Tag: life in the time of corona

Quarantine Day 13?

Sammy broke out the book from his How to Draw Comic Books kit he got for Christmas.

He spent the better part of the afternoon on one part, huffing’ and fussin’ as he drew and erased and got frustrated because it wasn’t matching what was in the book.

I sat with him a little bit, not as long as I’d have liked, but we started over together and I told him the guy that wrote the book wasn’t five, it took him a long time to get that good, and I bet when he was five he couldn’t draw as well as Sammy can. Heck, Sammy was doing better than I could ever do, let alone at five.

He seemed to like that part. “When you were five you couldn’t draw?” Not as well as you can. “You probably could only do a stickman.” He kept working at it as I got busy with something else and a bit later he gave me this. It’s not like what was in the book, but it’s Sammy’s and it’s pretty darn good.

We’re almost two weeks into this social distancing and it’s awesome seeing the boys and their personalities and differences play out all day every day in ways we miss when they’re at school and we’re at work. And Sammy’s creativity consistently amazes me, this kid’s imagination and artistic streak is so cool. Now to keep encouraging it.

‘Write It Down’: Historian Suggests Keeping a Record of Life During Pandemic

If you are going to compose a journal of these times, make it something easy to do. If a journal becomes onerous, it does not work. You do not have to write or do things for the journal every day. Keep your writing and composing close by, so you can jot things down to return to them later. Jot things down, a few words here and there, but then compose them in full sentences.

When you read an article that you find telling, produce a link in your journal and write a few brief reflections. Include photographs, from the press and those that you take.

Many of us are writing today and producing our work on social media. It is an explosion. You can gather these voices, these experiences, all this creativity. They are all a record of our times. These voices are urgent.

How will we deal, socially, psychologically, with the increasing number of deaths all around us? Many are saying that around the globe our lives will not be the same again.

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The Dos and Don’ts of ‘Social Distancing’

If you’re confused about what to do right now, you’re not alone—even these experts occasionally disagreed on the answers to my questions. Where there were discrepancies, I’ve included all the different answers as fully as possible, and as the situation has evolved, I’ve allowed the experts to update their answers to questions to reflect new information. This guide is aimed toward those who are symptom-free and not part of an at-risk group, with an addendum at the end for those in quarantine. If you are symptom-free but are over 60 years old; have asthma, heart disease, or diabetes; or are otherwise at risk, experts recommend defaulting to the most conservative response to each of these questions.

There is a general consensus that while young and healthy people who are at lower risk for personally suffering severe illness from the coronavirus don’t have to be locking themselves in their homes for the next month, they do need to dramatically alter their daily lives, starting now.

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Coronavirus and eLearning

As people champion the idea of more schools and universities exploring online classes in the face of coronavirus, it’s a good time to remember that not everyone has at home access to the equipment and technology necessary to participate.

Computers, internet, webcams, this stuff isn’t magically available for everyone. Yes, MOST people have these things at home, but those that don’t are more often than not those who need access to education the most.

And if we get to this point, it’s not like libraries are going to be a viable option.

Problem is, should we get to the point of schools closing, then what’s the solution? Aside from saying “school’s out!”?

Related: Many Districts Won’t Be Ready For Remote Learning If Coronavirus Closes Schools

Many students across the country are equipped with tablets and computers provided by their schools. More than half of 300 school IT leaders who responded to a 2019 Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) survey said their districts have at least begun moving towards 1:1 programs in which each student has a device to complete assignments during the school day and at home.

But that leaves out many school districts where such devices aren’t provided, as well as many students, particularly in rural areas and from low-income backgrounds, for whom home access to the internet or a personal digital device is out of reach.

Some school leaders haven’t yet figured out how they would maintain the flow of learning if school needs to close for an extended period of time. Sal Pascarella, the superintendent of Danbury Public Schools in Connecticut, is resigned to accept that students won’t be able to access new concepts or learning materials if they’re stuck at home for more than a few days.

“Our school district would not be able to sustain in a meaningful way substantive teaching in the content area on a platform like teleteaching,” Pascarella said.

Of the district’s 12,000 students, 52 percent are eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, and school resources are tight, Pascarella said. Some of the district’s high schools have begun developing e-learning capabilities more generally, he said, but elementary and middle schools are further behind. Developing bilingual programs for the district’s substantial population of English-language learners has also been a challenge, he said.

Quarantined Wuhan kids find brilliant way to get out of schoolwork

Kids are amazing. Even in, or perhaps especially in, difficult times.  Schools were shut down as the spread worsened. And the quarantined kids were relieved to be off school … until they learned an app called DingTalk had been adopted so kids could get lessons and homework remotely.

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