On Snow Days

One of the “benefits” of working at a school is the deliciousness of snow days and delays. As much as anyone loves school (and believe me, teachers at schools like Cardin do!) there’s nothing quite as precious as an extra hour of sleep in the morning, often unexpected, sometimes anticipated. Snow days not only provide a break to the monotony that can so easily characterize the dark days of January and February, they also remind us of our place in the universe – there’s a lot we can control, but certainly not everything. “Weather events” serve as a warning that we humans are limited, and to some extent we must accept this and deal with it. Our attitude can affect our experience: if we think only of the clearing of our cars, we will miss out on the winter wonderland that glistens around us. Something I’ve learned to appreciate in my years at Cardin is how our head of school determines what will be the school’s response: we have time off when we genuinely need it, not as a reflexive reaction to the threat of snow. A week ago, snow was predicted but no more than a dusting appeared – but Baltimore and Howard Counties had decided too early and delayed school for what was essentially a non-happening. In the case of Cardin, we reacted to the actual event and didn’t lose valuable school time. On Wednesday, January 12, 2011, however, we did open two hours late, and the sun dazzling off the snow lit up the many classrooms with large windows.

~Leslie Smith Rosen
Dean of General Studies