Perhaps I was way overconfident when I thought to myself, “that will never reach us,” the moment the news of Coronavirus first broke out in 2019. Then, sometime in January, China prepares for a lockdown. I was not so presumptuous as to say that for me, that won't just happen. I felt monumentally positive that Philippines would not get to that point. Now, I’m here, on self-quarantined in my home. The entire Luzon has been on an enhanced quarantine for a week now. Angeles City is still Covid-Free, thank God, but I’ve heard police now have the authority to question and even arrest people if they don’t abide by strict isolation and quarantine orders. A 24-hour checkpoints in all entry and exit points of my home city have been set up and just recently, some of the barangays even handed out a quarantine pass to every household in procuring necessities.
Schools across the country have also announced short-term closures just as when we are about to finish the school year. It was a good call to say the least but when the announcement was read out, I can't help but feel a serious sense of trepidation. I thought about all the extra efforts our students and the rest of my colleagues have put in the hours of rehearsal the week before. We were a day away from our benefit performance that has already been postponed. I thought about the cancellation of the fourth quarter examination. I thought about our annual ball that the intermediate and junior high school students have been excitedly looking forward to. I thought about our kindergarteners, our sixth and tenth graders whose respective graduation and moving-up ceremonies are still up in the air and to know there is a slight chance that it may not happen is just absolutely heartbreaking. I also thought about the rest of our students who equally put in all the hard work and somehow lost the opportunities to finish out the school year strong... their lives are seemingly on hold after we were placed under an enhanced community quarantine as the government tries to contain this outbreak. I am not alone in this experience. Around the world, teachers still have responsibilities and even bigger worries. Some of us are navigating new technology and having to do training on online teaching during this crisis. We are worried. Our access to Internet might be unstable but we our doing our best to check in, to continue to carry on with the school programs and be a resource to parents the best we can from a distance.
Sab and I are still making handouts and assessment tests for our selected online classes via Edmodo. We finally got to use the facial mask sheets that we’ve been meaning to use from the Christmas holidays (don't worry, it hasn't expire yet). The laundry baskets are finally empty. I still read Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo because I have nothing but time now. I can even blog again, imagine that! Mostly though, I am counting down the days to when this whole quarantine period is over and this pandemic reach its end. I’m imagining my students setting foot in our classrooms again, bugging the crack out of me. I am hopeful.
Sab and I are still making handouts and assessment tests for our selected online classes via Edmodo. We finally got to use the facial mask sheets that we’ve been meaning to use from the Christmas holidays (don't worry, it hasn't expire yet). The laundry baskets are finally empty. I still read Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo because I have nothing but time now. I can even blog again, imagine that! Mostly though, I am counting down the days to when this whole quarantine period is over and this pandemic reach its end. I’m imagining my students setting foot in our classrooms again, bugging the crack out of me. I am hopeful.
