A winter storm hits New York City, and schools across the five boroughs are closed—triggering a familiar debate about the real reasons snow days have all but disappeared. Instead of sleds and snowball fights, students are logging on from home, laptops open, cameras (sometimes) on. But do remote learning days actually work? Are they meaningfully effective for students, families, and teachers—or are they a convenient substitute for something we’ve quietly lost?

Email us your comments or questions at [email protected]