In case you live in the South or Southern California, you may never have the experience of waiting for a blizzard. Many years ago, when I was a child in Houston, weather forecasting was not a science, and we didn’t get much advance warning about hurricanes and storms. Now they warn us several days in advance. We watch the forecasts to see if the track of the storm changed. We shop to stock up a few meals. We watch and wait. It is supposed to arrive in New York City tonight after midnight. Today was a beautiful, sunny day. Hard to believe that in a few hours the white stuff will blanket the city.
So what do you do? First, you walk the dog. She’s 80 pounds and very frisky. She loves snow. She burrows in, puts her face in it, rolls in it. For her, it’s a champagne bath. Well, that’s tomorrow.
Tonight, I watched a fascinating show on PBS about Justice Scalia and one of his law clerks, who completely disagreed with his beliefs. I don’t know if it is based on a true story. The writing was brilliant. What a great clash of ideas and principles it was. I recommend it to you if it is repeated. Maybe if enough Republicans watched, they won’t cut the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
I bought the fixings to make chicken soup tomorrow when the blizzard is howling.
I hope that everyone has a shelter tomorrow.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
enjoy making the soup while the storm rages, enjoy the dog’s bliss, keep safe and warm…. you are loved by so many of us…..
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Stay safe and warm…I love baking bread and fixing a crockpot of beef stew or chili on a snowy day.
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That’s just what I am doing, making a loaf of bread and a pot of chili.
We got about ten inches of snow. It could have been worse.
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Stay safe Diane Ravitch.
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Remember that no matter how externally cold it gets in NYC, the internal weather within and between New Yorkers far exceeds the external sunshine that blankets SO CA!
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Dear Dr. Ravitch;
I love your kind thought on the shelter for all homeless people.
Your hope reminds me of my prayer for the first three years in Canada. Every night, I always prayed to God who will bless all boat people to survive on their journey. The first three years, I never fought back others even that they stole my tips in front of my eyes or I would not talk back to people who abused their power to bully me. I set myself an example of being gentle and kind to savage people.
More than 30 years later, after I am able to articulate my thought well enough, I still do not like to use harsh language on the IGNORANTLY savage people. In the past 30+ years, I have practiced to give away whatever I could afford to give from love, care to money, BUT not a CURSE except a curse on people with intentional power to harm powerless people.
It would be just to see bad people with power who vomit BLOOD in public in lieu of dying in BLOOD vomiting in private. Lots of love. May
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Well, I’m in Dearborn, MI. I worked here for 9 yrs. 4months, and then got “laid off”. Highly qualified most years, minimally qualified and laid off. I was the only one laid off – due to “budget cuts” they said.
Thank who? that I have survived 3 years without my “teacher” job (I am a speech/language pathologist in special education departments that keep getting less able to provide for the students). My former district posted today from the superintendent many pictures of people holding signs that say “STUDENTS FIRST”. Many, many signs with smiling faces. I know many of these students and staff members, including the administration that railroaded many good teachers out, so they could hire 2 for the price of 1.
Only 1 of 23 do I know that became “homeless”.
The middle school 3 blocks down the street (Stout) where I worked for 3 years is a “warming center”.
If I had lost my heat and electricity, I could walk 2 blocks and the middle school where I was bullied by administration – would help me now.
I guess I should be grateful.
I am.
I did not lose my heat.
I lost my job.
So I have 3 people staying with me to reap the warmth of my house.
I didn’t lose my house because of the job loss.
I didn’t lose my heat during this March winter storm.
I can still help.
I lost my job. I lost my dignity.
But I’ll get over it.
It’ll be alright.
Especially with Trump leading the country!!!!!
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5 a.m. and about to go out to shovel for a while….. If we can keep up with the storm hour by hour then perhaps the snow will be manageable… Luckily, my son is home on break from college so he can lend a hand. It does give me pause to stop for a moment amidst the blowing snow and watch him cut through drifts that leave me winded now.
These kids give me hope….their energy and enthusiasm. And, with all the problems our country is facing these days, this blog is needed now more than ever, Diane. What could be more important than being there, looking out for, helping our children?
Thanks for the shelter you provide day after day to all of us. Stay warm.
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About 10 hours later…..20+ inches of snow and still coming down. Delaware County, NY on Route 97 …..5 miles north of Long Eddy.
