This is going to make me sound really old...

jertie · February 2011

but...back in my day, they never closed the schools just for cold temperatures. I'll admit, it's dangerously cold here right now (-10 this morning at 7), but they only closed the schools for blizzards and tons of snow when I was a kid (many, many, many years ago). All of the schools here are closed, but we only got about 2-inches of snow. Does anyone else's city do this? Does anyone else remember school being cancelled on a count of cold when they were little?

martinimomma · February 2011

Hilarious - I had this SAME diuscssion with my DH this morning related to snow days when the radio announcers were talking about schools closing today (we got like 2" in Chicago last night) and tomorrow -- when it is not subzero and before we even see how much snow actually comes.

I think there was ONE snow day my entire grammar and high school life. And I remember standing at the bus stop in subzero weather. Regularly. And I survived.

Particularly in places where it snows or is cold on a regular basis, I just don't get why people are FREAKING OUT and no one seems to be able to handle it any more. I understand if Atlanta freak out because of snow -- but Chicago? Can we see how much we get before we decide the sky is falling?

Old lady rant over//

ETA: I also walked up hill to school, both ways. Natch.

Oatoa · February 2011

I grew up in NJ where it doesn't get to be sub zero. But when I was young they NEVER closed school for snow. I lived in a small town where everyone walked to school so it didn't matter if the roads were bad. Now it's like...oh there might be snow? Let's close! Where did that mind frame come from?

Froggy76 · February 2011

I think we did. The busses wouldn't start.

HappyLaLa0914 · February 2011

I have been having this conversation lately too! The schools in my area have been cancelled a lot, but more than that it seems like they are on 2-hour delay every other day! I can probably count on one hand the number of 2 hour delays I remember having as a kid. Last night they were forecasting for this big ice storm with freezing rain this morning and local schools started posting 2-hour delays at like 5:00 last evening. Imagine the surprise when we all woke up this morning to 32 degrees and just a tiny bit of rain - no ice storm to be found. Confused

petergene14 · February 2011

I think this is a way that they can cut school days and cut costs. I know in my area public school funding is continually being cut and they are having to cut school days and teachers salaries, so I think they are doing so many snow days and such for these reasons more than because of the weather.

jen629 · February 2011

They never closed for us but then again I am almost 40 ..lol..they close everything nowadays no matter how much or how little snow

baloneydisc · February 2011

I'm glad they closed all of the schools this morning, it means I have the day off!

Seriously though, I don't remember what the schools did in Virginia, we moved when I was in 3rd grade. When we moved to Florida they would close EVERYTHING any time there were snow flurries, so I'm betting if it DID ever get as cold as it is here today they would close the schools.

twistedmetal · February 2011

I didn't even know what snow days were until I started university in Mass. We never had off, but for religious holidays (small catholic school).

tew213 · February 2011

I remember having a handful of snow days back in the day. But I went to a private school and they call off more. In the area I teach, they call a late start if it is -30 (with windchill). We have snow days once every couple of years - depending. We had an early dismissal today and snow day tomorrow - but there is literally a blizzard out there and 0 visability!

When I taught in NC, they called off at the thought of snow. One year DH and I went Christmas shopping during a snow day while everyone else was freaking out at the inch of snow they may get!

sisterrael · February 2011

Districts got more conservative about calling off school for bad weather when parents started suing schools because little Johnny put is car in the ditch trying to get to school. It's not for funding issues as we have to make up the days, and at least where I teach, our salary is not impacted in the least by snow days. Our long summer breaks just get significantly shortened.