Greed is the Reason
Colonialism the
Outcome of the War.
Delta Variant
Is affecting the school kids
But masks are outlawed
Teachers are tired
Nurses are quitting their jobs
Wear a fucking mask.
Categories
Tag: Pandemic
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what teaching during a pandemic is like…especially from people who think teachers are either A: Amazing or B: Lazy. There’s generally no in between. Questions range from “What happens if a kid sneezes?” to “Where do you eat?” to “What do you do if a kid forgets/doesn’t wear/won’t wear their mask?” So, I thought I’d take a post, and walk you through my day.
A few notes. I teach middle school, which is different than Elementary. I’m also in a state that has banned mask mandates, so I can’t require kids wear a mask (though I can ask them).
Alright, let’s begin.
7:30: I arrive at school, coffee in hand. Inevitably someone is already there using the copier.
7:45: I need to print a change to the seating chart. The copier is already jammed.
8:00: Kids arrive for breakfast. They eat in the rooms and read. Those who wear masks replace masks after eating with no prompt from me (these kids are rockstars).
8:30-11:00: First three classes If you’re talking to your conservative friends, they probably think I’m teaching leftist propaganda. I’m not. I just teach history.
Some things that may happen in the class:
- Kid sneezes, he pulls his mask off his face to sneeze. He then steps out of the room to blow his nose for ten minutes. I ask him to wash his hands. He says “Oh good idea!”
- Kids wear masks…but on their chin. I say “I can’t make you wear a mask, but please wear it over your nose, or not at all. The chin strap is a distraction. The students put it over their nose.
- Kid A wants to sit next to Kid B, they try to switch seats like I’m a sucker. I catch it. I explain contact tracing is still a thing, and I need to know where they are. They move back no problem.
- A kid takes off his mask to wipe their nose. They then try to hand me the paper they just touched with their hand that wiped their nose. I ask them to hang on to it.
Lunch. It’s in the cafeteria. Kids eat, clean up, and go outside. Many of them replace their masks after eating, and even keep them on outside. They really are pretty amazing humans.
11:40-2:45: Next three classes. After lunch is a whole different ballgame. Some things that happen after lunch:
- Miss can I go to the bathroom? x 150 students.
- Masks are sweaty, so need to get replaced if the student asks.
- Students are wearing chin straps again. Again, I ask them to wear the mask right, or not at all. They have chosen to wear it correctly 100% of the time.
- “Wait, why do we have the same seating chart in every classroom?” “Well, because there’s a pandemic, and we need to contact trace.” “Oh yeah!” from the kid wearing a mask 100% correctly 100% of the time.
- I catch a few notes getting passed around
- I catch a few talkers
- I catch a few drawers
Prep: The copier is probably jammed again.
Ok…so what?
A lot has been said about masks and socializing. I am here to tell you, masks are not a problem when it comes to middle schoolers making and keeping friends. These students will talk to you all the time. They will talk to their friends all the time. They get crushes, date, and break up. ALL. THE. TIME. Masks are not hindering their socializing in anyway.
Why is this important?
Recently, school…and what happens in schools… has been super politicized, but the real story is much more boring. Kids know what they need to do to keep their community safe. They don’t argue, they don’t fight back. Sure, sometimes they’re defiant, but not about masks. They roll their eyes when I ask them to spit out their gum (that I still catch even with a mask on).
Bottom line? Teaching during a pandemic is difficult. I’m, currently, very nervous for the health of my students, and I think that our elected officials have blood on their hands for banning mask mandates. But…it’s not the students. They are amazing.
Teachers do not wake up looking to indoctrinate your children. We wake up hoping that we can stay healthy, and praying that we can keep your kids healthy.
We also wake up with the absolute knowledge that today, the copier will jam when you need it most.
Categories
Welp…
With everything going on, you may have missed the IPCC report that was recently published. If you don’t know (and you probably don’t) the IPCC stands for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. According to their website, the IPCC “is the United Nations Body for assessing the science relating to climate change.” You can check them out here.
The IPCC report has determined that climate change has been “unequivocally” caused by humans, and is impacting quite literally every “corner of the planet.” The report indicates that we are barreling toward that 1.5 degree of additional heat, that we will likely reach this level by 2030, and that we are currently on track to heat up by 3 degrees by the end of the century. In fact, to stop warming before the 1.5 degree mark is nearly impossible based on our carbon output.
