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2020-03-16
A Year of Workspaces
When lockdown started, I was quarantining with my husband, our 2.5 year old daughter, and our elderly cat, Floofy. This series of images captures a year of my workspaces (March 16, 2020 to March 15, 2021). I worked all over our house. The living room when I was on kid duty. The porch when the weather was warm enough. A brand new desk when the porch got too hot. The bedroom when my husband, who had been laid of in March 2020, needed the desk to job hunt and eventually began doing off and on temporary work in December 2020. I returned to the office some of the time in September 2021. My husband is now fully employed again. Our daughter returned to pre-school in September 2020. Floofy died in January 2022. She had attended every work meeting with me. -
2021-12-20
And a Happy New Year
My boyfriend and I had visited his parents over our Christmas Holiday from college. They had just recently gotten back from Hawaii, so they had travelled through several airports to get to and from Baton Rouge. Despite my boyfriend and I being vaccinated and wearing masks around his family, we came to find out that his mother had COVID (she is a staunch anti-vaxxer). Not one week after our visit, my boyfriend and I both tested positive. We spent Christmas and New Years holed up in our tiny apartment, feeling guilty that we had been to our respective works and to visit my relatives without knowing we were positive. His mother is still suffering from COVID complications, nearly eight months after originally having it. I'll never understand why people assume that public health and health education are a hoax. It could have saved everyone a lot of time and effort and suffering if the truth about vaccinations wasn't barraged by misinformation and public hysteria. -
2022-07-20
Graduating in A Pandemic
Disclaimer: I understand that my story is not as unique or impactful as others. Many people's lives were ruined beyond repair. My derailment is quite insignificant when compared to the devastation of others. It is however, my story, and I have decided to share it anyway. Perhaps it will add to the narrative of why recent graduates are struggling the way they are. In May of 2021, I graduated from one of the top public universities in the United States with honors, distinction, a 4.0 GPA, and the outstanding senior award for my department. Despite the pandemic, there was still an expectation to do great things. All of my professors, friends, and family constantly told me what an exciting future I had ahead of me. The pandemic had other plans. All of the graduate programs I had decided to apply to were not accepting applicants due to the pandemic. They did not have the funding or ability to allow new graduate students to conduct research. Instead I tried to apply to jobs within my field, but because their buildings were closed to the public, they were letting people go, not hiring on. Without scholarship money or a well paying job, I could no longer afford my apartment. Many of my friends had moved back into their parents house and I thought to do the same. Unfortunately, like many other couples during the pandemic, the forced proximity had made my parents' house volatile. I could not move home, because my parents decided to move across the country and get a divorce. I tried to move in with my paternal grandparents, but my grandma was to ill. She ended up dying that summer. After a summer of floating around, living out of my car and random family members houses, I moved in with my maternal grandparents. At this point I felt miserable. It seemed like my entire life had fallen apart in the span of two months. I went from the top of my class, a bright future ahead of me to working minimum wage. Just as I was beginning to feel like I was back on solid ground after moving in with my maternal grandparents, my grandfather died too. I felt cursed. A year later, I am working an amazing job within my field, living in a condo with friends, and on track to receive a master's degree this winter. Things are finally looking up, but I don't know if I will ever fully emotionally recover from living through this pandemic. -
2021-10-03
The Scents of a Homecoming
My maternal grandfather passed away late last year amidst a relatively heavy pandemic lockdown, and our family has since tried to fill in for him in caretaking for my grandmother. If he could have asked something of us, I know it would have only been to look after her. He was that kind of man. He didn’t need for anything for time with his family and friends, and his utmost concern was her welfare, even when she angered him. Recurring and cyclic apprehension and uncertainty over transmission rates, long-term vaccine efficacy and inoculated antibody generation have forestalled several attempted return trips to my hometown. Data-driven doubts have eroded my wife’s confidence that our collective vaccinations will protect her aging parents from life-altering illness and death have prevented her from traveling with me, even though she wont readily admit that outside our home. In addition to everything else the pandemic has altered or taken from us, it’s also complicated my family’s efforts to care for each other. My grandmother turned 86 recently, and her birthday was also their anniversary. They would have been married 63 years this month, and we wanted to make sure the day didn’t pass like any other lonely Tuesday since his death. My cousins and I put together a birthday dinner at the best restaurant in town, and I traveled back to New Mexico for a week to visit and help where I could. The trip turned out to inspire a self-reflection on the power of scent in my life, emotions, and memory. *** I drove straight to my grandmother’s home on Blodgett Street. I pushed the front door open, and an unpleasant stink hit my nostrils. Throughout my life, that home had particular smells that transitioned over time. Everyone in my family but the children smoked cigarettes while I was growing up, and it wasn’t unusual for a blue-gray haze to hang in my grandparents’ home during family holidays. It wasn’t uncommon for their 1000 sq. ft. home to sleep ten or fifteen people when we had something to celebrate or grieve. Ashtrays often overflowed if late night poker games grew too intense to step away from the dining table. I recall one Thanksgiving from my early childhood in which heavy cigarette smoke obscured my view of the backdoor while I stood near