The Story So Far...
As I write this inaugural post I find myself sitting in my new office, comfortable, warm, welcoming, surprisingly clean.
It's also my kitchen.
This is our new normal. I intend to keep an ongoing blog of my own experiences in social isolation as Canada locks down to fight off infection and prevent further spread of Covid-19 as much as possible. I will be asking my students to do the same. As a high school social studies teacher it is always convenient when societal issues and events mirror our curriculum - so while everything sucks for a bit, let's take advantage of some opportunities to learn.
I'm also a historian. How cool is it that I can now document an event that will surely be marvelled at by future generations?
The answer is very.
So let's get caught up on the story so far...
In early January the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted us all to a novel coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese province of Wuhan. Over the next month we watched as it spread beyond Wuhan into other provinces and nearby countries. By January 21 the virus had made it's way to North America and the United States diagnosed its first official case in Washington State. Western Europe wasn't far behind with cases popping up in France on January 24.
On January 25 the virus made it to Canada.
We didn't see Covid-19 in Alberta until March 5 when a Calgary woman who had just returned from a cruise tested positive to the virus. By March 10 we had 14 confirmed cases province-wide. As of last night, one week later we were at 97 confirmed cases.
On March 11 Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, a disease prevalent over the entire world. Since then we have seen borders close, world leaders isolate, classes cancelled, schools closed, and offices emptied. As a society we have been told to stay home - self isolate.
If we look outside of our own country we can see the reason for immediate and severe action. Italy's renowned medical services have collapsed under the pressure of the virus. The UK, France, and Germany are struggling to keep up with the exponential rate of spread. China is only just starting to see the horizon of coming out of the spread and they have been in complete lockdown for months at this point. In Canada, we are trying to flatten the curve of exponential spread, control exposure in our population, and prevent overloading our healthcare systems.
This is why I am teaching from my kitchen today.
I had my first virtual class with my Social 20 students and it was a little bit stressful, but mostly just a breath of fresh air. As a teacher you care about your students, you worry about them, you hope they're doing ok when they're not in the classroom. It felt so good to touch base, see their pets, and know that we're going to figure this out.
I have never taught online before. I have never participated in a pandemic before. This is all uncharted territory but it's an adventure that, as of today, I am up for.
I leave you with this, my new office.
PS
Wash your hands and stop touching your face.
It's also my kitchen.
This is our new normal. I intend to keep an ongoing blog of my own experiences in social isolation as Canada locks down to fight off infection and prevent further spread of Covid-19 as much as possible. I will be asking my students to do the same. As a high school social studies teacher it is always convenient when societal issues and events mirror our curriculum - so while everything sucks for a bit, let's take advantage of some opportunities to learn.
I'm also a historian. How cool is it that I can now document an event that will surely be marvelled at by future generations?
The answer is very.
So let's get caught up on the story so far...
In early January the World Health Organization (WHO) alerted us all to a novel coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese province of Wuhan. Over the next month we watched as it spread beyond Wuhan into other provinces and nearby countries. By January 21 the virus had made it's way to North America and the United States diagnosed its first official case in Washington State. Western Europe wasn't far behind with cases popping up in France on January 24.
On January 25 the virus made it to Canada.
We didn't see Covid-19 in Alberta until March 5 when a Calgary woman who had just returned from a cruise tested positive to the virus. By March 10 we had 14 confirmed cases province-wide. As of last night, one week later we were at 97 confirmed cases.
On March 11 Covid-19 was declared a pandemic, a disease prevalent over the entire world. Since then we have seen borders close, world leaders isolate, classes cancelled, schools closed, and offices emptied. As a society we have been told to stay home - self isolate.
If we look outside of our own country we can see the reason for immediate and severe action. Italy's renowned medical services have collapsed under the pressure of the virus. The UK, France, and Germany are struggling to keep up with the exponential rate of spread. China is only just starting to see the horizon of coming out of the spread and they have been in complete lockdown for months at this point. In Canada, we are trying to flatten the curve of exponential spread, control exposure in our population, and prevent overloading our healthcare systems.
This is why I am teaching from my kitchen today.
I had my first virtual class with my Social 20 students and it was a little bit stressful, but mostly just a breath of fresh air. As a teacher you care about your students, you worry about them, you hope they're doing ok when they're not in the classroom. It felt so good to touch base, see their pets, and know that we're going to figure this out.
I have never taught online before. I have never participated in a pandemic before. This is all uncharted territory but it's an adventure that, as of today, I am up for.
I leave you with this, my new office.
Wash your hands and stop touching your face.
I'll send you a picture of my new office tomorrow. One clue - it's got a really comfortable chair.
ReplyDeleteYes please! I want to see where everyone else is set up.
ReplyDelete