Yeah, I know. “Teachers have it so easy.” Yep.

No worries, though. If Arne Duncan and his buddies Bill Gates, ALEC, Pearson Ed., Eli Broad and a veritable circus of other clowns get their way, people like me won’t need to worry about any more delay or snow days, or any days at all, for that matter, because the arts will be judged superfluous and unnecessary. Because what can’t be counted doesn’t count: creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline, leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity (Bracey). You know, little stuff like that.

All bitterness aside, I will admit to feeling a bit guilty that I get to stay home when the roads are bad, and other workers have to schlep it in anyway. Student drivers do make a difference in what happens. I dunno. C’est comme ça. That’s just the way it is.

Still, in my experience, I’ve come to believe that the people who complain the loudest about teachers “having it so easy” on snow days are the same folks who’d run over their mothers to get to an attorney’s office to sue the district if the school bus or their teenage driver got into an accident because of bad roads or heavy fog. Those who say, “We never had this many snow days; heck, we never had any at all,” are often older people like me, who honestly didn’t have a lot of snow days. Why? Because back in the 60s and 70s (and for many, earlier still), society wasn’t so litigious. But for good or ill, somebody gets a jackpot for spilling hot coffee on her legs, and the avalanche begins. Nobody — especially those who operate on taxpayers’ good graces — wants to be sued, so they err on the side of caution. Can’t say as I blame them.

Blame. It’s a big business nowadays, although I’m happy to work the angle for free on certain topics.

It’s now 6:59 a.m., and I should probably think about the shower, breakfast, and the road. Thank the gods the Thriller is up and getting ready to shovel a path up the driveway for me. Int he nice? I don’t deserve him.