the front door. Even through those early years, I associated their home with the smell of sweets. Baked goods, chocolate cakes, snickerdoodles, and sugar cereals, although I’m now surprised any of us could smell anything. I never ate Fruity Pebbles anywhere but their house. Word reached my family in the mid 80s that hotboxing the house was bad for everyone’s health, and they began smoking outside. Grandad hated that; he’s the one who paid off the mortgage, so he oughta be able to smoke wherever he damned well pleased. Still, he took it outside for the grandkids. Since they stopped smoking in the house, and especially since they quit smoking fifteen years ago, I associated their home with a particular and pleasant fragrance. I never placed it, and I’ve never smelled it anywhere else. It wasn’t solely the scented wax my grandmother leaves on warming plates for too long, which are almost always homey food scents, like apple pie. The scent of their home welcomed me back to a place I am unconditionally loved, missed, and wanted. My jokes always hit, my cooking never failed, and everyone was always glad to see me. They were also glad to take my lunch money at the poker table, which I imagine might have contributed to my perpetual welcome. As of this trip, that unique aroma is gone, replaced by a light odor of stale animal waste. My grandmother took in a low functioning chihuahua about three years ago, and the dog is slowly and thoroughly ruining all the flooring surfaces in her home. It won’t housebreak, and it’s incapable of turning right. Seriously. The dog might be a reincarnated Nascar driver. It only turns left. When it’s excited, anxious, fearful, doesn’t matter. The only emotional arrow in its quiver is a left turn, and the only dichotomy is the circumference. The dog can run around the whole room or spin in place, but only and always left. Lefty shit on one of my most important and reassuring emotional stimulants. ** I also stayed with my parents, who live across town, and we share a love of food, especially comfort food best consumed with big spoons or served in casserole dishes. Because we’re New Mexicans, that means a heavy dose of Hatch green chili goes in everything produced in our kitchens. Throughout the week, my folks made all the staples for fall: red beef enchiladas, fire roasted salsa, smoked burgers, and green chili chicken stew. While I associated backed goods and sweets with my grandparents’ home, I’ve always associated the aroma of meals with my parents, and especially the foods that take a day or two to get just right in a crock or stockpot. Bubbling green chili anything reminds me of the best parts of my childhood, and I have no unfond memories or emotions associated with it. I never caught a beating over the dinner table, never fought over a kettle of green chili. Comfort foods have historically made all the hurt and misery of the outside world go away. That’s their magic, isn’t it? No matter what the day and the world brought to your doorstep, the right foods and aromas improved everything they touched. ** As such, the consistent and predictable wonderfulness of my parents’ home helped buttress my emotions and the loss of the Blodgett Street Scent. The disappearance of that emotional, olfactory experience altered my perception of the trip. I regarded its replacement as a bellwether of things to come, a foreshadowing of my grandmother’s seemingly imminent decline into managed in-home care. My concerns over what the light stink meant conspired with her increased hearing loss, the occasional repeated story, and the often-repeated questions to erode my confidence in her long-term stability. Although she’s now 86, she remains independent and self-sufficient. There’s nothing she can’t accomplish on her own with enough time and naps between exertion. I think I’ve taken that for granted, though, and I should begin managing my expectations. Thanks to a left-leaning chihuahua, I have to confront my grandmother’s increasing fragility and forthcoming dependence. I regret having never attempted to define its source ingredients, although I doubt I could recreate it at any other time or place. In the meantime, I need to get her out of the house long enough to have the flooring scrubbed and sanitized. If you’re in the market for a left-loving fecal factory, please inquire within. -
2020-04-16
Covid Consolation Puppy
A week after the first shutdown began in March of 2020, schools were shut down and I was no longer able to complete my student teaching. I was furloughed from my job and locked inside for what we originally thought would be two weeks. With no end to the lockdown in sight and nothing to do, it became stressful and quite boring. Living with my parents at the time, the entire family was locked inside and tensions were high. One day, my mom got a call from a former coworker whose dog had just had puppies a month prior. She offered us a puppy and my mom, knowing how sad I was at not having a job or an internship, accepted and I was able to pick any puppy I wanted. Freyja, my dog, was my Covid-consolation-puppy. She was very young and I was up all night and all day with her, potty training and playing with her. My time was entirely consumed by this puppy and I was never bored or alone again. We joke that she was a consolation puppy because I never got to complete the typical training any teacher before received. A few months after the first shut down ASU canceled graduation and went virtual, it was another blow, and knowing I would not be able to walk the stage to get my degree was tough to handle. However, Freyja made things easier and took my mind off things. She grew with me and she became my best friend and protector. When I moved out, she kept me safe. When I separated from a long-term partner, she was what I found joy in. I love my dog very much because she came into my life when I needed her most. -
2020-03-16
My life with COVID
