Items

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  2021-09-14

  The Start to the School Year is Unlike Any Other

  I wrote an opinion piece for Idaho Education News last week after the latest school board meeting in Nampa, Idaho. Since March of 2020 educators have worked tirelessly to ensure that our students continue to receive a quality education. Initially, educators were seen as 'heroes' of the pandemic. However, over the last 9 months, the rhetoric surrounding schools and teachers has turned nasty. Yet, teachers continue to show up every single day and offer learning experiences to all children. At last week's board meeting, the discussion focused primarily on a mask mandate for our district as hospitals in our state began rationing care given the soaring number of Covid-19 cases. There was an even split between the trustees who were in favor of masking and the trustees who were against masking. This split did not come as a shock to me. However, the line of one trustee hit me in my gut, "I guess I go back to the mission statement. I'm here for the kids, so I'm not going to worry about the adults." The mission and vision statement the trustee is referencing states that teachers offer "exceptional learning experiences" for every child. Given the largely unvaccinated population of our community, the high numbers of teachers out sick, and the alarming number of students out sick as mask mandate seemed like a simple request. However, the board did not vote in favor of helping teachers ensure we are able to provide 'exceptional learning experiences.' Are masks the only answer? Not necessarily. Last year, students attended school 4 days per week while the 5th day was reserved for students to connect with students who were in quarantine/sick and unable to attend school. This year, all of those requirements are gone. That being said, students and teachers attend school 5 days per week and there is no time allotted for teachers to connect with students who are quarantined or sick. Given the latest numbers, about 25% of our entire district is out sick. That is 25% of students who do not have access to their teachers. The article was published on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, and Idaho Ed News shared it on their Facebook page as well. Shortly after 7 pm MST the post has over 160 comments (mostly in favor of teachers), 250 reactions, and over 50 shares. In addition, I have received numerous private messages and emails from other teachers who thank me for giving them a voice during this 'unprecedented' time. While I am still a fairly new teacher with only 3 years of experience, there are veteran teachers who are being pushed to the brink. Many would like to think this is an Idaho problem but the reality is that teachers across the country are feeling unsupported and unappreciated by the communities they serve. I am fearful this will be my last year teaching - I LOVE my job. I remain hopeful that this year turns out to be something amazing.
• 
  2021-07-11

  hermit HERALD, ISSUE 120

  Disagreement with Biden over Afghanistan
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  2020-04-12

  Covid-19 Beginning

  I was browsing the internet one time when quarantine just started, I didn't have much to do since we were supposed to be cooped up in the house all day. I came across a document that stated what was assumed to be the start of the virus. It said that It started in China which was already confirmed, and it started going on about how the virus started when someone ate a bat. I personally thought this was absurd, and didn't put too much thought into it. More people I knew actually believed this assumption was true, I didn't. Flash forward a couple of months and it's August and a new article comes up about how the virus was man-made. This one was actually believe-able. If this was true (I still don't know if it is) I would be pretty upset. 2020 kind of ruined everything it could. Let's hope that they're wrong and that the virus wasn't man-made.
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  2020-03-30

  Canada has to prepare for medical workers to die in the line of duty, fighting COVID-19

  Opinion piece from a flight paramedic about medical staff dying in the line of duty during the pandemic.
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  2020-06-05

  What is Zoom Fatigue and what it means for students

  This article gives some context as to what "zoom fatigue" or "tech fatigue" is. It's not something I've really considered before this year. My previous years of having mainly online classes, were still broken up by at least one or two in-person classes, along with the other distractions of going the store or visiting family, and doing something fun or interesting, without the anxiety of getting severely sick, or getting my loved ones sick. The article also includes some basic "how to fight tech fatigue" tips which I think could be useful, however, this type of advice can easily fall into the one-size-fits-all category. This needs to be avoided, because there is a wider range of diversity and accessibility, and for some people the "20,20,20" rule, simply doesn't work.
• 
  2020-10-16

  A slightly light hearted take on how professors are making Zoom classes better for students.

