The Winterization Of Classes In Schools

By Connor Ferry on January 25, 2016

With winter storm Jonas passing, many students have experienced cancellations and delays due to the weather. In the not-so-distant past, students would be given snow days and revel in the break from classes and homework, but there is a recently developing trend in schools that will keep snow days from being breaks for students.

At Appalachian State University, this trend is called the Winterization of Classes and it is bad news for students who want time off from classes without having to use absences. Winterization of Classes is an attempt by administration and teachers to ensure that college students are still able to receive contact with their teachers, even if the campus is closed.

How does Winterization of Classes work? The trend is still developing. Some teachers communicate with students through email, some have online programs that allow them to create chat rooms, but the core principle of students working under the direct input of teachers is still there.

Anna Hargus, freshman at Appalachian State University, said, “It kind of seems like a useless thing to do … it just seems like busy work, because if you’re not in class then you’re not going to be able to do anything new.”

Examples of work given to Appalachian State students from teachers on these cancellation days are reading assignments (from a textbook or articles online), homework problems out of a textbook, reading responses, and watching films. Most work would not introduce new skills to students, but attempt to refine or enhance concepts that have already been presented in the classroom.

Some claim that Winterization does not provide the most important aspect of the classroom, which is time with the teacher. Though chat rooms attempt to solve that problem, some teachers and students may not be adept at expression via chat room.

From Flickr Creative Commons

School systems’ main motivation for giving work during snow days and cancellations is to ensure that students have time with their teachers and that their learning process is not hindered.

Superintendent of Stratford schools in Connecticut said in an interview with CNN, “What concerns us most is the lack of continuity in the kids’ education. There’s something about the energy of being in school every day that you miss.”

Some high school districts are implementing Winterization policies, but all of these policies are as varied as their collegiate counterparts. The important thing for these school districts is that they should decide what to do early in the semester, so that students are well aware of what is expected of them when snow days do occur.

The other reason for these Winterization policies is that it is easy for students to fall behind when they don’t have much time in the classroom. In high school, students deal with state made final exams while professors may make their own exams; they still have a desired amount of material that they would like to teach to students and these assignments help students keep on track with teachers’ plans and schedules.

Winterization seems to be a direct result of teaching institutions pushing for more technology in classrooms, with the increased proficiency in technological avenues in teachers and student alike allowing for different ways to teach students. Some of these experimental ways include apps and game oriented websites, things that students are able to access at home without needing to be in the classroom.

Some argue that Winterization is a flawed system, because if winter weather is strong enough to make schools close, it is also likely that students may lose power and be without the ability to connect to the Internet to retrieve or complete these assignments.

Another such problem is a lack of uniformity in the system. All professors teach with their own style and their assignments reflect that, but professors may not be able to incorporate websites or online presentations into their styles. An example of this might be that a professor knows that there is a Khan Academy lesson on a subject, but does not like their approach to the problem, but that same professor does not know how to create their own video or interactive presentation for students. So, professors who teach things outside of the norm are put at a disadvantage.

From Flickr Creative Commons

Though Winterization of Classes is not a perfect system, it is a reality for many high school and college students. This trend does seem to be spreading and it may soon affect students all over the country.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format