The COVID pandemic has affected everyone around the world. Going into march of 2020, I had a lot of pressure put on me by my parents to either quit my job, or take time off because they didn't know how serious the virus was and wanted me to take no chances. I also have an autistic brother who cannot speak so I didn't want to risk giving COVID to him. At the time, nobody knew how severe the virus was, but as time passed I witnessed first hand how serious it was. When I got back to work after taking time off, I saw what I thought was a joke. Shelves of foods completely empty, and all toilet paper sold out as well other cleaning products. This went on for about a month before people stopped buying a lot of things in fear. There would be lines outside of my job because too many people were coming and we didn't want to have a lot of people gathered in one place for safety reasons. More time passed and things sort of went back to normal but people now wore masks and practiced social distancing. Now over a year later, things are more calm and people are finally doing the right thing and wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus and end this pandemic. -
2021-09-23
Lily Daugherty and Suhani Rathi Oral History, 2021/09/23
Two University students discuss their personal experiences during the pandemic, as well as the effects on their family and social lives. Frustrations with the Arizona government’s response to the pandemic are expressed. The specific experience of Asian Americans during a time of increased discrimination is also briefly discussed. -
2020-04-24
Caring for Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease Amid the COVID-19 Crisis
A blog post from Banner Health on how to care for someone with Alzheimer's Disease during the pandmeic. -
2020-04-18
Keeping Parents and Grandparents Safe While Social Distancing
A blog post from Banner Health on how to keep elderly family members safe -
2021-05-14
Golden Gate Area Council Summer Camp 2021 Camp Wolfeboro Parents’ Guide
This is a guide for parents made by Golden Gate Area Council to inform parents about Camp Wolfeboro. The guide discusses the variety of changes made to camp for 2021 as a result of the pandemic, among other aspects of camp. -
2021-08-16
from the eyes of a teacher
A friend of mine is a teacher for the Los Angeles School District. She shared on social media how Covid has impacted her school and its students. -
2021-04-19
The pandemic gave parents the chance to work from home. Now they don’t want to give it up.
Teleworking has provided advantages to parents - they are able to spend more time with their child during the day, not commuting has given them more time to devote to parenting, and the flexible schedule available in teleworking allows them to work around their children's schedules. Many parents don't want to give up their ability to telework after the pandemic. -
2020-05-06
It’s Not Just You: Working from Home with Kids Is Impossible
Parenting while working from home is challenging. This article acknowledges how difficult it is and offers emotional support to work-at-home parents, who may be experiencing guilt and frustration. -
2021-07-09
Charlotte Tibollo Oral History, 2021/07/09
Mother interviewing 5 year old daughter about the pandemic. -
07/08/2021
Christopher Hall Oral History, 2021/07/08
The interviewer describes his experience as a teacher with remote learning, how he viewed the pandemic when it first was in the news from China, how it affected his parenting and his daughter, how he feels New York State and the country have handled the pandemic, where he obtained his news on the pandemic, and his view of how people handled the pandemic. -
2021-03-16
Teacher Interview: Avilette de Castro
Middle school Spanish teacher, Avilette de Castro, answers student questions about changes to education in the coronavirus pandemic. Walls: What is your name, grade you teach and school you teach in? de Castro: Avilitte Castro, Sebastian Middle 7-8th grade Spanish Walls: How has the pandemic changed the way you teach? de Castro: So, the biggest thing is that I feel like I haven’t taught enough, like I'm putting stuff out there and it’s not sticking. Before the pandemic there was more engagement and now there isn’t. Especially with those that are DL’s (distance learners). Walls: What was the biggest challenge in the beginning? de Castro: We were not prepared as teachers at all for what we had to do. I had never taught online before and I had to try to adapt everything online. Not everyone showed up. It’s not high school, they don’t think that it counts. They don't realize that even though their grades won't neccessarily carry on to high school, everything else will. Walls: What is the biggest challenge now? de Castro: So now, it’s mostly back to normal in some senses. We haven’t had any kids go into quarantine in awhile and I’m down to only 3 DL’s and I don't know if the kids are fully into it. I always have the thought that we could go back into quarantine. We just adopted a new textbook and I have to tell that book as well. The EOC (End of Course Exam) for this year is being used from this new book. I am adapting everything, but not able to get a hold of everything. I am learning this new book as well as my students. Walls: How do you think students are doing? What are their biggest challenges? de Castro: I don’t think, for me, I really don’t think I’ve taught them as well as I normally do. I hate to say this because it’s not quite bad. Some of my students aren’t doing anything, because they don’t think it will count. The other thing for me, I do a language class. A big part of my class is conversation. I don’t let them work in groups and they aren’t able to get the conversation that they used to get. Right now we are doing a food unit. They don’t get the reaction in conversations. Walls: Do you see anything beneficial coming from the changes you have had to implement? de Castro: Oh yeah. For me, doing stuff with technology has always been supplemental instead of part of the curriculum. Like if I post this you can have it and now everything is online. The kids have access to it online, doesn’t mean the students use the extra resources. I’ve been having to use the textbook website and it’s something that they can do anywhere that they are at. It’s an added resource, so it's a benefit for them. Walls: How has parent involvement changed during the pandemic? de Castro: No, one of my DL’s has his guardian sister with him the whole time and it’s a little nerve racking to have her hear me the whole time. It’s pretty much the same overall. -
2021-04-01
Teacher Interview: Paige Bagby
