention when describing her reasons for wanted a delay or closure.

It’s relevant to her work ethic.

I don't think anyone was questioning her work ethic or the hard work of other MCPS employees. Yes, hard workers like time off, too. But that isn't reason to create an unscheduled break.

A weather situation like Friday’s deserved a delay. Why would it have been scheduled? The earlier PP was simply saying to *err on the side of caution* on days like Friday, and I agree.

Read the beginning of her message. She acknowledged the roads were OK. That wasn't why she wanted the delay or closure. She thought she was entitled to the time because of the weather, but her motivations were not safety-related. She wanted time off from class to catch up on work and enjoy breakfast.

There’s no sense of entitlement anywhere in that teacher’s post. She simply wants to err on the side of caution. Sure, that means she can work from home and eat breakfast. (I caught you managed to make that a bad thing somehow… like she shouldn’t desire a simple pleasure like the occasional breakfast.)

Clearly you aren’t willing to extend the simple grace she asked for. Fine. Several of us here are. Teacher PP, I acknowledge your sense of frustration over Friday’s email. Thank you for what you do.

She clearly felt entitled to some time off from class, not because she couldn't get to work, but because she wanted to enjoy breakfast and catch up on other work.

Do teachers need more time for their work? Almost certainly! Most do! But that's separate from what we should do about snow days. If people can safely get to school, recognizing that safety is always a spectrum, then we should have school. We should address workload other ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Selecting snow days like they're employee perks is a terrible idea. The purpose of snow days is not leisurely breakfasts.

That PP is saying it’s better to err on the side of caution. What’s the problem?

Her reason for wanting a delay or closure wasn't safety. She said she wanted time for breakfast and to potentially catch up on other work:

We, and most students and families appreciate erring on the side of caution. We get to sit down while we drink our coffee. We get to catch up on some work. We get to have breakfast with our families, without feeling like we’re rushing every single morning.

She also said she’s come in to work after a miscarriage the day before. Basically that she only took time off for the death of a sibling. So I’m not getting the sense that this is someone who just wants to linger over breakfast while the roads are totally clear.

At any rate, there should have been a delay based on the road conditions.

A previous miscarriage is obviously horrible, but I don't see how that's relevant to road conditions yesterday. Which she acknowledged were OK and didn't mention when describing her reasons for wanted a delay or closure.

It’s relevant to her work ethic.

I don't think anyone was questioning her work ethic or the hard work of other MCPS employees. Yes, hard workers like time off, too. But that isn't reason to create an unscheduled break.

A weather situation like Friday’s deserved a delay. Why would it have been scheduled? The earlier PP was simply saying to *err on the side of caution* on days like Friday, and I agree.

Read the beginning of her message. She acknowledged the roads were OK. That wasn't why she wanted the delay or closure. She thought she was entitled to the time because of the weather, but her motivations were not safety-related. She wanted time off from class to catch up on work and enjoy breakfast.

Did she say that road conditions were fine? Or did she say that she made it to work? Road conditions were not fine.

"I’m an MCPS employee and parent of a kid in MS and HS. Did I make it to work by 7:30 in my Honda Civic? Yes. Did the vast majority of students and staff make it to work even if they were late? Yes. The conditions were drivable."

Funny how you’ll quote that but not where she LITERALLY wrote that she would like to err on the side of caution.

Perhaps the conditions were drivable, but that doesn’t make them GOOD. I struggled on the backroads that day because they weren’t treated where I live.

It’s a big county. The teacher is able to acknowledge that it worked out fine for the majority of people, but that doesn’t mean a delay still wasn’t warranted. One: conditions are not clear at the start of a weather event and can’t always be accurately predicted. Two: conditions vary widely.

Grace, people. Grace.

Indeed. Let's look at that other paragraph:

We, and most students and families appreciate erring on the side of caution. We get to sit down while we drink our coffee. We get to catch up on some work. We get to have breakfast with our families, without feeling like we’re rushing every single morning.

Where does it say she wants to wait for roads to improve? Because I see where she brings up catching up on work and eating breakfast, but I don't see anything about the roads.

[Anonymous]

People are SOOOOO selfish when they don't care about literally putting people in extra risky road conditions. Can you really not deal with your kids for another 2-7 hours?

I would not want to be responsible for a poor safety decision that causes people injury or death. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Selecting snow days like they're employee perks is a terrible idea. The purpose of snow days is not leisurely breakfasts.

That PP is saying it’s better to err on the side of caution. What’s the problem?

Her reason for wanting a delay or closure wasn't safety. She said she wanted time for breakfast and to potentially catch up on other work:

We, and most students and families appreciate erring on the side of caution. We get to sit down while we drink our coffee. We get to catch up on some work. We get to have breakfast with our families, without feeling like we’re rushing every single morning.

