Are Snow Days Worth a Longer School Year?

If the city of Woodhaven continues to have snow days, it could lead to adding extra days to the end of the school year. We are currently at four snow days this year, and according to the State of Michigan policy, a school is permitted only six snow days in a given year. Assuming that we went over the maximum number of days, it would force the district to add school days to the end of the year.
However, is it potentially a good thing? Or is it a bad thing? Having those extra days off during the year could prove to be beneficial, depending on where they fall and what’s going on in the classes on those days. Assuming that everything is set up for the perfect conditions, having those snow days would likely prove to be more beneficial than a hindrance. It would allow students to spend more time on a subject of choice to catch up with things, or just take the day off and relax from the high-stress environment that is school. Each deadline is on a different day, leading to the constant struggle to keep up. A day of relaxation could prove to work wonders on the mind and body for recovery. So if we have to add an extra day to the end of the school year when things slow down a bit to get a break from a high-stress environment, then that trade-off may be worth it. 

However, many people plan vacations to kick off summer break, and adding extra days to the end of the school year would disrupt a lot of family vacations and potentially lead to a decline in attendance for finals, hindering the school’s overall grades and GPAs.

Next time you think about wanting another day off from school due to the weather, think about what could happen if we continued to get snow days, and think about what you will do with those extra days off. Will you use it to your advantage, or would you treat it like the weekend?