26 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 24, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Lament for the snow day
We know not exactly when the
fi rst snow day in public school
history occurred — but we do
know the day in which the tradition
THE QUEENS
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
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ZACHARY GEWELB
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JACOB KAYE
ANGELICA ACEVEDO, JENNA BAGCAL, KATRINA MEDOFF,
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CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
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Story: Rental prices and lease signings continue to
drop in northwest Queens: Report
Summary: Despite tumbling rents, the number of
new leases signed in northwest Queens fell for the
16th straight month in November, according to a
new report from real estate fi rm Douglas Elliman.
Reach: 4,120 (as of 12/21/20)
of canceling classes because
of snowfall died.
It happened Wednesday, Dec.
16, 2020.
For on that day, New York’s
Department of Education
announced that public school
buildings would be closed the
next day due to an impending
snowstorm — but that all classes
would go on anyway through
remote learning.
Th e announcement came in
a roughly 51-word email sent
to parents and school offi cials
on Dec. 16. And though it’s not
yet offi cial, it seemed to mark
the end of a decades-old tradition
of an off -day for young New
Yorkers whenever a big snowstorm
converged upon our city.
No, Virginia, there isn’t a
snow day anymore. And you can
blame this on the COVID-19
pandemic, too.
We’ve had the technology to
conduct remote learning for
years now with the advent of
computers, broadband internet
and high-tech cameras. But it
was never fully utilized by public
schools until COVID-19 arrived
in New York back in March, and
the schools were promptly shut
down.
Th ere was no way the city
would allow students to remain
home for the remainder of the
school year without an education,
so the Department of
Education adapted on the fl y.
Teachers and students made use
of the gear they had to shift classes
online.
But most everyone involved in
education — teachers, parents,
elected offi cials, even students
— has come to one conclusion
about remote learning: It is absolutely
no substitute for a classroom
education.
And while students and teachers
will return to the classrooms
soon enough, there’s one thing
that won’t: the snow day. Because
with an announcement and the
fl ick of a few keyboards, the
classes can go on even in the
middle of a blizzard.
Every bit of progress indeed
comes with cost, and so it seems
the snow day is the victim of
progress. Some parents may
rebel and let their kids enjoy the
fun anyway. Days of hooky, virtual
or in person, are still absences
in the city’s book.
But we feel sad for the future
generations of students deprived
of the thrill of a “school’s closed”
announcement, and carefree
weekdays of sledding, snow
angels and snowball fi ghts.
Now it’s just another day at a
desk.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
The implementation of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to the end of snow days as we know it.
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