2-Hour Delays are the Best... And the Worst

Everyone LOVES a 2-hour delay. You don't have to make it up at the end of the year, classes are shortened, and the kids are more alert in the morning. At school yesterday, everyone was getting in the mindset that school would be cancelled the following day due to a huge snow storm heading our way. During all the chatter (of which I could hear the hopefulness in student voices....and some teacher voices, too), all I thought was Are you kidding? This is Indiana. We probably won't end up with any snow at all. And if we do, DON'T hope for a snow day, just a delay! Besides, that's what we'll get.


Surprise, surprise, my foresight was correct! I couldn't have been more cheerful as I was getting ready to hear my phone ring followed by the automated message from the superintendent announcing the delay. How nice it was to not be in the building the entire day on a Friday. 

When I got to school, though, I thought of how my students would be rushed for today's activities because classes are shortened to 30 minutes. We have been writing research papers on genetic disorders for a little over a week and the paper is due at the end of the day. All my procrastinators will be in a bind to get it finished, plus remember their in-text citations, plus the proper format for MLA (although I've been telling them about this all along). There are no other days to go to the computer lab for the rest of the semester though due to state standardized testing (side note--the students spend about a month's worth of school taking these sort of tests throughout the year). So, I've offered that students come in during study halls throughout the day or they can email the final copy before midnight tonight--the public library is open after school, as well as the resource room at the school being open until 5:30.

I am happy to see the support system that many of them have at home--multiple students came in with the paper already completed because "mom made me finish it last night just in case." What a great parent! Knock the procrastinator right out of 'em!