Many readers can think back to their school days and remember eagerly anticipating snow each year.
Not only for snowmen or snowball fights, but for a day off from classes.
Here in Texarkana and throughout much of the South, snow is rare. So are the opportunities to learn how to drive on the stuff. So it's always been the practice for schools to err on the side of caution and shut down during snowfalls that would be considered nothing at all to our neighbors up north.
So it's been for the past couple of days in the Twin Cities. Arkansas-side schools closed Tuesday and Wednesday for snow and ice, and Texas-side campuses were closed Tuesday and opened late the following day.
We are sure students had a lot of fun while off. Their parents? Maybe not so much.
But snow doesn't automatically equal a day off for some other nearby students.
Thanks to the Arkansas Legislature, starting this year about half the school districts in the state have the option of using Alternative Methods of Instruction days instead of snow days.
That means students and teachers don't come to class-they do the work at home.
Teachers give the students assignments to complete on those days away from school. Students can ask questions via phone, text or social media.
Kind of takes the fun out of it.
Most of the districts approved to use AMI days are in the northern part of the state, where snow is much more common. Texarkana is not on the list for the 2017-2018 school year.
That may make some students happy. But the reason for the AMI is so that school years don't have to be extended due to missed instruction. Approved districts get five AMI days at their discretion. The state education commissioner is allowed to grant up to five more AMI days a year not only in case of weather, but also if there is some other weather emergency, a utility outage, a contagious disease outbreak or some other event that would close down a campus.
With any luck, AMI days might be available to local schools one day. It never hurts to have a bit of insurance if something happens. A day off may be nice now, but extending the term doesn't make anyone, students or staff, happy.
Besides, a little learning break from the snow never hurt anyone.