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John,
You got our snow! After days of warnings of 18-24″, we got a slush storm. Maybe 3″ accumulation but tough to walk. Very icy.
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It’s amazing to have known we were off this morning. I’m grateful to Bill de Blasio for displaying the sort of common sense that’s been largely absent for the last three decades I’ve taught in NYC. Usually Joel Klein would wait until 5 AM or so before letting 1.1 million children and over 100,000 employees whether or not they were coming in. There’s also a delayed opening mechanism that has been used precisely once, during a brief transit strike.
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I am going to disagree . It is good to make everyone aware that Mass Transit and Highways as well as Schools may have to be shut and will be shut if conditions warrant it . It is not unreasonable to ask people to tune in at four or five in the morning to get the answer.
Preemptively shutting down these systems on a warning is a very costly affair for many citizens(not me, I am retired). Many who can not afford the loss of income. Either because of lack of transportation or the need to provide child care. The National Weather service has been phenomenal in their ability to forecast major events. Being able to make these calls a week or more in advance . What they can not do is predict the intensity of the event when a shift of as little as 50 miles can mean the difference between a Nor’easter that is a snow event and a Nor’easter that is a rain event . It is still the correct call either way. As of now it seems that I may need a squeegee and not a shovel in Central Long Island. The gas I bought for the snow blower wont go to waste.
Safety may be the paramount concern but a little inconvenience does not hinder safety. Set the alarm to 4am and then go back to sleep.
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I’m jealous!
We didn’t get squat for snow this year. I love the snow, so beautiful, quiet, picturesque, did I say quiet. And yes my 135 lb chocolab loves the snow also!
But it’s time to go camping, fishing, canoeing with guys I’ve known since grade/high school-should be 10-12 happy campers this time. It’s something like our 40th year of our semi-annual Trophy Trout Trip, every March and October. Who would have thought back in 76-77 or so that we’d still be doing this trip after all these years.
It’s only supposed to get down to 15 degrees tonight! Kind of makes it hard to shuffle the cards! Should be the worst of the weather, though, into the 60s by Sunday!
You all have a good one for the rest of the week!!
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Don’t be jealous ,depending where on Long Island Diane lives she may need galoshes more than snow shows today . Which by March 14th is OK by me. .
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Joel,
I am in Brooklyn, and thus far, the blizzard is more of a slush storm than a blizzard. I love big snow storms so I am disappointed.
However it is yet another reason not to put your faith in Big Data. The only upside thus far is that preparing for the blizzard was great for local businesses.
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dianeravitch
I am a little more forgiving out in Huntington . The data is fine we have a nor’easter just not the snow . So like testing and data, the problem is not the data, but how we choose to use it . Nothing wrong in knowing how are children are doing . But knowing how they are doing does not tell us why or what to do about it. Nor does more data by itself shed more light on the situation. A long history of nor’easter s turning this way or that and supper computers at the National Weather Service can’t deliver the snow you want .
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Change that are to our children
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and supper to super computers . Spoiled by the edit button
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This is a speech DeVos gave to a gathering of public school leaders:
https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-prepared-remarks-council-great-city-schools
Read that and compare it to any Arne Duncan speech or indeed anything written by any high-profile ed reformer.
There is no difference. There is no “Democratic” ed reform or “liberal” ed reform.
It’s all the same. Democrats and liberals do not have a theory of public education. They have simply lifted the entire far Right agenda and relabeled it “equity”.
There will be a lot of yelling and screaming about “Trump’s education policy” but when you read it you realize there is not a dime’s worth of difference among the various factions of ed reform. DeVos and Duncan could easily give the same speech.
If you’re in a teachers union and your union is donating to Democrats you are backing people who have NO coherent principles or beliefs on public education. They sound exactly like Republicans because they lifted their entire agenda from Republicans.
Here’s the “choice” you’re making when you are voting R or D on education. You are choosing between “federal guardrails” and “state guardrails”. The only thing Democrats offer public school supporters is “federal guardrails”. No one outside the echo chamber even knows what that means.
Ask your union leaders why they keep pouring money down this hole. You’re not getting anything for it.
