We disagreed about many things during the coronavirus pandemic, but we can all agree that the villain of the story is New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
We’ve finally found his antithesis — the local hero who, amid this awful plague, sides with good, beauty, humanity, and snowball fights.
Bondy Shay Gibson is the superintendent of schools for Jefferson County, West Virginia. Her sole official action of import was declaring a snow day in the county, which was salutary enough. But it was the way she did it, and the backdrop of inhumane, anti-child lockdowns of 2020 against which she did it, that made Gibson a hero.
The politicians and educrats in all our biggest cities and their surrounding wealthy suburbs made the decision over the summer to force children into dreadful online schooling. It’s not that children love going to school; it’s that children benefit from going to school. And a day of Zooming into European history, algebra, and third-grade reading is just as dreadful as a day of sitting in the classroom — but minus the friends.
Keep in mind, state and city officials have also closed playgrounds, canceled Little League seasons, and forced masks on 2-year-olds. It’s been a great time for people who like to boss around children.
With all the oddities of remote schooling, students up and down the East Coast eyed the approach of a Dec. 16 snowstorm with wonder: Do you still get snow days if you’re already remote?
Ha! Not in de Blasio’s New York!
“With a powerful winter storm on the way,” the mayor tweeted, “we’re going to CANCEL in-person learning for @NYCSchools on Thursday, December 17. I know we all grew up with the excitement of snow days, but this year is different. Tomorrow will be a FULL REMOTE learning day for our students.”
Meanwhile, over in Jefferson County, they had a hero rather than a villain.
“For generations, families have greeted the first snow day of the year with joy,” Gibson’s letter states. “It is a time of renewed wonder at all the beautiful things that each season holds. A reminder of how fleeting a childhood can be. An opportunity to make some memories with your family that you hold on to for life.”
“For all of these reasons and many more, Jefferson County Schools will be completely closed for tomorrow, Dec. 16, in honor of the 1st snow day of the year,” the letter continues. “Closed for students … closed for virtual … closed for staff.”
Gibson added: “It has been a year of seemingly endless loss and the stress of trying to make up for that loss. For just a moment, we can all let go of the worry of making up for the many things we missed by making sure this is one thing our kids won’t lose this year.”
“We will return to the serious and urgent business of growing up on Thursday,” the letter concluded. “But for tomorrow, go build a snowman.”
