Pandemic Narrative, Part 2

Okay, first of all: We went from twenty-one to thirty-five cases overnight. I’ve seen too many pics and videos posted on social media showing how many people aren’t taking this seriously, and I want to scream at them for either being so ignorant, so irresponsible, or both. Those of you still out in the world acting like all of this is normal, or no big deal: What the hell exactly is wrong with you? Watch the news, any news, for five minutes, and then do the math. You are absolutely part of the problem. I've got two words for you: "Social" and "distancing."

If that rant didn’t make it clear enough, I’m definitely in the category of being cautious throughout this experience. It feels like right now I could prove to be overly-cautious, but we’ll see where we all are two weeks from today. I really don’t plan on leaving my house to go anywhere unless it’s necessary. I mean, yeah, I’ll walk the dog and get the mail, but hop in the car and drive somewhere? Not if I can avoid it. Most of the time I’m totally comfortable with this idea because I do have some extreme introvert superpowers, but I can see where it might be starting to get to me at a deeper level. Last night I dreamt I heard a knock at my front door, then saw the locks on the door begin glowing a bright blue, about the same shade as a natural gas flame. A woman was outside, someone I knew and under normal circumstances would have been perfectly happy to see and would invite inside (and in that way of dreams, I now have no idea who it was). I stood at the door not answering it though, and just watched as the locks glowed an increasingly brighter blue each time she knocked. Not hard to figure out what that all meant. 

When it was time for the morning dog walk and we stepped out outside, the whole world felt empty, even for a Sunday morning. I reflexively felt cautious and defensive, like I was trying to make my way through the kind of post-apocalyptic landscape found in a movie, filled with hidden raiders or zombies or something. Even during our other shorter walks today, it’s still been eerie out there.

Later in the morning, the governor had a press conference announcing that schools statewide would be closed for eight school days, starting this coming Wednesday, which effectively extends spring break for my students by another week. It sounds like the plan is for these eight days to be used as planning for what almost certainly seems to be a time when distance learning will become a necessity. All I can say is thank God our governor was a teacher. It makes him all the more qualified to assemble and guide a team that will approach this problem from all the directions they can imagine: child nutrition, special needs, mental health concerns (and really, count yourself as blessed if you’re unaware of how frighteningly necessary that last point is). Of course there are enough viewpoints from all sides of the issue to make a decision like this a full-on Kobayashi Maru, but I’ll admit I was both relieved and inspired to learn how much thought had gone into the plan. For one point the governor directed the team toward — I believe it had to do with child care — he had said, if I can paraphrase, “find a way to address this problem that hasn’t been done before.” 

I’m confident the team will do just that, because so many of them are educators. As much crap as we have to put up with about getting summers off (maybe not this year) and all the other usual teacher-bashing ignorance we have to endure, the defining points about teachers are that (a) we’re creative thinkers and (b) we get stuff done. I just hope that when the time comes for a distance learning plan to be implemented, and I believe it’s much more a when than an if, I’ll be able to manage my responsibilities from the comfort and relative safety of my home. It certainly won’t be my preferred option, especially since I have a class I really like this year and only one more trimester to work with them. However, I think when things come together however they will, we aren’t going to have another reasonable choice. We all have to work together at this.