Last week I received an email from a former colleague of mine who is still teaching. She reported with glee that a heavy snow storm had resulted in the cancelation of classes. Yes, teachers look forward to those winter "snow days" as much as the students. The snow had begun in the evening, continued all night, and it was still snowing the next morning when she took this photo that she sent to me.
Here in Mexico City we have been complaining about the cold temperatures. One morning last week the mercury dipped down to 37 degrees Fahrenheit... pretty chilly when you consider that homes here do not have central heating. However that picture puts things in perspective. Our worst winters here cannot compare to the snow and cold up north.
As a native Ohioan, I have seen plenty of rough winters, and during my thirty years of teaching, I experienced quite a few "snow days". We had a faculty telephone chain to inform us if classes were cancelled due to bad weather. However, I lived 20 miles from the school where I taught, and I would always leave the house early in the morning, especially during winter weather. There were a couple of times when I made it all the way to school only to find out that classes had been cancelled.
In 1977 and 1978 the Cleveland area suffered two especially rough winters with historic blizzards. I'm not sure which year it was, but I remember waiting to receive the phone call. I finally set out in the car in blizzard conditions. I had the radio on, hoping to hear my school listed as closed. I had gone less than a mile when the announcer said that no one should be out on the road. I turned around and went back home. As I entered the house, the phone was ringing. "No school today!"
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