So, on top of the rest of your existential dread, let me give you an idea of what this means. If we don’t do a shit ton of things (and by we I mean our governments) we’ll surupass that 1.5 degree marker, and hit 2 degrees of warming. That means, among other things, that ecosystems will disappear in 13% of the world. And, if we don’t really do anything, and we hit that 3 degrees of warming … well…that would result in “catastrophe”. That 1.5 – 2 degree range will already result in flooding, droughts, the suffocation of the oceans, famine…the list goes on. So…not super great.
Ok…So What?
To stop ourselves before absolute climate catastrophe the report states that “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions” would need to be made to our emissions output. Additionally, the report states that “We can no longer assume that citizens of more affluent and secure countries like Canada, Germany, Japan and the US will be able to ride-out the worst excesses of a rapidly destabilizing climate.”
I’ve already written about how our forests are burning, our sea life is dying, and Climate Refugees are on the rise. This is no longer something we can turn a blind eye to.
But what can you do? I mean, let’s be honest, if you do everything in your power to reduce your carbon footprint, it will not stop the change that it coming. It will take mobilization on a massive scale to effect change. It will take everyone pulling together for a common cause, trusting in science, and finding solutions that help remove us humans from the brink of catastrophe.
We’ve seen how well we can do that since 2020….too soon?I
Especially in the midst of the pandemic where we seem to take one step forward and about 100 steps back, it’s hard to be optimistic that anything will actually change. That being said, you also can’t throw your hands up and say “well, I’m not going to make any changes to my personal behavior or habits because catastrophe is inevitable.” No, it’s not inevitable, that’s the point. We can make choices that will get us out of this, becoming complacent won’t help us create change.
So, yes, you should do everything you can do to reduce your personal carbon footprint. But, you should also vote!! VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION, LOCAL AND FEDERAL! Local elections, state elections, federal elections – who are the people in power that will enact climate policies? Vote for them.
It’s a shit solution, but it’s the one we have. Like minded people have to mobilize on a massive scale to elect politicians who will enact smart climate policies. And, we have to hold them accountable to those promises.
That’s the only way.
My very favorite person in the world is the person who, with no training and very little history knowledge, truly believes they know what the Founding Fathers would have done. They know in their heart of hearts that the FF’s definitely would have seen the world according to thier, 21st century view point.
If you haven’t caught on I’m being sarcastic. I hate those people. Your sisters boyfriend Deuce is one of those people.
With schools opening or about to open, the rhetoric about founding fathers, vaccines, masks, and the “spirit of 1776” is getting pretty heated. So, I thought I’d take a moment to really talk about what a Founding Father…arguably the Founding Father really did do when faced with a consequential decision.
Let me set the scene. It’s 1777, Georgie has just taken a minor victory at the Battle of Princeton. His Continental Army, however, is sick and dying, in fact 90% are dying from disease, with small pox being a big killer.
Necessity not only authorizes but seems to require the measure, for should the disorder infect the Army . . . we should have more to dread from it, than from the Sword of the Enemy
George Washington
Most of the men in the Continental Army had not been exposed to smallpox. But, it’s a war, men coming together from all over the country, along with British and German soldiers, opened the door for disease to spread, the army being non-immunes and all. Bowing to circumstances, George Washington (unlike our own politicians) showed leadership. In February of 1777 he wrote to Congress informing them of his mass inoculation plan, and managed to vaccinate up to 2/3rds of the Continental Army.
Ok…So What?
Initially GW did not want to mandate vaccination. He was incredibly aware of the significance of vaccination and immunity, but immunizing the army would take time, and would weaken his forces, so he didn’t initially mandate it. However, when Small Pox became a big problem for his troops, GW understood that larger measures would have to be taken. His decision to inoculate most of the Continental Army (along with their immunity to malaria, which the British soldiers did not share) was likely critical to winning the Revolutionary War, and helped build this country into a place full of toxic individuality.
All jokes aside, I do believe this is an important point to make.
So much rhetoric floats around about what the Founding Fathers meant, or what they would have done. Except, here, we actually have data from history. We are not guessing at what George Washington thought. We can look at his actions, and see what he did.
