Reading For Treasure: Schools in the Pandemic

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

As I took my walk, I saw many parents walking their children to our local elementary school. I see signs about opening school and posts addressing concerns if we do. So this month, let’s talk about school. 

Usually, the articles I recommend from McSweeney’s are satire. This one is not. The writer is a high school English teacher who sarcastically says, “I Started School In Person This Week, And It Went Fine.”  Reopening schools does not mean schools as they used to be at all. 

A second piece from McSweeney’s is a masterful parody of the short piece “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. This one is called “Teacher” and it is a great complement to the piece above. 

I am not sure how I landed at the Des Moines Register’s article, “9 ways America is having the wrong conversation about 'reopening' schools.” But it outlines the issues we are talking about – and those we are ignoring when we discuss going back to in-person classes. 

Education is built on relationships. Starting a relationship through a Zoom class is difficult for adults and extremely challenging for children and teenagers. Mindshift from KQED examines a wonderful solution in this article about looping, the practice where students have the same teacher for multiple years: “How Teacher Looping Can Ease the Learning Disruptions Caused by Coronavirus”

As a retired teacher and former dungeon master, I loved the idea that, especially as we use computers to reach our students, we can use some of the best lessons from Dungeons and Dragons to engage our students! This second article from Mindshift from KEQD provides, “Five Best Practices Teachers Can Learn from Dungeon Masters.”

It’s not only classroom experiences that have transformed as schools moved to remote learning. Students in the performing arts have adapted their work to the screen, too. This short radio story from NPR focuses on one high school’s play, but I have heard concerts and watched performances that have been artfully adapted so students can still create beautiful work, even in this frightening time “Performing In A Pandemic: Taking The High School Play Online”

Three articles from The Atlantic; The first two deal with issues regarding the college admission process. First, a professor from Tufts recommends, “The Easiest Reform for College Admissions.” Then, the president of Johns Hopkins University explains, “Why We Ended Legacy Admissions at Johns Hopkins.”

Lastly, echoing arguments I have been making since last spring, this Atlantic article states the obvious, “School Wasn’t So Great Before COVID, Either” and makes recommendations for improvements. COVID is an opportunity to reimagine and improve education. We should do far more than create an online analog! 

I am currently reading A Promised Land by Barak Obama.

Good Special People

On January 6, the president told you that you are “very special” and you believed him. Actually, he confirmed what you already knew. You were more than special, you were uniquely called, selected, and empowered to fight a battle against those who threatened the vision that your television has imprinted on your hats, flags, and t-shirts. 

You have the god-given right to march into the most hallowed halls of our country and defecate wherever you want! You know that the election was stolen because trusted sources have repeated this to you since long before the election itself. You knew this would happen! You called it! You are so prophetic. You are like people from the Bible. 

If others disagree with you it is because they have been brainwashed by the media, turned into sheep by powerful forces, or are simply evil and anti-American. They watch the wrong channels. If they would just open their eyes, they would see – like you. 

You are judge, jury, soldier, avenger, scholar, and savior all rolled up in one incredible mass of awesome sauce. 

While others live in clouded delusions, you have divined the secret conspiracies that threatened your prominence as the master race, the guns that make you feel safe, and the rule of your favorite television reality show star. You are blessed. 

How dare they! How dare they take steal an election? How dare they think they are above the law? If they are going to attempt these terrible sins, then your only recourse, your best way of righting these horrendous wrongs is to pick up those guns and steal it back – and kill them. 

Nothing else will work. They have not listened to the oracles on television and social media. They have blasphemed against the man who was smart enough not to pay taxes and will therefore save us all. So they should be fired and fired upon. And you must do it. You and your friends, who are the best and the most patriotic Americans who have ever walked this precious land. 

And this has nothing to do with race! That is a distraction and diversion from those evil people who riot and kneel during the national anthem! They don’t love the flag like you do! You wear the flag like a warm blanket. You paint it on your skin like the people who lived on this land before us, but never understood how great this country could be. But you do! 

They are public servants and you are their masters! If they do not obey you, they deserve to be beaten or hanged! If the brainwashed sheep won’t save this great country, you will be the wolf who blows down their house of lies! They should be grateful. 

There are bad people. There are lots of bad people. They are everywhere. Some of them are out in the open, but many are hiding in the shadows. Many are powerful. Many are not Christian. Fortunately, you have the secret decoder ring to identify, capture, beat, and kill them. You are gifted. 