High school AP teacher, Paige Bagby, answers questions about the changes to education during the coronavirus pandemic. Walls: Your name, grade you teach, school you teach in. Bagby: Laura Bagby, 10th and 11th grade AP-US and AP Psych, Creekside High School Walls: How has the pandemic changed the way you teach? Bagby: Synchronous teaching model. Difference between what the expectation was last year to this year. End of last year, feeling like we are making this up as we go along. Not required to do in person conferences, although most of us did. Pre-recorded. Only 2 assignments a week. School did give out computers and that took a while. Internet is spotty in some areas. Didn’t want to overwhelm family and kids. Teach all AP classes, college board announced a bridge of the exam that doesn’t include anything from the start of quarantine. This year, this feels normal, which is weird. The big expectation is to live stream your classes. The teaching doesn’t feel much different besides the fact that I have to carry my computer around. Standards have dropped. No way of monitoring if students are using their notes or books or computer. Everything is open book and notes. We’ll see what it looks like with the standardized tests. Maybe with students using their books and notes it’s helping them. All the requirements are the same. No group work, a lot more lectures. This year we have to post everything online and they want to minimize handouts. Just about everything is online. We have shields at the desks and students will hide their phones. Walls: What was the biggest challenge in the beginning? Bagby: The biggest challenge in the beginning was convincing everybody that school was still happening. I had some students drop off the face of the earth for the first couple of weeks. I had a rumor that some students weren’t doing work because they thought none of the work counted. Some showed up to the conference but didn’t do work and some didn’t show up or do work. You never really know if your distance learners are there. You’ll see their name but you can’t actually see them. I’ll look and see that a distance learner hasn’t started their quiz yet, because they aren’t at their computer. I will say I have some distance learners who are doing the absolute best. Walls: What is the biggest challenge now? Bagby: The buy in. Getting students to understand that this is still school and that they still have to do the work. Walls: How do you think students are doing? What are their biggest challenges? Bagby: I think that it all depends on the individual student. Some students are looking at this pandemic like it’s a big joke. I’ll overhear conversations where they talk about getting Covid so they can have two weeks off. Some of them aren’t taking it seriously at all. I have a student whose father died and parents who’ve lost their jobs and multiple students whose parents have separated or divorced from the pressures that this puts on the relationship. It really depends on their home situation. There are students that are really struggling, but I guess thats true every year. On the whole the grades are good, but there is an individual case of the student. It takes what you see throughout the whole year amplified. Normally APUSH is difficult and some students are making solid A’s, it isn’t a bad thing. Walls: Do you see anything beneficial coming from the changes you have had to implement? Bagby: I would say that it’s been a real exercise in communication. I think that; for instance, for older teachers who refused to use technology have really stepped it up. I think a lot of them are tired too. The idea of being flexible and embracing something new. If I've learned anything at all from teaching in the pandemic, it is flexibility. Be flexible. I’ve had to learn to let go. I don’t know. I’ve always heard the argument that technology is going to replace teachers. I hope that people have grown a new respect for teachers. I feel like most parents around the country have learned that their child learns better in the classroom and not online. We still need classrooms. Walls: Are you noticing a change in parent involvement? Bagby: My parents, by the way, have been wonderful this year. I have this one family, their son is distance learning and each quarter they send an email to the teachers thanking them and they give us presents. -
2021-04
Teacher Interview: Adam Bagby
High school teacher Adam Bagby gives explains how teaching has changed since the Covid-19 Pandemic began. Walls: Your name, grade you teach, school you teach in. Bagby: Adam Bagby, 10th grade World History & Honors, St. Augustine High School Walls: How has the pandemic changed the way you teach? Adam: Last year our finals were canceled. I’ll let the students use the textbook to fill out their notes and they have to take photos to submit it to me. They are finishing it way too quickly. Either they are cheating or doing it incorrectly. I watched my student do it and he took out his phone to take a photo of it and looked it up. The issue is we have to have our phones out now. I said something to every single class about their cameras on their phones. Either I could make them do this as homework for the rest of the year or make them do book work for the rest of the year. Walls: What was the biggest challenge in the beginning of the pandemic when classes were remote? Bagby: The exact same challenge from beginning to now that is not solvable. Students will log in and during our instruction I’ll call on a student and they wouldn’t be on the computer. I would mark them absent. I would get parent phone calls and emails. Walls: What is the biggest challenge now? Bagby: The buy in for students from home. I’ll even tell my students to text their friends Walls: How do you think students are doing? What are their biggest challenges? Bagby: My issue is for my students to remember turning in their work online. Some are doing worse because they aren’t able to hand in an assignment. I had some students who enrolled online, but they are working during the day to help their families out with bills. It seems like there’s a lot more stress than there should be. There are some students who have the discipline who can sit down at the computer and do the work, but some students can’t do that at all. I have 2 students I have not seen at all. It’s a blessing and a curse. You can do well with it or not. It all depends on your home situation. Walls: Do you see anything beneficial coming from the changes you have had to implement? Bagby: I saw this happening last year, so I put everything online early. I’ve been teaching for 7 years, so I always knew how important technology is in education. I think online integration is going to be permanent, like Schoology. There obviously needs to be a better platform. Walls: Are you noticing a change in parent involvement? Bagby: Oh yeah. They’re not there. I haven’t had any complaints. Most parents have been understanding. -