He mandated vaccination. He built hospitals, and he got the army immunized. Why? Because his people were dying, and he was losing a war.
What’s also important is that he set a precedent for what leaders should do in the midst of a pandemic. Maybe we should follow in his example. I can’t say it’s what he would have wanted…but I can tell you it’s what he did, which I think is much more powerful.
Citations: https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/GW&smallpoxinoculation.html and https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/washington-inoculates-army with some Mosquito Empires by J.R. Mcneill thrown in.
Categories
Wobbling Moon
There’s a ton going on right now. Schools are back in session with no mask mandate. Vaccinated individuals can be carriers, and the Olympics are still going (were they always this long?).
However, my current existential threat is this wobbling moon we have to worry about.
Alright, alright space nerds, don’t come for me. I’ve read the articles, I know the “wobble” isn’t anything new. I know it’s a perfectly natural phenomenon.
You know what’s not natural? Climate change.
So yeah, this wobbling of the moon, combined with rising ocean waters, will likely lead to intense flooding in the middle of the next decade. Because, as you witches know, the moon and it’s position influences the tide, and always has. It’s why the moon is so important, etherial, and mysterious. And probably why my 13 year old daughter asked if my periods tracked with the cycle of the moon. (No, they don’t).
2035 is not that far away. And yeah yeah, it seems like there are a lot of factors that will cause flooding, but the fact is that our natural cycles of life are going to impede our cycles of life because we refuse to do anything to fix the problem we created. Which, is honestly my current reality, and probably yours if you’re reading this blog.
Ok…so what?
Honestly, I don’t have a huge “ok, so what” today. I mostly just wanted to blog about how the world seems to be falling apart around me, how I am constantly baffled at the selfishness of people, and sometimes I have strange existential panic about it. I’m in a state that has banned masks in schools, where there is a lot of vaccine hesitancy, and where I’m both shamed for not wearing garments and for wearing a mask. Gaslit at every turn!
The moons wobble feels easier to focus on.
Categories
Blahlympics
Growing up, and even five years ago, the Olympics were something I looked forward to every year. A theater girl, I loved the outright spectacle of all the best athletes in the world competing for gold and for glory. The Olympics also tends to draw us together as part of a global community. Of course we’re in our homes, rooting for our own athletes to win, but we’re also connecting with so many other nations, and rooting for their athletes.
The world watches the human energy that unfolds during the Olympics. Falls are both dramatic and heartwarming, courage and grit are shown by athletes, who always find a way to overcome obstacles and yet still make it out ahead. It’s like a reality TV show, full of young, good looking people, that has a real happy ending.
Except this year. This year I feel very “blah” about the games. And, this is by no means a professional survey, but everyone I talk to also seems blah about games.
I have a theory. Or, at least, I know why I, personally, have been blah about the games. As a global community, we have been in the midst of a gripping pandemic just over a year and a half. Now that the Olympics are here, we still can’t contain the virus. We, as a world, have sent our best athletes into the fray, spent billions on the Olympic Games, all while most of the world isn’t even vaccinated yet. The golden luster of the games has dulled. It’s a gilt overlay that’s chipping and revealing dented tin underneath. The Olympics are not bringing us together, nor are they necessarily tearing us apart. They’re just…blah. Instead of a welcome diversion it’s just another area for stress and anxiety.
Ok…so what?
The Pandemic isn’t over yet, but the global (perhaps western?) community is selfishly requiring that we move on as though it is. The games have pushed on despite calls for them to stop or be postponed. Why? Money, contracts, power.
Athletes are getting sick, our world is already sick. Normal people are dead and dying, and, in my case, I’m two weeks away from schools reopening without masks. The games are not a welcome distraction, they’re simply another thing to worry about. Somehow, some news station will sell this to you as though people don’t care about the Olympics anymore, or with some other angle.
I don’t think that’s true. I think we are tired, and the dazzling display of the Olympics is not something that’s empowering in the middle of a pandemic. It’s not something that’s empowering when we are in the midst of a housing crisis and inflation.It’s hard to watch our athletes compete when we are all struggling. It’s hard to watch money get thrown at the games when we need global vaccinations. It’s hard to watch Olympic dreams get dashed by the virus, because the Olympics shouldn’t have gone on in the first place.
Though…I’ll watch the GOAT all damn day.
Hipstory 