eDay: Effective means of making up snow days (Editorial)
Many students find it beneficial to take on school work within the comfort of their homes.
The first eDay, or Flexible Instructional Day as the PA Department of Education calls them, was held last year on April 6, 2015 (a previously designated snow make up day). Students were told that instead of coming to school, they would stay home to complete their work. Was this a successful method to make up snow days?
Many students complained that they had to do work on a day that they could just stay home and do nothing; however, using an eDay can actually turn out to be a better use of time in the end. If too many snow days are used, as they were last year, the school year may end up being extended in June. The eDay prevents that from happening by using days during the school year, without having to leave home and go to school.
The school work was posted by each teacher to their website, but students without internet access at home could request a paper copy from their teacher. Every students has a chance to complete the assigned schoolwork either at home or in school. All the same work gets done, without having to leave the comfort of your home.
Stephanie Douglas, the Director of Digital Learning and Technology, said, “[eDay] provides an opportunity for students to experience and develop online and independent learning skills.” Students who don’t do a lot of work independently could get experience by finishing their work online.
It doesn’t seem like eDay will be a problem this year either way, as it has yet to snow in significant amounts. If we were to miss days of school due to weather issues, eDay could be a desirable substitute to coming in to school on a snow make-up day. This would add up to more days staying at home and less days spent in a school building.
Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2015-2016 Periscope staff, CHS Administration, or the CHS student body.
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Kenny Brenizer is a junior and the perspectives editor for the 2016-2017 Periscope staff. She does no sports. She has no hobbies. She just wants cats and...
Sarah Frick • Feb 9, 2016 at 11:02 am
The e-day is an effective way of compromising between still getting your schoolwork done and not having to make up the school day later in the year but still having the opportunity to do as you please and sleep in if you want! I’m all for them!
Micaela Moffatt • Jan 15, 2016 at 9:31 pm
I agree with Emma. I think that the idea of an E-day is great, but actually making it happen doesn’t seem to work out as well. This year, hopefully, it will be a bit more organized as we all have a little bit of experience with it now.
Charles Willis • Jan 15, 2016 at 1:16 pm
Last year at my old school, I had many snow days due to the weather. I actually found that I am capable of accomplishing a lot more work when at home than school. However, I feel that snow days should be days where we can catch up on our own and not a day where more assignments are dropped on us.
Kaelan Felknor-Edwards • Jan 15, 2016 at 11:46 am
I agree with Emma that they are theoretically good, but the logistics of pulling off an E-day may be more challenging. In some classes, like choir, an E-day does not really serve to make up the missed time as you would not have known to bring your music home to practice or do other activities. While E-days are an excellent idea, they need to be fine-tuned to become truly an effective replacement.
Emma Bateman • Jan 14, 2016 at 8:26 am
I think that E-day is good in theory. It does give students an opportunity to do different work and do it at home, but I think it can be challenging for arranging lesson plans.