You do not need scientists or masks or vaccinations. Which is another one of their hoaxes! It is a fake crisis they are using to distract and justify their heinous actions. The numbers are inflated. The doctors are compromised. It is all a plot to take away our freedom. But you will rescue it! You will save us all – no mask needed. You are a superhero! 

And their vaccine is made from dead babies! You’ll never take it. Besides, soon we’ll have herd immunity since all those other people will take it. It’s okay for them to take it, but you would never defile your body with something so impure and profane. 

There is no way the election was lost. Everyone you know voted like you. Everyone who voted like you supports you. You are their representative. They voted for the same person you did and now you are their election avenger! You work for them and they belong to you. They wanted to do this but were not awesome enough. You will do it for them. 

For the sake of our democracy, for the sake of all you hold dear, you will stop at nothing. You have no doubts. You have never been wrong about important things like this. You will not hesitate. You will not listen to their lies. It is your way or we burn it all down. 

We should thank god for you. God would approve. Jesus would do the same thing. He was in favor of violence and hate. His message was one of political revolution, right? You are a modern-day messiah creating a new holy land. 

Who wouldn’t want to be you? 

The Prologue is Past: Looking Back at 2020, Part 1

No one would have believed, in the first months of 2020, that our world was about to explode. As I looked at my journals and photos from the first three months of 2020, I am shocked. 

For me, the year began on a tropical beach with spectacular fireworks and in the company of my entire family. I could not have been more relaxed or content on New Year’s Day. 

It was my first winter break in retirement. When I returned to the Illinois cold, I connected with friends, family, and former students. I went out to lunches and dinners, took walks, went to shows, and had an intense social calendar. My wife and I were determined to not be the isolated retired folks. 

We had plenty of travel planned. I spent a great deal of time planning our arrangements, especially to go to the weddings of several of our friends’ children and visit our own. 

However, my wife was struggling with severe back pain and could not walk more than a few steps. I did some research and read a book called Crooked. We met with doctors, but her pain increased and her mobility decreased. We scheduled surgery for February. 

I was planning for our younger child’s graduation from Miami of Ohio. In addition to the regular graduation ceremony, he would have a series of concerts. We had been traveling to hear his concerts and knew that these end-of-the-year events featured and feted the seniors. I fussed with getting hotel rooms for the entire family and the best seats at the concert hall. 

At the end of January, our son’s Glee Club sang their way through Florida, so my wife and I played groupies and spent a week following them through the sunny state and escaped the cold. 

One of the many projects my wife and I undertook was to transform our daughter’s room into an office and media room. She now lives in D.C. So we gave away her childhood bunk bed and the furniture we had purchased when she was born, pulled up the bright blue shag carpet, and started the process of creating a brand new space. We refinished the wooden floors and repainted the walls. We were certain that our daughter would never need that room again. Ha! 

We had lunch with a group of retirees from Deerfield High School (DHS) at a local restaurant called Warehouse. It was nice to see everyone. The group was smaller than usual since many people escaped for the winter. We were thinking about how we might join them. 

I spent several days back at DHS assisting the Science Fiction teachers and librarians help students select their free reading books. It was great to talk about literature with kids without the burden of grading. It was so nice to be back in the building and feel the excitement and energy of school. 

I have always been the technical support person for my folks. I installed a new router and booster in their house and replaced their nearly fifteen-year-old wifi system. Just in time! 

I got a call that a DHS English teacher was ill; would I come in to teach one class a day? Suddenly, I was back in the classroom for a while. I could only stay for a few weeks because my wife and I had planned a trip to California. For three weeks in February, I taught a great group of juniors and visited my senior homeroom. I saw my friends around the building. It was like being a grand-teacher. 

My wife had her surgery and we were optimistic. She had a great deal of pain afterward. The doctor emphasized that we should measure progress week-to-week or month-to-month and not day-to-day. However, by any measure, things were moving glacially. 

One of my retirement goals was to learn to cook. My wife and I would select a recipe or two a week, I would make a special trip to the grocery store and get all the ingredients and then I would destroy the kitchen. Sometimes she liked what I created! 

On February 6, I had a haircut. My hair has not been cut since then. It is longer than it is has been in over fifteen years! 

My parents celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary at the end of February. They celebrated with a wonderful trip to the big island of Hawaii. They changed their trip so they could be home for my wife’s surgery, and left shortly after it. 

I went to Capricon, a fan-run science fiction convention held in a nearby hotel. It was the most recent in-person convention I have attended. 

We attended dear friends’ daughter’s wedding downtown. It was a big party with lots of people. My wife wasn’t sure she would feel well enough to attend, but she had a wonderful time. It was a glorious and grand celebration.