2020-06-23
SRVUSD Budget and Reopening Protest Photographs
These are unpublished photographs I took while reporting for my school's newspaper, The Californian. These photographs show the people who attended the protest, including a mixture of students and parents. There are also a variety of signs showing various motivations for protesting. This entry is connected to the "San Ramon community protests SRVUSD spending and issues with remote learning" submission. -
2020-06-27
San Ramon community protests SRVUSD spending and issues with remote learning
This is a news article I wrote about a protest for my school newspaper. The protest was convened to support the ability for students in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to be able to return to school for the 2020-21 school year, and to oppose raises for district management and certain purchases made by the district. The protest occurred on June 23, 2020, at the SRVUSD offices in Danville, California. -
2021-04-17
13-year-old in Pfizer Covid vaccine trial who wants to be an epidemiologist: ‘I like to learn everything I can
Recently CNBC has released an article on my story in the Pfizer Vaccine Trial. I got interviewed about a week ago, and I helped in the making of the article. It is on a division of CNBC called CNBC Make It. CNBC Make It is a section of CNBC that specializes in money, wellness, and heartwarming stories. I have gotten to know the writer, Cory Stieg, well and it was great working with her. The article goes into detail about how the trial works and my experience with the trial. This experience has been amazing from both ends, Pfizer and CNBC. I hope that I inspired others to make a change in the world and to try and pursue your passions. Link to Article in Description -
2021-03-30
#JOTPYFuture from wanderlust_wilsons
I haven’t seen my parents and siblings in almost 2 years due to COVID. Looking forward to heading back home to Michigan. #jotpyfuture -
2021-02-22
#JOTPYLesson from Marissa Rhodes
I learned how to enjoy my kids' company. Before COVID and the resultant lockdown, I used to have anxiety about spending long periods of time at home with my kids. I felt like I needed to entertain them the entire time and like I was never doing a good enough job. COVID meant I had to face the fear really quickly. I learned what I loved about spending quality time with them and most importantly, that it's OK to encourage my kids to entertain themselves. #JOTPYLesson Joan Winnie Peggy Christman Mary Biggie-Beyer Jac Que Kelly Tee -
2021-04-08
How does the pandemic affect children?
This article speaks about obesity in children during the pandemic. With lots of parents work being closed as well as schools, parents struggle to provide healthy options to children and are stuck with buying cheaper option that is mostly filled with preservatives and high calories that is causing obesity rates to increase. Effects of diet during youth effects eating habits that a child developss as it grows. As weight plays a role mentally and physically in a person's health, the pandemic affects children in such away. -
2021-03-27
#JOTPYLesson from Stephany Mae
I’ve learned that we should’ve been wearing face masks during flu season this whole time (#neveragain), that stores used to skimp on refilling the hand sanitizer before this (#neveragain), and that despite parents realizing how hard teaching is, teachers and schools are still scapegoated for many a’thing. -
2021-03-23
'The one way I can protect them': Parents enroll kids in early COVID-19 vaccine trials
No existing COVID-19 vaccine is approved for anyone under the age of 16. The companies responsible for the vaccines are working on getting another vaccine approved for children and have begun trial phases. Some Arizona parents have enrolled their children in the trials, not only so their children can get vaccinate, but also as a way to help the community. -
2021-02-25
Finding a friend
When I found out I had COVID it put me in a dark place since I couldn't hang out with my friends and I couldn't see my parents for 16 days. So I realized that when I was here I would try to find a forever friend and I ended up adopting my cat named Millie. From a bad thing and a bad place came a good thing with a new and lifetime friend. -
2020-12-25
Jesus will understand if you stay home during a pandemic
One of the first things my parents did when they retired and moved to Arizona was find a church. I was very vocal about wanting them to wait to return to large group gatherings but for some strange reason, they seemed to think that they couldn't get covid in church. My mom thought that after all the hardships brought on by the pandemic she needed to be back in church. A month later my dad got sick. We all naively thought it was the flu until I saw the shortness of breath. I told him to get sick and sure enough, he tested positive. Two weeks later my mom contracted Covid. I was hoping it wouldn't hit them too bad but my mom is a diabetic and they are older (late 50's and mid 60's) so I was a bit worried. As the days went by neither of them was getting better. My parents were sick through the holidays, I made Christmas dinner and we ate "together". I dropped off food at their front door then went to their back window where my kids and I ate picnic style. After three visits to the ER for my dad and four for my mom we finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have lost many people to Covid, but it never hit me as hard as when I thought I was going to lose my parents. Thankfully, it was a massive lesson learned for my parents that covid spreads even in the church. -
2021-03-12
Teachers, parents call for performing arts COVID-19 guidelines to be equal to high school sports
While high school sports are going back to normal in Virginia, high school performing art programs are still restricted. A high school choir booster member has said this is unfair to the students and started a petition urging the state to update performing arts COVID-19 guidelines. Unlike high school sports, whose guidelines have been updated frequently, high school performing art's guidelines haven't been updated since September 2020. -
2021-02-24
The Coronavirus Affects Everyone