  I chose this article because it touches on some issues I faced myself on a much smaller scale. Zoom class meetings can be, for whatever reason, intimidating. They create a different type of social anxiety than when in a class setting, where things can be more relaxed, or tension eased quickly. The communication barriers of having to mute microphones to hear one another, technical issues, and just not wanting to be the focus when you see your screen light up, and also still wanting to contribute can get stressful quickly. It also can be uncomfortable, staring at all of your classmates all at once, and also trying to focus on your professor. I also enjoyed how the professor in this article discussed his methods of improving his online lectures, and trying to ease those social tensions, and create a sense of normalcy for his students despite the vast array of challenges faced.
• 
  1918-09-17

  The Boston Globe's Blunder

  My flu files project is about this article from the Boston Globe, published on September 17th, 1918, nearly 102 years ago and just as the Spanish Flu was starting to become a serious issue in the United States. While the disease was yet to wreak the havoc that would eventually ensue, the seriousness of the flu was already well known, especially around military installations where it originated and often spread. The author’s choice to open with the disclosure of the barber at the base being infected is actually quite clever, because it shows that not only is the flu spreading rapidly, but that people in specific positions being infected is exponentially more dangerous as they will be exposed to more people (and in the case of a barber be quite close to them) giving them more opportunities to spread the flu. It is very apparent how the article tries to prevent panic by slightly underselling the seriousness of the pandemic, stating nonchalantly that “It was made known today that there are more than 3000 cases of Spanish Influenza at the base hospital now”. 3000 cases at a single military base is absolutely devastating but the article attempts to soften it in the next sentence by stating that “not all cases are serious” and “there is room at the hospital for 1500 more cases”. Even if that is true it is clear that the situation was already far from under control and obviously did not get much better from there. The article describes how the base has had to put a soft quarantine on the hospital and has repurposed an additional 12 wards of the hospital just for dealing with the flu. The section finally ends optimistically, stating that the flu has likely reached its zenith at the base. These attempts to distract or under exaggerate numbers of pandemics to prevent mass hysteria are unfortunately quite familiar to anyone who has been following more recent events, and in both cases many of them have been proven wrong.
• 
  2004

  Development and Evaluation of a Novel Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Method for Rapid Detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

  The journal talks about a method in detecting a type of coronavirus (SARS) in 2004.
• 
  2020-04-17

  6,615,000

  From the NYTimes print edition 4.17.20 #FordhamUniversity
• 
  2020-03-30

  Whole Foods Employees

  This series documents the treatment of vital workers
• 
  2020-03-20

  Daily Hampshire Gazette 03/20/20

  In this edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette (Amherst, MA, 03/20/2020) every article in the paper (except for one on social justice and the environment) was directly related to Covid-19.
• 
  04/03/2020

  El Gobierno implementó el aplicativo móvil 'Perú en tus Manos',

  El Gobierno implementó el aplicativo móvil 'Perú en tus Manos', por el que se puede acceder a un diagnóstico preliminar ante sospecha de covid-19, información de zonas con más casos y las medidas del Gobierno. La aplicación la desarrolló la Secretaría de Gobierno Digital de la Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros, en estrecha coordinación con los ministerios de Salud y de Economía y Finanzas, la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería y un grupo importante de empresas privadas de tecnología, como parte de las acciones dispuestas por el Gobierno para hacer frente al covid-19.
• 
  2020-04-01

  An Account of Pandemic Life

  I think it is time that we all look to our families and be thankful for the people and life we have been given because none of it is ever guaranteed. Each day we watch news reports vigilantly and hope for good news, but so far, there has been very little. Our lives have undoubtedly been changed and may never return to what we once knew as normal. However, the only way for us to move forward and collectively face this challenge is together. Being thankful for the sacrifices of ever person who continues to work and serve in their own capacity is essential to maintaining our increasingly fragile economy and community as a whole. There has to be a light at the end of the tunnel, right? All we can do is hope.