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re-open
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2021-03-23
Where Are All the Kids?
Our school has never looked better - festive flags waving, campus clean and painted, welcoming balloon arches. We were ready to re-open. But then, no one came. The message we teachers had been whispering amongst ourselves for weeks, that kids and their families do not want to come back yet, had come to fruition. Out of my 172 students, only 31 will step foot on campus, the rest will continue to logon from home. That number, 31, is expected to continue to drop as more students revert to only Distance Learning. Knowing how few students were on campus, I was surprised to see our school social media posted first day pictures. I know it was supposed to be celebratory, but I couldn’t stop laughing at the insanity of a balloon arch welcoming no one. How could our social media exclaim that we were “so happy to see students roam the halls again” and then post pictures of a completely empty school? It looks like Chernobyl. At some point, I decided to take the images, a video of an empty classroom my friend took, and my attendance roster with almost all kids marked as “Distance Learning” and put them together in a video to try and capture the mixed emotions. I alternatively feel like crying and laughing when I watch it. I really think it captures the reopening, albeit in a slightly subversive way. Of course, I really hope my admin never sees it, because I’m guessing they will not see the tongue and cheek, ironic humor in this. -
2020-05-31
Thanks for Waiting
Restaurants were closed for dine-in service for several weeks due to the coronavirus, with some of those doors remaining closed permanently. Restaurant staff all over the world worked tirelessly to clean, sanitize, and prepare for a new "normal" as far as dining out goes. Seeing posts like this for your favorite restaurants opening back up was a small glimpse of normalcy the world had missed for months. -
2020-10-08
A Bright Light At the End of the Tunnel
The first picture shown was taken while in Downtown, Phoenix. It was very shocking to me to see how many little tents and makeshift homes were here. The whole area looked like a miniature town. It is impossible to know if people were pushed there due to Covid-19 and the rising unemployment rate, but I wouldn't doubt the possibility. According to The New York Times, "Staggeringly High: U.S. Jobless Claims Remained Elevated Last Week" by Ben Casselman, millions of Americans remain out of work and that number has only been rising. Casselman also stated that 8.3 million Americans reported that they could be evicted from their homes within the next two months. Hearing all of this it also makes sense the homeless population is rising. It's hard enough trying to find hygiene products, food, and other essentials when you are homeless; I can't imagine what it's like during a global pandemic. I think something must be done to help these people along with those facing eviction and job loss. The pandemic is a human issue and its very strange that people put money before actual people's health and livelihood. The last picture I used of the rainbow is meant to symbolize a bit of hope in these gloomy times. I feel especially down lately, hearing about how many people have lost others due to the virus and how helpless the situation seems when many are making absurd choices. I remember I saw the rainbow while taking a walk- which is pretty much all you do while being safe right now. It had rained a bit but the rainbow lifted my spirits seeing all the colors and the vibrant greenery. The pandemic can't last forever, and I hope everyone can work together to stop the spread of the virus and implement change within our fragile health and economic systems. -
2020-04-16
A Catholic diocese is reopening for Mass despite a statewide stay-at-home order
The article reported churches for Masses in New Mexico will be the first to get reopened by The Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. The diocese guarantees to only limit 5 people come in at a time to follow the public health order of banning gathering more than 5 people in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Las Cruces Diocese, thry believed churches are closely related to "essential activities" because people seek out hope and confinement in churches to stay peaceful and reduce the anxiety during this hard time. -
2020-03-23
Sacrificing grandma for the stock market
The U.S. government was planning on opening the country again and having daily life go back to normal sooner than health experts recommended. People were angry that the government was willing to allow at-risk people (the elderly) to die rather than have the economy crash