We were out with friends several nights a week. We celebrated a friend’s retirement from DHS and took her to dinner. We made plans to go to Minnesota for another wedding in the summer. 

At the end of February, we left for a week in San Diego. My wife was still not walking well, but we hoped the warmth would help her heal. We flew out and stayed in an Airbnb near Mission Beach. 

While we were there, our son’s university said that two students from China were ill and were quarantining. They were waiting to see if they had the disease that had become an epidemic in China. 

Shortly after we got to San Diego, my parents called and asked if they should come home early from Hawaii due to the illness in China. They were concerned about getting stuck if air travel was restricted. We dissuaded them from doing this and encouraged them to enjoy their anniversary vacation. 

A friend posted a question on Facebook: if you were traveling on an airplane, would you wear a mask? I replied that I was traveling and I would wear a mask: I was going as Batman. Ouch. 

We followed the primaries and sent in our votes by mail when we got home. We have been voting by mail for years and have never questioned that choice. 

As the weather warmed, I took more walks. I would carry a chair for my wife. We’d walk for a while and then I’d unfold the chair and she’d rest, and then we’d walk a little further. We measured progress by how far she could go. She couldn’t go far. 

In March, my daughter in D.C. brought home a puppy. She had been planning his arrival for months and saving for years. We eagerly awaited every photo she sent of this adorable little ball of fur – and made plans to visit them in April. 

On March 8, My congregation Confirmation Class co-teacher and I took our class and some parents to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Bartlet. I wondered if anyone would keep their student at home, ask about precautions, or bring gloves or masks. Nope. The trip was healthy and successful and we learned a great deal about Hinduism. It was also the last time class met in person. 

Later that same day, I met my science fiction book club at the Panera in Evanston. This was the last time this group would meet in person and the last time we would meet at that Panera ever – it is now permanently closed!  

The following day, my parents returned from their trip. I had dinner with them in a restaurant nearby. My mother had the salad bar and, only after she returned to the table with her first helping, I realized that a salad bar was a bad idea. I don’t think we’ll see many in the future.  

The author, Neal Schusterman, visited Deerfield High School the next day and I helped with the event. We had several hundred students from the Science Fiction classes gather in the cafeteria to hear him. It was my last time at school; school closed the next day because a parent was exposed to COVID. Was the child of that parent in the program? 

A friend came to dinner on March 13 and I went to Evanston for lunch with a former student on the 14th. No more guests or eating in restaurants since. 

Our son’s university canceled classes and went completely remote. That included those May concerts that would have featured our son. Despite that, he did not want to come home. 

In the midst of all this, I made some photo magnets for my daughter to bring to her work. She had mentioned that lots of people have photos of their families around their desks and she did not. I made them and sent them to her. However, she would not be in that office much longer. 

I had a difficult conversation with my son about coming home. We agreed on a date, I rented a van, cleaned it thoroughly, and drove to Ohio. I stayed one night in a hotel and barely slept because I had sprayed the bed with disinfectant and it smelled horrible! I felt so sad that his college career was ending this way. I stopped at a few places hoping to score some toilet paper. We drove home and classes moved into his bedroom in Deerfield.

A friend caught COVID from her nanny. She became very sick and struggled for months. We heard rumors that a lockdown order was coming. I went to six stores and could not find toilet paper or wipes! 

My daughter’s job was increasingly stressful despite going remote. The puppy was both a wonderful release and an additional burden. She was alone much of the time, even if she met with people outdoors occasionally. 

On March 19, the governor declared a shelter in place order. 

My wife and I started making regular donations to food pantries and other charities. Our family business started making hand sanitizer. I helped my parents learn how to Zoom! 

A friend had her wedding on Zoom. A former student and his wife had a baby. Blessings continued even in this frightening time. 

People who were on their own were clearly struggling. We called them and invited them for a distanced visit on our patio once that was permitted. We had video chats. We started checking in with people every day. We created a pandemic card, like a holiday card, and sent it out. 

More friends got the virus. There were more notations on social media of loved ones who had died or people who were sick. 

We learned to order groceries via Instacart and we would wipe them down when they got to the house. My brother sent us a video made by a doctor teaching us how to do this thoroughly. We disinfected the entire house constantly! 

Our son’s college scheduled a weekend in September to replace the May commencement that they had canceled. I booked hotel rooms. 

At the end of March, I made the note in my journal that I was hoping we would, “get back to normal in dribs and drabs sometime at the end of April or early May.”  2020 was just getting started.