Today was our first day of “school” following our planned two week Spring Break followed by a bonus week of staying home at the directive of Ohio’s Governor, Mike Dewine.  This post is a little bit of brain dump and a little bit of a time capsule — I have lots of feelings about how we are responding to the pandemic as well as what it means and how it is impacting our students.

First, things that make me happy:  no alarm clock, extra walks with my dog, my kid home from college (sad for him, but happy for me), finishing projects around the house, no need for excuses when my introvert nature doesn’t feel like going out, and lots of extra time at the barn to play with my horse.

Things that frustrate me:  intermittent internet when I’m trying to ZOOM with my students and colleagues, hackers ruining ZOOM for those of us who rely on it, toilet paper hoarders (hoarders in general), not being able to see my friends, people continuing to shed and spread the virus despite stay at home directives because even though they have nothing to buy they are taking field trips to Walmart and Lowe’s.

Things I worry about:  when will it end, will there be summer as I know it, my elderly mother and in-laws.

Things I’m sad about:  my son’s freshman year of college and his baseball season ended abruptly, and many of my students have left the country and will not have those Senior Year special events like Prom and Graduation.

I’m grateful for social media to stay connected and find things to laugh about every day.  There have been lots of “how well do you know me” type posts among friends, and we were laughing today about all the tricky math problems that are posting up to stump your friends — we are so bored that we’re entertaining ourselves with algebra! (funny, remember when we asked as students when we were going to use Algebra as adults?)  I’m irritated with the stupidity shared on that same social media — people don’t read articles or dig further to measure whether or not what they’re reading is actually true or based in fact.

Of late there are lots of statements being shared about the use of a chemical called Chloroquine Phosphate to treat COVID-19.  It is a medicine that has been used to treat malaria and lupus, neither of which are the same as COVID-19.  Some people say that the President is pushing it because he owns stock in the company. Doctors say that it has not been tested for use against this illness and should not be prescribed off label.  It is an ingredient in fishtank cleaner.  People have already died from trying it at home.  It makes me sad that people are so scared and desperate that they will take unsound advice and treat themselves.  Is this how social Darwinism works?  There was another tidbit being shared on social media about the use of Ivermectin in treating this virus.  Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic.  Corona is a virus.  Very different.  Ivermectin is used to dose animals, such as horses, to rid them of large and small strongyles.  Worms.  Corona is not a worm.  The good news is that the people who are buying up all the horse dewormer are probably the same people who have hoarded all the toilet paper and they will need it when they take the Ivermectin — that’s how it rids the body of worms, you see, via your intestinal tract.  Maybe they will just poop themselves instead of DYING FROM BEING POISONED BY HORSE DEWORMER!

I’m not sure how the school thing is going to work.  I have worked in a homeschool type environment, and that is not what this is.  There is an expectation that much of what our students are able to do will mimic what we would do in a traditional classroom setting.  But they don’t HAVE a traditional setting — maybe they are competing for computer time with other siblings or working parents, or live somewhere with intermittent internet or no internet at all.  Successful homeschool programs are student inquiry-driven and learning materials are sourced based on these guiding questions.  We’re not doing that, unless teachers are providing personalized learning for each individual student.  So far what I’ve seen are packets and worksheets and one-size-fits-all teacher-driven activities.  I see a lot of passive learning — teacher-created videos to talk at their students, sometimes with accompanying whiteboard examples, or ZOOM meetings where the leader talks at the participants. We don’t do that in the classroom.  I like to see more project-based learning, creative projects, reflection, engagement.  But it’s hard to teach like this, and if the adults are struggling, how do you think the kiddos are feeling?

So my goal is to check-in with my students as often as possible just to let them know that I’m here and I miss them and that I hope they are ok.  This new model is scary — no end in sight, routines disrupted or abandoned altogether, confusing media and mixed messages.  Hopefully the activities I am assigning aren’t adding to their stress levels. Mostly I want them to go outside — away from others, of course.  I’ve been walking my dog a lot and I can’t help but notice how STILL it feels.  Less traffic = less noise.  More birds.  More green starting to erupt.  It feels cleaner and fresher.  Maybe COVID is Mother Nature’s response to our busyness.  We’ve been too busy to stop to smell the roses, or to even plant them.  Now we’re planted.  Maybe we will learn to grow where we are planted.