Dark Times
I'm trying to think which metaphors to mix in order to convey the universal badness of everything at the moment. Are we at a nadir in American civilization, or perhaps at the edge of a precipice overlooking that nadir? Or perhaps in a dumpster fire perched at the edge of a precipice overlooking the nadir of American civilization?
Ugh.
It's bad, people.
The international news for the last several weeks has been leading with the coronavirus, and I consume a lot of international news. Also, I've long followed some infectious disease experts who share my enthusiasm for vaccines. This story has never been good and as far as I can tell there has never been a hint of containment.
I've been stocking up for about a month preparing for this damned virus, coming home with a couple of extra cans of food to set aside each night, popping into Walmart at off hours to pick up hand sanitizer, Lysol, and bleach wipes, and ordering kit from Amazon like a thermometer and blood oxygen/pulse monitor so that I can monitor the health of my household, albeit very roughly. Also many pounds of flour, just in case I start to learn how to bake.
I've been readying my classes to go online, especially in the last two weeks. I had an inkling that the school shutting down was absolutely inevitable. So, a few weeks ago, I told my students to bring a laptop or smart phone to class. We already use GroupMe for routine communication in my classes, but I also had them install the Zoom app or plug in. From my office, I asked them a quiz question on Zoom and told them to answer the question in a personal message to me on GroupMe. And I told them why I was doing it, just to be sure everyone had what they needed, and a lot of them clearly thought I was crazy. I was trying to be rational. As the weeks went on, I practiced using the programs, made physical attendance less and less mandatory, and Friday was the complete dress rehearsal, all three sections of my classes entirely on-line. It was OK, I thought. I made it to spring break.
Ugh.
It's bad, people.
The international news for the last several weeks has been leading with the coronavirus, and I consume a lot of international news. Also, I've long followed some infectious disease experts who share my enthusiasm for vaccines. This story has never been good and as far as I can tell there has never been a hint of containment.
I've been stocking up for about a month preparing for this damned virus, coming home with a couple of extra cans of food to set aside each night, popping into Walmart at off hours to pick up hand sanitizer, Lysol, and bleach wipes, and ordering kit from Amazon like a thermometer and blood oxygen/pulse monitor so that I can monitor the health of my household, albeit very roughly. Also many pounds of flour, just in case I start to learn how to bake.
I've been readying my classes to go online, especially in the last two weeks. I had an inkling that the school shutting down was absolutely inevitable. So, a few weeks ago, I told my students to bring a laptop or smart phone to class. We already use GroupMe for routine communication in my classes, but I also had them install the Zoom app or plug in. From my office, I asked them a quiz question on Zoom and told them to answer the question in a personal message to me on GroupMe. And I told them why I was doing it, just to be sure everyone had what they needed, and a lot of them clearly thought I was crazy. I was trying to be rational. As the weeks went on, I practiced using the programs, made physical attendance less and less mandatory, and Friday was the complete dress rehearsal, all three sections of my classes entirely on-line. It was OK, I thought. I made it to spring break.
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