I know that the Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s lives in their own way. However, I never thought that Coronavirus would impact my family and me in the way that it has. My dad was a very healthy, active person with a strong immune system who hardly ever got sick. Then, one night out of the blue, he got a high fever and body aches. My mom and I assumed it was just the flu and that it would pass. Although after a week of him being sick, he began having severe breathing problems and the ambulance came to take him to the hospital where he was later admitted that night. Due to high precautions, the hospital wasn’t allowing any visitors, and we couldn’t even send cards or flowers. After a few days, we heard from the doctor that he tested positive for Covid-19. It was an absolute shock. My mind was in shambles and I couldn’t grasp the reality of what was happening. They started him on an experimental treatment immediately. Unfortunately, my dad was always too weak to talk on the phone or text, so we barely had any contact with him and only got information once every afternoon when the doctors called with an update. We patiently waited torturous weeks to hopefully hear of some recovery, but the treatment exhibited no improvement and his oxygen levels continued to decline. Then, on April 6th, we got a call from the hospital saying that his inflammation levels in his lungs were rapidly rising and the medications weren’t helping. They were going to put him on a ventilator, but the doctors didn’t seem hopeful that he would be able to come off it. They gave us his hospital room phone number so we could talk to him and give him any hope we had to offer. From the very few words we got out of him during the call, he told me that he was in pain and no matter how hard he tried to get his body to fight back, the virus was just too strong. That was easily the hardest day of my life. I felt like I was going to lose my dad forever without having the chance to say goodbye. Having to comprehend the fact that I may never get to see or hug my dad was absolutely heart-wrenching. Suddenly, after weeks of prayers and different medications, his body was finally responding to the treatment. The feeling I felt when I heard those words was something I couldn’t and cannot explain. Within about a week, his fever went down, and his lungs were starting to heal. It was a miracle. We couldn’t believe how quickly he was progressing. The doctors did one final Covid-19 test, and he finally came back negative. Soon after that, he was discharged and finished recovering at home. Currently, he seems to be doing much better, but he still has a long road of recovery ahead. -
2021-02-18
Early Retirement Reflection
While I am grateful and privileged enough to have quarantined at home with my family, it was certainly frustrating. Once I had conquered my first taste of online learning all I had ahead of me was an uncertain and potentially endless summer. As someone who is a high-risk individual, I didn't feel comfortable going back to my summer job in retail immediately. Thankfully, both of my parents were able to continue to work and I was able to stay home. Being able to stay home for the summer and relax in my hammock most days was unsettlingly different than how others experienced this past summer. I regret not better using my free time to help those that lost jobs and housing and support, while I still had mine. Shockingly the gleam of my extended vacation wore off pretty quickly with my parents. When my parents finally got fed up with me drinking an afternoon coffee in my backyard every day they told me I had better find something productive to keep busy. After sending an unbelievable amount of e-mails and a couple of phone calls with some busy executives I landed an under-the-table research internship. The only issue? Not being able to research through their physical archives. Go figure. While my research wasn't extensive it did keep me fairly busy for my remaining time at home. My early retirement this past summer was a substantial setback in accordance with my previous plans, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. -
2021-01-03
Teachers Not Heard
Parents of the high school I worked at for twenty-five years and where my husband and many friends are still working purchased this billboard to display the message of discontent for one month about how unhappy they are that their students are being subjected to online schooling. The school district named on the billboard has chosen to keep kids physically out of the district's high schools after the winter break due to the immense surge of Covid cases in Arizona. The billboard is disturbing to see since it implies that online learning and the teachers' efforts instructing the students online are not working, and students are failing. A few parents think that the teachers are not doing enough to teach their children and that their children are better off being physically in a classroom environment regardless of the exposure risks to Covid. The parents who posted the billboard do not realize that the teachers teaching online want to be back in their classrooms as much as students but that they want to be safe from unnecessary and potential exposure to Covid. Many teachers have health issues that could become fatal if they were to contract Covid; many teachers live in blended households where they take care of older family members at high risk of exposure to Covid. Many teachers and school employees have children at home learning online while they are teaching, and those teachers have to juggle being a professional and parent at the same time. All of the school district teachers are doing the best job that they can teaching online, juggling family issues for those with their own families sequestered at home. The teachers remain silent towards the public outbursts, such as the one posted on the billboard. Teachers are trying their best to be professional online and personally during this pandemic and refrain from lashing out at the cruelty of those who appear to be a privileged minority posting discontentment on a public billboard. -
2021-02-02
Website on "How parents can support their kids through the COVID-19 outbreak"
The website provides a list containing 6 ways in which a parent can support their child through the pandemic. Reading through the many stories under that "children" collection I have come to notice that many of the posts are by children who face difficulty with daily life during the pandemic, whether that be through school, unable to physically socialize, or the fact that their childhoods are passing while sitting at home. This website gives an inside on how parents can help their children as well as gives reasons on to why these can help positively support their children. -