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Chiara, you’re absolutely right. Did you notice that almost every Democrat on the HELP committee proudly declared their unwavering support for charters at DeVos’ confirmation hearing? And Democrat-on-Deck Cory Booker just clarified his support for vouchers on CNN. http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/03/12/cory-booker-entire-state-of-the-union-march-12-2017-sotu-intv.cnn
Now is the time, before midterm elections when Democratic voters have to face the “anyone but them” moment at the ballot box, to push these issues out there. Democrats need to become champions of public education again instead of running scared to the center to help turn our whole system over to the privatizers.
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So far as I could tell, Tim Kaine was the only member of the Senate HELP committee who understands that charters are the pathway to vouchers.
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I’m sure he understands more than most elected officials because his wife was Secretary of Ed in Virginia. Rare.
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90% of kids go to public schools and this is the Republican and Democratic approach to public schools:
“If a child is able to grow and flourish, it shouldn’t matter where they learn, and one of those quality options should be a great public school,” she said. “I know that you have their best interests at heart, so I’m confident that we can work together to improve education for all kids.”
“One of the options should be” your child’s school. They are willing to allow public schools to continue to exist but only as a disfavored “default” back up for the preferred “choice” schools. They have no positive agenda, at all, for existing public schools. The BEST you can hope for a is a grudging acceptance that public schools may still exist at the end of the privatization campaign.
This is a ripoff for kids in public schools. They deserve adults who are actually committed to the schools they actually attend, instead of some ideological vision. They can do better. We deserve adults who SUPPORT our schools, not adults who consider our schools some lesser “safety net” for the choice system. Charters and vouchers have politicians who advocate on their behalf. We should have some too.
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Don’t be fooled by DeVos. She doesn’t think that any public school is a great school. She says they are government schools. She has spent thirty years trying to eliminate government schools.
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EXCELLENT ADVICE, Diane.
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I flew to Philadelphia this past weekend to attend my brother’s funeral on a bitter cold morning. We were fortunate to leave on Sunday and beat the blizzard. We’re back in Florida thankful to have missed the storm.
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My condolences retired.
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I miss storms. When I was a girl in Indianapolis, we survived the Blizzard of 1978. By then, there were still 7 of us kids at home and we slept in the living room by the fireplace because there was no heat and no electricity for days. My dad kept the fire going (he probably didn’t sleep, worried as he undoubtedly was about a fire) and, when we ran out of firewood, he went to the garage to get old furniture to burn.
In 1992, I was living in Los Angeles, and the civil unrest broke out following the not-guilty verdicts in the case against the officers who beat Rodney King. From the 6th floor of a mid-city apartment building, I could see fires all over the city. We thought our neighborhood would be next. My first impulse was to get to the grocery store and stock up. We have storms, but not the kind that bring that combination of excitement and peace that a snow storm does. I hope you enjoy the next few days.
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Be safe, my friends up in the blizzard’s path! This is winter’s last hurrah.
Yes, while I bask in southwest Florida’s sunshine, no one is immune from Mother Nature. Last night we were under a tornado warning from the southern end of the system that is clobbering you all.
I do miss the snow and the beauty of seeing trees and everyday animated items covered in a still, white blanket. I don’t miss shoveling, wondering if the car will start, and leaving an extra thirty minutes early to allow time to drive in the stuff. I sure don’t miss ice storms and the roads being ice rinks.
I remember the small window of time after a storm where the roads were still covered with snow and you could put on cross country skis, there were no cars on the road and you could safely explore town without fear of being hit.
So enjoy it. May your power stay on and your heat be plentiful.
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Born, raised, and live in California, but I have skied in blizzards in the mountains in Southern California and in Oregon when no one else was on the slopes. I don’t know if that counts.
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Diane,
Stay inside!!! Was it last year you fell? It can happen so quickly and change things so dramatically. Please be safe. Eat your soup, read a great book, play catch with the dog. One misstep and everything changes. And yes, I speak from experiences.
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Ms. Cartwheel, thank you for your concern. I tripped and fell in 2014, broke my knee, and had a year of recuperation. It changed my life, my energy level, and my outlook. The streets are very icy, and I have hired a dog walker for two days. Mitzi is 80 lbs and she could pull me over easily, so I’m taking no chances!
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I’m glad to hear you have taken precautions. Sometimes a bad outcome can be prevented. I hope Mitzi enjoyed her guest walker and the snow that fell(pun!).
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