Snow Make-up Days

It seems so easy to be critical of others these days. Has it always been this way? I’m not sure, but it’s not attractive.

My older son missed 8 days of school during a two-week period due to winter weather last month. I had thought that winter was going to pass us by completely this year, without a single snowflake. However, February proved it had something to say about that. We were dumped on with snow, sleet, and freezing rain during various parts of the end of the month.

People (parents mostly) criticized the Wake County Public School System on a number of fronts during this time, and still are today. During the storms, they were critical of exactly when announcements were made that school would or wouldn’t be closed. Announce it too early, and they were blamed for not waiting long enough to see what would actually materialize. Announce it too late, and parents were scrambling to figure out their schedules.

The latest is that a group of thousands has signed a petition to save Spring Break week, of which 3 of 5 days are now being used as snow make-up days for the schools. I understand that it has inconvenienced some plans. I get that parents now have to decide whether to go on their family vacation or stay home and lose the vacation deposit. That’s not fair, it’s true.

Life sometimes isn’t fair, and we all must make hard decisions because of that. Life isn’t fair to the families who have plans. Life also wasn’t fair to the Wake County Public School System school board this year, was it? No matter when the Board had chosen to put the make-up days, they were bound to get criticized harshly by students and parents affected by their decision. Are you a Christian? A Good Friday make-up day would have insulted you (even if you hadn’t been to church in 20 years). Do you have soccer plans on Saturdays? Then surely Saturday make-up days would have insulted you. Have after-school events scheduled for yourself or your kids? Then extending the school day by 15 minutes some days would have drawn your critical eye.

So, here we are. I believe the school board did the best job they could this winter given the circumstances they had to deal with. They are not out to get you and screw up all your plans for the rest of the year. Actually, they are here to help in the process of educating your children. They have made some mistakes along the way, true; but they have acknowledged them and are trying their best.

We don’t have to agree with their decisions. But, we should at least have some compassion.