2021-01-24
An uneasy Quarantine
My experience during the pandemic was a little unsettled. My fiancee and were in the process of selling our house when this new SARS virus started to really spread throughout the United States. Surprisingly we received many good offers and one was too good to pass up. We had a house lined up in a rural area of Florida but that deal fell through. It seems as the pandemic got worse and spread rapidly in the major cities a lot of other people began buying properties in rural areas driving the prices up so the deal fell through. We then began looking for a house in the suburbs of Fort Myers, Florida. In the meantime, I had to live with my parents while we closed on a new house. This was an anxious time as both of them are over 60 years old and my father has existing lung problems I was and am dreadfully worried about him. However, with some luck and a great deal of vigilance and adherence to recommended conduct by the CDC, none of us ever got infected. My fiancee works in a large hospital because of her knowledge of safety procedures and warning signs our family has so far never gotten sick. Despite a few people close to us contracting the virus including our neighbor and her brother who was frail before contracting Covid and is now fighting for his life. These are scary and painfull times. -
2021
symptoms
On January 6th, I was planned to go back to school for the first time in forever. I was really excited because I haven't actually been in school since March. However, this was delayed, because both of my parents tested positive for COVID-19. Even though it wasn't dangerous to them, my parents experienced a lot of side effects. My dad was always coughing, sneezing, and had trouble sleeping, and was very fatigued. My mom had the same thing, but worst of all, she lost all of her smell and taste. Even though she doesn't have it anymore, she still cannot taste or smell, and she learned it can last up to three months after you have it! Luckily, not me nor my brother ever got it, but we are still being careful. -
2021-01-18
In just five weeks, another 100,000 people have died from Covid-19
From article: "Each day, thousands of Americans have lost a mother, a husband, a last surviving sibling. These are some of the lives who were lost." -
2021-01-18
Covid -19 vaccination at 23
My name is Cassidy, I have lived in northern Utah for the last six years. I’m originally from Mesa Arizona. I am twenty- three years old. I currently work at a hospital in northern Utah. I’m a certified nursing assistant. I have worked on the Covid-19 unit and helped many patients who have had Covid in the beginning of the pandemic. I currently live with my parents. My parents are considered high risk. My dad is 76 with COPD, emphysema and cancer. My mom is 65 with an auto immune disorder. At first I didn’t want the vaccine, I was super weary of it since it was manufactured so quickly. I honestly thought it was just over hyped. But working with the Covid -19 patients I realized it affected everyone differently. Even though I personally wasn’t worried if I got Covid-19 . I was worried about catching it and giving it to someone who couldn’t fight it off, especially a loved one. And then I realized everyone has a loved one. And that’s when I decided to get the vaccine. On December 22, 2020 i received my first dose of the moderna Covid 19 vaccine at the hospital I work at, Ogden regional medical center. At first I didn’t even feel the shot. After I received the vaccine I had to wait 15 minutes to make sure I would have no side effects. I was fine then I left the hospital and headed to school and did my certification for my class. The next morning I woke up and my left arm was super sore and I had a really hard time moving it, since it was so stiff and painful. I experienced some chills but other than that I was fine. And today January 18th 2021, I went back to the hospital I work for and I received my 2nd dose of moderna Covid -19 vaccination. I felt the shot this time, the serum was a thicker consistency. My arm is tender and I feel a general feeling of malaise. I was told by the nursing supervisor at work to take Tylenol before my vaccine and to take it following the vaccine, and to make sure to get the vaccine on a day where I won’t be working or doing anything the next day. Unfortunately I work and go to school full time. So tomorrow I have school but I’ve been keeping up on taking Tylenol. I received this vaccine not for myself but rather for others, because I would hate if my parents caught it and didn’t make it. And everyone has a family member that could possibly not make it if they caught Covid-19. -
2020-12-13
Covid-19 Mental Health Interview from the Perspective of a Pharmacist
The contributor of this item did not include verbal or written consent. We attempted to contact contributor (or interviewee if possible) to get consent, but got no response or had incomplete contact information. We can not allow this interview to be listened to without consent but felt the metadata is important. The recording and transcript are retained by the archive and not public. Should you wish to listen to audio file reach out to the archive and we will attempt to get consent. -
2020-02-22
The Covid Virus
In February, I was in school. People started talking about this virus that started in China that was killing people and getting people very sick. It was in China so I thought that it wouldn't reach the U.S. Then when I got home I asked my parents about it. Then a couple weeks later they said that the virus got into the U.S. The virus spread all around the world. -
2020-12-10
My Experience
My Thanksgiving wasn’t the same as all the other ones because my typical Thanksgiving is with my grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts. Since there is a global pandemic, we had to keep it small. So we had a small Thanksgiving with just my two sisters and my parents. My grandparents did stop by, but only for twenty minutes and we had to stay six feet apart. I didn’t have to get all dressed up, or even change out of the clothes I woke up in. My family didn’t even have a turkey this year! In February, there was no such thing as Corona. You didn’t have to wear a mask or social distance. I went to my friend’s houses and hung out in big groups. I was going to school every day and visiting my grandparents once a week. Around this time there were rumors that Covid was going to come to America and that maybe our schools would close but I never believed it. When I would hear about Corona I never ever thought that some of my loved ones would end up getting it. When people starting saying that our schools might close I was excited to have a shot break off of school, but little did I know it would be a nine month break. In February, I was careless and didn’t have to worry about washing my hands or staying six feet apart. -
