Let’s talk about Snow Days.  You know, those wonderful bonus atmospheric events that dump great boulders of muck so quickly and so deeply that schools must determine when — in the best interest of the children, after all — to close for the day.  You know, those days that when teachers post on social media how excited they are to have a bonus day off the rest of the people throw stones.  You know, the events that cause people to criticize the profession because we already get our summers off, mind you.  How many  MORE days do we need, anyway?  Must be nice to take home that fat stack of greenbacks for part-time work, amiright?

First, allow me to dispel anyone of the #1 myth — I do not get paid to have my summers off.  I am contracted for 184 days.  I am compensated for working 184 days.  My salary, however, is spread out over 26 payments or 52 weeks.  So, yes, I do receive a paycheck in the summer but it is for the work I already did!  Now, I guess I could take it in a lump sum, but somehow it is easier to manage a family and budget with a bi-monthly direct deposit.

Let me also dispel the myth that I am overcompensated for the work I do.  I have as much (if not more) education than most professionals I know, including lawyers and MBA professionals, yet my hourly rate is nowhere near what they bill per client.  Guess what?  I had to take a licensing exam, too.  Guess what else?  My Master’s degree isn’t enough — I have to renew that license every 5 years with course work from accredited programs.  Guess what else, else?  I have to be an expert in adolescent psychology, in English Language, Literature, and Rhetoric, have training in recognizing signs of depression, sexual and physical abuse, illegal drug use, receive training in how to keep my students safe in the event of a school shooting, prepare them for end of course exams which have little to nothing to do with the real world and — BTW — are antithetical to the universally accepted college entrance exams, the ACT and SAT, which I also have to prep them for.  And I feed hungry kids.  And I clothe needy kids.  And I call social services weekly because even though I hate taking a child away from his mother I love him enough to help him be safe.  I’m supposed to discipline the student who doesn’t have a pencil today, never mind that he also doesn’t have heat in his home or a proper winter coat.  I teach students with an IQ of 148 and those with an IQ of 65.  Every day is agony…and ecstasy!  Because there is nothing better than having the privilege of being witness to a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.  Except for a gift from the universe in the form of crystallized H2O.

Myth #3:  I don’t have to work hard or worry about student achievement because I’m tenured.  I hate to break it to you, but 50% of my annual evaluation is based on student growth measures.  Every kid I teach has to make a year’s gain (see diversity makeup noted above).  In other words, I do earn my paycheck.  Every. Single. Day.

I will concede that unscheduled school closings create a hardship for working parents.  In addition, for some students, it is better to be at school than at home because that Free Lunch may be the only hot and nutritious meal the student eats today….or this week. These are the things I feel guilty about when I’m doing the Snow Day Happy Dance — because I’m reminded that while the day off is a treat for me, it is a burden for others.  Then again, my heart hurts when I’m driving into work on a day that should have been called but wasn’t and I pass students walking through deep snow without boots or gloves or hats or coats and the cold, biting wind is stinging their wee faces.

Finally, can we all just agree that the winter months are long and dreary?  I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.  We go weeks without sunlight — every day is cold and gray like a fat, dead pigeon.  I’m sure every job out there has its perks — this is ours.  Let us have it.