Skip to main content

The Tiny Tweet

 


A sign of the times: HCPSS released a “snow cancellation announcement that isn’t” last night which takes into account the new world of distance learning that we live in.

1/26/21, Virtual instruction as scheduled; HCPSS buildings are closed. Meal service canceled. In-person evening activities w/ HCPSS students/staff & community-sponsored programs in HCPSS buildings are canceled.

I must admit I was extremely gratified by the lone student voice who came back with:

What if the power goes out

I noticed that, earlier in the evening, this same account had responded to an earlier HCPSS tweet with this question:

If there are power outages cause of ice tmrw, can we get off to play in the snow

Long-time readers of the blog know that I hold a particular fondness for students turning up on Twitter trying to influence weather-related school decisions. We haven’t seen many of them lately, since high school students have abandoned Twitter for Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and other platforms I am too lame to be “up on.” 

I miss them.

Now they are more likely to turn up on Twitter if they are attempting to holler at adults to get their attention, for instance, when calling out racist behavior by peers. The rest of the time they have better places to be.

Something about these two tweets tugged at my heartstrings a little bit. Even in a world so changed by the pandemic, there’s such a basic desire to get a day off, to break the expected routine: to play. Do you remember being that age? Do you remember what an amazing gift that would have been? 

Our kids’ world is so different from ours, and yet the kids who they are, deep down inside, may be more like us than we realize. We should never forget how essential play is, and part of play involves having the time and the space and the free choice to create one’s own enjoyment. Even in a pandemic, or maybe especially in a pandemic, having the autonomy to make those choices makes the difference between mere survival and actually thriving.

To be honest, teens could also be looking to get a chance to sleep in followed by an unstructured jumble of lying on the couch on social media, binge-watching, gaming, hanging out via group chat. And the hook of “playing in the snow” could be out there baited for nostalgic oldsters like me, ready to believe in the magical properties of a snow day. 

It’s possible. 

But that’s okay. I remember being that kid, too. Don’t you?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more