2020-11-04
The Reality Of Teaching During COVID
No teacher was prepared for a transition to distance learning during a global pandemic. Nevertheless, teachers all over the world had to alter courses at the end of last school year, and the beginning of this school year. With very little time, adjustments were made to introduce distance learning. This allowed for teachers to keep teaching and students to keep learning. Although a plan for distance learning was created, no one knew what they were walking into. This has left teachers, parents, and students to pick up the pieces and learn as they go. In frustration many blame teachers for any disorganization or problems that have occurred throughout distance learning, but in all realness, they too are left to take this new style of learning day by day. -
2020-07-27
Jewish Melbourne: Caulfield Bubs program on explaining Covid-19 to children
In July, Caulfield Bubs (a playgroup for Jewish bubs (0-3yrs) at Caulfield Shule) hosted a zoom event with Professor Frank Oberklaid, where he provided advice to parents on "explaining the Covid pandemic to young children". -
2020-05-25
When we lose our loved ones
People around the world are paying for the Corona pandemic in some way, some people pay it psychologically, others the price is losing those they love. It affects all of us in some way, and we all have a different story with this pandemic. This story brings what happened to me, one of my relatives, during the pandemic. -
2020-10-04
Kids Now Know to Ask "Are you in a meeting?"
This Tweet shows one of the major changes in our society and home lives. With so many people working from home children have learned to approach their parents and ask if they are in a meeting before saying anything else. -
2020-09-29
An Object In Motion
Newton's first law of motion states that an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I consider myself an object in motion without a doubt. As long as I can remember I have been involved in so much that I really don't get periods of rest, and I prefer it. I'm at my happiest when busy, and between full time college, a part time job, and too many extracurricular interests to count, I've definitely achieved that. So March 13th, 2020, also known as the day the United States came to a general halt, had a deep impact on my mental health. Unable to go to school, or work, or see my closest friends, I spent many nights crying. Both from the uncertainty of what laid ahead, but also the toll this unplanned isolation had taken. My saving grace in the early days was my dad. He had officially retired just days before, and having him at home with me made a difference I really couldn't have predicted. I had never really spent an extended amount of alone time with my dad, not for any particular reason, it was just never what we did. Finding ourselves home for who knows how long, we starting finding activities we could do together. We went on boat rides, canoeing, and did household work together. The project that meant the most though is the photograph I have attached. This desk was made by my paternal great grandfather in 1945, and had definitely seen better days. My dad and I spent three weeks in our garage refurbishing it, and honestly, its unrecognizable from when we received it. I don't want to be misconstrued that the time we spent holed up wasn't generally awful, because boy it was. But this involuntary confinement made me realize just how lucky I truly am to have people like my dad in my life. Covid has brought a lot of bad, more than we thought it would back in March. But I believe it is just as important to acknowledge the good it has brought, The relationships we've kindled through the strife. *Photograph, taken by me -
2020-09-27
1936 in 2020
A drawing inspired by Dorothea Lange portraying the anxiety and stress that came with obstacles as a result of COVID-19. -
2020-09-26
COVID-19 2020
The story I am submitting is about people losing their jobs and homes during this pandemic. It is important to me because I know some people who have lost their jobs due to this and they were struggling to pay their bills, wondering when their next meal was going to come, even the parents who had to quit their jobs because schools had closed down so that was another stressor during this time. -
2020-08-13
Distance Learning Parent Conferences
Unable to resume in-person instruction, for the time being, the first day of school for students at Princeton Joint Unified School District in Princeton, California looked quite different this year. Instead of having students on campus, parents were asked to attend a scheduled conference to pick up supplies, technology, and information. The white papers hanging around the perimeter of the gym list every student in attendance, and the items placed below each sign were left for students to use at home. Parents attending the meetings felt overwhelmed and frustrated by the inability to return in-person but recognized that the local school district did not make this decision. Over the summer months, distance learning strategies were completely overhauled to improve on the lackluster results of last spring. Teachers at Princeton Joint Unified School District will be offering live instruction throughout the day using several new platforms. Parent conferences will continue into next week before daily live instruction begins on August 20, 2020. -
08/04/2020
Lee Foster Oral History, 2020/08/04
Oral History in which Lee Foster discusses how one teaches shop (Industrial Arts) through online learning, what it is like teaching your students at the same time as your own children, and having a spouse working in a hospital during the pandemic. He also discusses the changes, or lack thereof, in family dynamics during a pandemic all with his easy-going positivity and sense of gratitude for his situation. -
May 5, 2020
Plague Journal, Day 53: CoronaWorld oral history, charter high school teacher
I'm keeping a daily Covid-19 journal. In the latest entry, I interview an English teacher at a Washington, D.C., charter high school.