She also said she’s come in to work after a miscarriage the day before. Basically that she only took time off for the death of a sibling. So I’m not getting the sense that this is someone who just wants to linger over breakfast while the roads are totally clear.

At any rate, there should have been a delay based on the road conditions.

A previous miscarriage is obviously horrible, but I don't see how that's relevant to road conditions yesterday. Which she acknowledged were OK and didn't mention when describing her reasons for wanted a delay or closure.

It’s relevant to her work ethic.

I don't think anyone was questioning her work ethic or the hard work of other MCPS employees. Yes, hard workers like time off, too. But that isn't reason to create an unscheduled break.

A weather situation like Friday’s deserved a delay. Why would it have been scheduled? The earlier PP was simply saying to *err on the side of caution* on days like Friday, and I agree.

Read the beginning of her message. She acknowledged the roads were OK. That wasn't why she wanted the delay or closure. She thought she was entitled to the time because of the weather, but her motivations were not safety-related. She wanted time off from class to catch up on work and enjoy breakfast.

There’s no sense of entitlement anywhere in that teacher’s post. She simply wants to err on the side of caution. Sure, that means she can work from home and eat breakfast. (I caught you managed to make that a bad thing somehow… like she shouldn’t desire a simple pleasure like the occasional breakfast.)

Clearly you aren’t willing to extend the simple grace she asked for. Fine. Several of us here are. Teacher PP, I acknowledge your sense of frustration over Friday’s email. Thank you for what you do.

She clearly felt entitled to some time off from class, not because she couldn't get to work, but because she wanted to enjoy breakfast and catch up on other work.

Do teachers need more time for their work? Almost certainly! Most do! But that's separate from what we should do about snow days. If people can safely get to school, recognizing that safety is always a spectrum, then we should have school. We should address workload other ways.

Clearly you’re going to die on this hill. Have at it.

Teacher PP, I see what you meant. No, I don’t think you’re saying we should “make” snow days simply so you can catch up on work. I know you don’t feel entitled to them, either. I understand you’re just asking for the grace you don’t think you received that day. You got it from me, which hopefully balances out the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are SOOOOO selfish when they don't care about literally putting people in extra risky road conditions. Can you really not deal with your kids for another 2-7 hours?

I would not want to be responsible for a poor safety decision that causes people injury or death. Period.

So you're going to ask for closures or delays for rain next? Hydroplaning is a thing.

What else? Closures on air quality days? After all, we don't know what impact it might have 40 years from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haha! This makes me so happy my child attends the private school in my neighborhood. No buses, no closures, no missing teachers, no guns, no underperforming students or any other maladies y'all plebians complain about. Guess you all will have to work harder and put your child in private school so you can finally stop your whining.

Meh. If you spend your time trolling on public school message boards, you’re clearly wondering what how public compares to your $40k/year option. Enjoy getting your kid to and from school each day with no bus option.

And if you haven’t seen the stories about school shootings at private schools, you clearly don’t read enough…it’s hardly limited to American public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are SOOOOO selfish when they don't care about literally putting people in extra risky road conditions. Can you really not deal with your kids for another 2-7 hours?

I would not want to be responsible for a poor safety decision that causes people injury or death. Period.

So you're going to ask for closures or delays for rain next? Hydroplaning is a thing.

What else? Closures on air quality days? After all, we don't know what impact it might have 40 years from now.

The PP you replied to does not need to worry - we already have rain closures! Just look at earlier this week!

[Anonymous]

For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

Most people aren't mad about that. The people who were mad on Tuesday were mad because MCPS prohibited child care providers from opening in time for high school and middle school teachers to get to work. As far as yesterday, it is unclear that a delay would have helped very much and they probably would have decided to close everything including child care, which should be a decision left up to providers absent a big snowstorm. Of course many parents have jobs that get disrupted when there is a two hour delay and that can be hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

If it's so great, then why not start elementary school at 11:30 every day?

[Anonymous]

You guys are up to page 60! Just go and enjoy your weekend. Its only December. You can argue snow days several more times before spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For everyone that’s mad about kids and staff reporting to work 2 hours later, I just wanna know…. Why???

Kids get to sleep in a little, and staff gets to take their time getting to work for once in their life. Why are you hating so much?

It wasn't much different 2 hours later, so what good would that have done?

[Anonymous]

School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School based staff are all over worked and under paid. Give them a break.

Snow delays and closures should be about safety, not a gift to staff. The uncertainty can be really tough for families, most of whom don't get paid well either. Of course, for safety, it has to be done sometimes.

It's nice to give teachers a break but then let's plan a longer school year and have more days off. I pay for child care for a reason but that doesn't help when they prohibit our provider from opening even though the providers are able to and want to open.