In the Time of Social Distancing
Friday, March 27, 2020
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| Quarantine Life, Week 2 |
Three weeks ago, life was hectic. Any teacher can say that the end of school year is one of the busiest, if not, stressful times of the year. Finals, events, performance tasks, grading—the home stretch is a knockout blow. To put it flippantly, it’s tiring. I’ve known that in my brain for a while but as soon as March arrives, I can feel it a lot more in my nerves. But even then, I was more than ready to wrap up the rest of 2019-2020 school year and go full steam into school year 2020-2021. I have my end of year plan intact. Then, the unexpected happened. Fast-forward to here and now, and I’m kind of smirking at myself in retrospect. I could never have anticipated the world would shift its gear and everybody’s plans would be shelved. Life has been in a slow lane since.
I miss teaching inside an actual classroom. The initial switch to virtual instructions somehow created a flurry of chaos among my students, their parents and myself. When a notification pops up on my screen, my heart raises at the thought of answering what feels like a gazillion emails from a student who can't figure out how to open the assignment. I am at my wits end when some of them missed due dates, arguing that they’re having technical difficulties or having a trouble with WiFi when they literally just uploaded a Tiktok video seconds ago. As if turning in their assignments just isn’t going to be a priority. It’s an uphill struggle, if you ask me. It goes without saying that classrooms are far from obsolete. I'm learning a whole lot from this so, I can't really complain.
And while there’s no denying the severity of the crisis that’s upon us, for an avowed, lifelong introvert like me, this period of quarantine somehow yields some positive consequences. The current demand of staying home and reducing social interaction is nothing short of spectacular, as though it’s some kind of manna to me. I'm also reading again. The Sisterhood by Bobbie Houston was given to me as a Christmas gift from my sister. Just few pages into it and I’ve learned handful of insights that completely redefined my own while being instantaneously stirred up to be a force for good within my own community. Quarantine life gave me an opportunity to tick few boxes off my to-do list and I’m learning a great deal about time management. Most days though, I look out my window and tell myself that something good may yet come out of this time. One can't be overly hopeful, you know.
23 comments
Sounds like some of your students are having a hard time adjusting to online learning! I agree there are some positives, including more time to read.
ReplyDeleteI counsel in school part time even our school has introduced this online thing . Even here the story remains same.
ReplyDeleteYes we've been ticking off steps in our to-do list. That is how we get by for now. But let's not forget that there is hope. Every waking day means so much hope.
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher too and I really miss my students as well. I hope this pandemic will end in order for us to go back to school at teach their young minds. ☺️☺️
ReplyDeletei think mahirap din mag adjust both teacher and kids, lalo na yung young ones, at ang kanilang attention span ay nako. hahah. my son lang di ko mapakinig ng matagalan sa mga lesson online hahahaha. pero we can do this dear. in a few months babalik na tayo sa school.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how hard this is for you. nothing beats teaching students in the acutal classroom x
ReplyDeleteI know what you feel I hope this pandemic will be end soon and will back to the normal lives I miss my work :(
ReplyDeleteThis global pandemic really changed a lot of ways on how we do things :( As they say, change is constant and is inevitable and we have nothing to do but adapt to it. Good thing you can still impart your knowledge to these lovely students. :)
ReplyDeleteIba din talaga ang actual na interactions when it comes to teaching students. I hope your students will be able to maximize their time online on a more progressive way.
ReplyDeleteStudying inside the classroom is far different from online classes. Aside from that you can't see who's listening and who's not. I hope everything get's better so you can see your students soon personally.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing on your last paragraph - the social distancing for introverts is beneficial. Understanding myself as being more introverted, the lengthy home quarantine keeps my social battery up. However, wishing that this limited movement would send as we have other goals to achieve. Keep safe always.
ReplyDeleteKelan lang nag uusap kami ni mama na teacher din, tungkol sa ECQ. Namimiss na daw niya yung mga student niya at kapag pinapagalitan niya yung mga pasaway. Sana magbalik na sa normal ang lahat.
ReplyDeleteThis online schooling is far more stressful than doing face-to-face discussion. Classes already ended in my school so we were not affected by the sudden shift to online teaching. I do miss my students. My advisory class is in Grade 12 and I'm really sad that they won't be able to experience graduating and receiving their diplomas.
ReplyDeleteBee of https://beecaluya.com/ x
It's a really strange time and I don't think anyone could of really anticipated how much the world would shift and how much adjustments we would have to make. Hope you manage to get back to teaching as soon as it's safe too
ReplyDeleteLaura x
It's funny how this quarantine period somehow works for our good in a weird way..
ReplyDeleteI can feel you! And switching to online all of a sudden is a challenge with students and teachers alike. In Japan, they are also having difficulty switching. So not ready.
ReplyDeleteIt will be a challenge, however take it as a good opportunity as well. Time will come that more and more online teaching classes will be preferable than going to actual schools. Online teaching will get higher standard and a great income opportunity for any teachers, even those who are retired.
ReplyDeleteI also miss teaching inside the classroom! I've been teaching for around seven years now. In the past two years, I shifted to online teaching and believe me, it pays more and it's less hassle. Hehehe!
ReplyDeleteI love that you used the word spectacular, I have several introvert friends too and they are now enjoying the quarantine period, except of course for the negative effects of this COVID-19.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this! I'm reminded of my time at school and just imagine how difficult this sudden shift must be! We might not know what's going to happen yet, but it's helpful to just pass time and keep being optimistic.
ReplyDeleteI think I have ticked off more from my to-do list now that I am staying at home. My sons' teachers must be feeling the way you do, too. My sons miss actual school. They've been doing e-learning since February.
ReplyDeleteI miss my office too. My husband and I have been working from home even before ECQ, basta nung nagsimula na magrise up yung count ng positive sa lugar namin, nagpaalam na ako na magwork from home, pero iba pa din talaga kapag nasa actual working environment lalo na may anak ako na need asikasuhin. Medyo maswerte pa nga ako dahil hindi pa nag-aaral ang anak ko at hindi pa need tutukan sa school lessons
ReplyDeleteI understand there's so much negativity about this whole pandemic crisis. But it's nice to know that we all still find some silver lining to this. We connect virtually still, but we get to be with our family more, we can dine at home together with the whole family etc. There's also learning new stuff and going back to the things we used to do when we weren't that busy, just like you, reading again! I could say the same thing about myself, I started reading the books I bought a year ago.
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